A new extraction shooter called Escape from Duckov, partially inspired by Escape from Tarkov, has taken over Steam’s charts, quickly becoming one of the platform’s most-played titles. The genre has grown in popularity in recent years but remains relatively niche, making Escape from Duckov‘s massive player base an uncommon feat.
Many extraction shooter fans may be anticipating Escape from Tarkov‘s console release or its first post-launch DLC. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands are seemingly flocking to a new Steam release that’s earning rave reviews and topping the charts.
Escape from Duckov Passes Incredible Player Count Milestone
Developed by Team Soda, Escape from Duckov is blowing up on Steam, recently reaching an all-time peak of over 220,000 concurrent players. That’s an impressive milestone for a game of its size, especially within such a niche genre. Team Soda also announced that Escape from Duckov has surpassed 500,000 copies sold shortly after its October 16 launch, marking another stunning success. Beyond these achievements, what truly makes it a phenomenon is its Overwhelmingly Positive average review score on Steam, a rare accomplishment for any game.
Another remarkable aspect of Escape from Duckov‘s success is that it is currently outperforming the free-to-play extraction shooter Arena Breakout: Infinite. For those unfamiliar, Team Soda’s game is priced at around $18, with a launch-week discount bringing it down to about $15. Despite the price, its popularity hasn’t slowed, as it’s managed to surpass most competitors in the genre, including free-to-play titles.
For those wondering what the game is about, it takes place in a fictional world where players control a military-trained duck. The main objective is to explore the map, fight enemies, loot supplies, and extract safely before being killed or running out of time. While that’s the standard formula for most extraction shooter games, Escape from Duckov adds base-building elements and campaign missions that offer around 50 hours of content. The game also includes gameplay elements and visual cues that parody Escape from Tarkov, but the core of Team Soda’s extraction shooter stands out as something unique, showcasing plenty of creativity in its design.
Escape from Duckov currently lacks multiplayer features, and the developer doesn’t seem to have plans to add them. Fortunately, the game supports mods, and some modders are already working on adding multiplayer and co-op features. Many believe that turning this top-down title into a cooperative extraction shooter could grow its player base even further and potentially make it a contender among AAA games in the genre. It will be interesting to see in the coming months how the developer builds on the game’s popularity and whether future updates help the community grow or cause interest in the game to fade.
Source: SteamDB