Tarkov on Steam and on the developer's site
The most common question from new players is where to buy Tarkov and whether it is on Steam. Since the 1.0 release in November 2025 the game is on Steam, and that is the biggest change in years. The second official channel never went away: the Battlestate Games website still sells the licence directly. Everything else is resellers, and enough scams have grown around them to deserve their own section.
For nine years before 1.0 the studio shipped the game through its own launcher only: it did not want to share the storefront cut and kept full control over patches, bans and sales. Part of that logic survives — the profile carrying your edition still lives on the Battlestate side, while Steam acts as the storefront and the launch point.
The practical takeaway is simple. The Steam version suits players who already live in that launcher, while escapefromtarkov.com suits anyone who cares about regional pricing. It is the same game either way — there is no separate "Steam Tarkov" with a different balance. Cheap Tarkov keys offered in private messages, on the other hand, are still a scam.
Available Editions
As of spring 2026, Battlestate sells four core packages. Names have changed (Edge of Darkness was renamed to Unheard Edition in 2024 and reshuffled again later) but the structure is the same.
Standard Edition — base. Standard stash size, default PMC profile, no premium perks. Good for trying the game without commitment.
Left Behind Edition — expanded stash, better starter gear. A step for those who decided to stay but aren't ready to invest more.
Prepare For Escape Edition — large stash, weapons and armor at start. Mid-tier for the main player base.
Unheard Edition (formerly Edge of Darkness) — top tier. Largest stash, starter weaponry, access to a closed area with unique quests. Costs 1.5-2x more than Prepare For Escape.
Pricing varies by region. Russia is cheaper than EU or US because Battlestate kept regional pricing. More on this below.
Regional Pricing and Payment
The site shows prices in the currency that matches your IP. Russian region in rubles, European in euros, American in dollars. The gap is significant: Standard runs around 2,500 rubles in Russia, 50 euros in Europe, 45 dollars in the US.
Payment methods in the Russian cabinet: Mir cards, SBP, ЮMoney. Foreign cards can't directly buy a Russian account after 2022 — you either go through an intermediary or switch to a foreign region.
Important: the VPN you use at purchase time locks the account region permanently. If you live in Russia but bought via a Western VPN, you'll have a euro account with euro pricing on every future edition upgrade. Battlestate doesn't reverse the binding.
If you live abroad and want a cheap Russian-region account, that's a gray zone. Battlestate periodically blocks accounts that were obviously bought through Russian resellers, especially when they later see consistent Western IP traffic. Not always, but the risk is real.
Where Not to Buy
Four common scam patterns to know:
Second-hand accounts sold as a replacement for the game
This is about listings that offer somebody else's profile instead of an actual purchase. Those are either hijacked accounts (the original owner reclaims access via email recovery within a week or two) or accounts bought with stolen cards (Battlestate charges the purchase back and the profile zeroes out). You won't recover the money. The pattern is old but persists because prices are 1.5-2x lower than official.
The main profile you intend to invest months into comes from the developer only — Steam or escapefromtarkov.com. A throwaway for private software is a different matter: that account is bought to be lost, so a ban lands there instead of your main, and it comes through a guarantor with a replacement warranty. How that works is covered on the NFA Tarkov accounts page.
Telegram groups offering "Edge of Darkness for $100"
Same playbook plus the seller often disappears after payment. No guarantor, no arbitration, zero protection.
"Regional activation" via intermediaries
Someone offers to buy you a Russian-region account at the ruble price plus markup. Sometimes works (if they actually live in Russia), but you don't choose the region in advance, and there's no recourse if anything goes wrong.
Clones of escapefromtarkov.com
Phishing sites with similar domains capture card data. Verify URL: only escapefromtarkov.com, lowercase Latin, no dashes, no prefixes like get-tarkov or buy-tarkov.
What to Do After Purchase
After payment your email gets a confirmation and a launcher link. Download the BSG Launcher from the official site (about 100 MB). Log in with the same email and password.
The launcher pulls down the game itself. As of spring 2026, the client weighs around 25 GB plus 15 GB for texture and audio packs. Updates are frequent; sometimes a single patch is several GB. Plan for that if you're on a metered connection.
First launch drops you in the raid menu. Here you bind payment methods for edition upgrades: Standard can grow to Left Behind, then Prepare For Escape, and so on with the difference paid. You can't downgrade.
Account Protection
Once you've spent money on a license, the next job is not losing it for stupid reasons.
Two-factor authentication on the email tied to your BSG account. Set it in your email provider's settings. Without 2FA, an email breach automatically gives the attacker BSG access through password reset.
Don't reuse passwords across the Tarkov cabinet and other services. Where password databases leak (forums, small shops), attackers will try your email and password against BSG.
Don't share credentials. The classic scam: "help me with this quest, give me the account for an hour, I'll return it leveled." Best case you get an empty stash back. Worst case the password is changed and a ransom is demanded.
Don't download "free cheats" from YouTube. Detailed in our free cheats article: nine times out of ten it's a stealer that exfiltrates your BSG account on first run.
When the Purchase Pays Off
Tarkov is a game where you can dump hundreds of hours and still get destroyed by veteran raiders. Many newcomers in the first two weeks realize that without an edge against people who've played for years, progress is painfully slow. Some quit at this point.
Some pick up assistive software. Not magic, not a panacea, but it lowers the emotional load: see enemy silhouettes through walls, stop dying to angles you couldn't possibly check. If you go that route, choose verified sellers with a guarantor and ban compensation. With us, every transaction goes through oplata.info with a 20-day fund hold.
You can dip in with a daily subscription for 300-400 rubles to see how it changes the game and decide whether it's for you. Full cheat catalog with prices on the homepage.
Bottom Line
Tarkov is bought from the developer: on Steam after the 1.0 release or at escapefromtarkov.com. Cheap keys from strangers are still never real. Regional pricing locks at purchase and doesn't change. After payment you get a launcher, account binding, and the game. Protect the account with email 2FA and common sense. If you decide to ease the experience with software, buy from verified sellers with a refund guarantee and keep a separate account for it.
If something went wrong with the purchase or you need a consultation before picking an edition, message our Telegram bot — we'll help fit it to your budget.