Tarkov's new urban map is packed with atmosphere, take a look ahead of release

If there's one thing I am an absolute sucker for it's a really good, dense urban map for a shooter. The mix of cramped quarters and long sightlines. The funneled alleyways and combat corridors. It's a constant recipe for amped-up fear and excitement you can only get in an environment designed to hold far more people than should ever be in one square mile. Which is probably why I live in the woods with nobody else around.

I digress, however.

Escape from Tarkov's upcoming 0.13 patch will introduce the long-awaited Streets of Tarkov map, an area of dense urban buildup packed with buildings, wrecked cars, and disintegrating infrastructure. The trailer for the patch, posted on Youtube and above, shows off some environments and more. The patch will supposedly also include a new boss. Maybe those guys on the APC we saw last year.

Alongside the new footage of the Streets of Tarkov location, the trailer includes a bunch of neato guns and equipment—which is why everyone's here playing Tarkov, anyways. It includes the new AUG bullpup rifle, SR-2 submachine gun, RSh-12 assault revolver, and the under-barrel GP-34 and M203 grenade launchers. There's also a new handguard for the AK and a new tourniquet, as well as a peek at the new lightkeeper trader.

Players are of the opinion that this trailer releasing means we'll see the 0.13 update, Streets of Tarkov, and the ensuing game wipe on December 28th or 29th, but there's no official release day or time yet, let alone patch notes, from Battlestate.

Otherwise, this has become an opportunity for the Tarkov community to crack wise about the map, which has been teased for two years now. "My grandpa told me that this map would come out one day," said one. "Historians always tell how the Great Tsar Nicholas II laid the first stone of these streets that we'll soon visit," said another. "I had 2 children while I was waiting for this map, I told them stories that it would come out one day," commented a third.

You can find Escape from Tarkov on its official website, escapefromtarkov.com.

Escape from Tarkov Streets of Tarkov urban map — (Image credit: Battlestate)

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.