Escape from Tarkov creator details Fragmentary Order, an extraction shooter set in space

Nikita Buyanov, the studio head behind Escape from Tarkov, has filled in the picture on his next project, Fragmentary Order, in a conversation with Insider Gaming. After the March reveal left more questions than answers, the new details make one thing clear: this is not a reskin of Tarkov with stars in the background. It is a far larger, more systems-heavy extraction shooter set in a near-future solar system, and that ambition carries direct consequences for the rigs that will run it.

What's new

The headline figure is scale. Buyanov says Fragmentary Order's maps run "like five times more (larger) than a typical Tarkov location." That is a meaningful jump when you remember Tarkov's existing maps, Streets of Tarkov in particular, already punish mid-range CPUs and memory configurations. The maps span different settings, with locations on Earth, Venus, a space station, and more. The studio has already shown its Blue Mars map, a partially terraformed Mars surface that the team frames as a grounded, plausible vision of the future rather than pure science fiction.

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The structural change matters more than the setting. Fragmentary Order is built around a long-session model, letting players stay inside a single raid for one to two hours. Crucially, extraction is optional. The extraction shooter loop is present, but Buyanov says players don't necessarily have to extract at all, which pushes the game toward a sandbox rather than the tense in-and-out runs Tarkov is known for. Drivable vehicles are confirmed, multiple game modes are planned, and while the game is classed as PvPvE, a dedicated PvE-focused mode will be available at launch for players who want the world without the player-versus-player pressure.

How it compares

Against Tarkov, the differences stack up quickly. Tarkov sessions are short and built around the threat of losing your gear on the way out. Fragmentary Order stretches that into hour-plus stays where leaving is a choice, not the goal. Tarkov has no vehicles and tightly bounded maps; this game adds driving across spaces five times the size. Tarkov shipped without an official PvE mode for years before adding one as a paid feature, whereas Fragmentary Order is planning PvE from day one. The design philosophy is wider, more open, and explicitly aimed at both hardcore Tarkov veterans and newcomers who bounced off that game's steep curve.

The practical question for buyers is hardware. Tarkov's reputation for chewing through RAM and leaning hard on single-thread CPU performance is well earned, and a game with maps several times larger, persistent hour-long sessions, and vehicle physics will not be lighter. Expect the same pressure points to scale up: high system memory, fast storage to stream those larger environments, and a CPU that can hold frames steady when player and AI counts climb. If you are speccing a machine with this game in mind, treat 32 GB of RAM as the comfortable floor rather than the ceiling, and prioritize an NVMe drive for the asset streaming that big maps demand.

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Who it's for

Fragmentary Order is aimed at two crowds at once. For Tarkov diehards, it offers the familiar extraction tension on a much bigger canvas with new toys to play with. For newcomers who found Tarkov punishing, the optional extraction, launch-day PvE mode, and sandbox modes lower the barrier without stripping out the depth. Buyanov says the team wants the first build to be perfectly playable for both groups before it ships, and while there is no firm date, he believes it will be available soon. There is no confirmed system requirement sheet yet, so anyone planning a build or laptop purchase around it should watch for official specs before committing. Given the studio's track record, plan for demanding minimums rather than optimistic ones.