Arena Breakout: Infinite Preview on PC – What Do You Need to Know About Escape from Tarkov's New Competitor?
Arena Breakout: Infinite is an extended and expanded port of the Arena Breakout extraction shooter from mobile devices to PC.
2025-05-29
Arena Breakout: Infinite is a port of the game from mobile
So, let's start with the origins. Arena Breakout: Infinite is an extended and expanded port of the Arena Breakout extraction shooter from mobile devices to PC. In fact, the original Arena Breakout was a "modified and expanded" gameplay clone of the PC-exclusive Escape from Tarkov. So the circle was closed, and the mobile version returned to the "native" platform.
But do not rush to grumble about "mobile phones". Yes, Arena Breakout originates on smartphones and tablets, but the developers promise a full-fledged PC action game with rich functionality (although it was, frankly, not at all "mobile" in the original). Moreover, the game will be free, and the donation... Well, more on that later.
Free to play
One of the main advantages of Arena Breakout: Infinite is that it's completely free for the average player. And here, if monetization is like in the mobile version, there are no "premium accounts" that simplify leveling, golden weapons and other "joys of life". Everything can be obtained for free or removed from the corpse of the enemy.
There will be no in-game restrictions in favor of donating equipment, such as "non-removable" equipment like in individual mobile clones of Tarkov, in Arena Breakout: Infinite either. Only honest hardcore in the best traditions of the genre.
Proper pay-to-win Arena Breakout
I plan to write a separate article about the types of donations in this game, but, in short, the monetization in Arena Breakout: Infinite, judging by the mobile version, is perfect. You can either invest time in grinding or money (which is essentially the same time, but at work) by directly buying the desired items and equipment.
At the same time, the proportion, with the average Russian salary, turns out to be about "2-3 hours of grinding or one hour at work". I think this is very fair because time really equals money. Moreover, a free player can take absolutely the same loot as the donator, simply removing everything from his corpse with one shot to the head from a rusty pistol and devaluing his work - or buying it for in-game (non-donated) currency in exchange for what was taken out of the raid.
Actually, the same can be said about Escape from Tarkov, only with the difference that they unsuccessfully try to fight with RMT (real money trading) fans, and in Arena Breakout the store is "held" by the developers themselves, and the purchase there by those who want to exchange money for a while honestly supports their work, and not some Vasya. By the way, there is hope that there will be fewer cheaters here for the same reason.
There is no premium account that speeds up leveling — which is extremely unusual for free-to-play sessions. There is a paid battle pass, but it gives mainly cosmetics. The only real advantage that cannot be taken away from the donator in battle is the rental of a protected case, the contents of which are not lost on death and an expanded cache. But such cases and the expansion of the cache are sold for money in Tarkov, the only question is that there the payment is a one-time payment, and here it is recurring.
Surprisingly, there are no loot boxes in the mobile (and, most likely, desktop) version of Arena Breakout at all. Nary! But the developers are Chinese, famous for extremely bestial monetization practices. But in this project, they seem to have decided to take a different path.
Gameplay of Arena Breakout: Infinite
Everyone who has played Escape from Tarkov will be familiar with the gameplay of Arena Breakout: Infinite from the very first minutes. There is a stash where we buy equipment between missions. There are raids on various maps, the main tasks of which are to survive, find valuable loot and, if hunting, shoot.
There are also closed locations, similar to the "Laboratory" from EFT - to get into them, you need to meet certain equipment requirements. In general, Arena Breakout: Infinite is about a ninety percent clone of Tarkov with differences in a number of insignificant mechanics, slightly more compact maps (but this is on mobile, it is possible that there will be more maps on PC - this has been repeatedly hinted at by developers) and a little more arcade (for example, there is a compass indicator at the top of the screen, and healing is simplified).
So the feeling of the game will be very similar - and there is nothing to add here.
Arena Breakout: Infinite System Requirements
For all this graphic beauty and closeness to realism, however, you will have to fork out for productive hardware. The system requirements of the upcoming closed beta test of the game are simply inadequate to F2P standards:
- The octa-core processor is no weaker than the Ryzen 7 3700X
- 16 GB RAM
- GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card or higher
However, do not get upset ahead of time. Firstly, these are the requirements for the test version of the game, which will probably be reduced by the release. And, secondly, the developers of Arena Breakout: Infinite could have raised the bar on purpose so as not to overload the CBT servers with too much influx of people and always be ready to refer to this card in case of any complaints. After all, it's in their best interest to ensure good publicity during the testing phase.
When will Arena Breakout: Infinite be released?
The closed beta test of Arena Breakout: Infinite starts on May 8 - just in time for the second wave of May holidays for Russians. You can apply for participation right now on the official website of the game. A number of players will be randomly selected for the CBT.
The test itself will last at least two weeks. Based on its results, the developers will either stop the beta to fix bugs, or, if everything goes smoothly, extend the closed beta and smoothly bring the game to an open beta test, which will last until the release scheduled for this year. However, after the end of the closed beta, all the progress of the players will be reset (the first and, hopefully, the last wipe will happen) — and therefore I myself do not plan to actively participate in the closed test, except for the sake of review and first impressions.
As for post-release wipes...
There will be no wipes with the release! Hurrah!!!
The most important advantage of Arena Breakout: Infinite over Escape from Tarkov I saved for last. In the original mobile Arena Breakout, there are no wipes (regular resetting of all player progress) - and there is every reason to hope that the same will be true in the PC version after a short closed beta test.
Wipes are what eventually made me put the Tarks on the far shelf. Endlessly starting all over again, spending hours and hours pumping, knowing that at some point everything will reset to zero again... For me, this is just a Sisyphean work, depriving the game of any meaning.Again, if there are no wipes in the desktop version... We are looking forward to it, hoping and believing!
Is it worth waiting?
Let's summarize. Of course, it's too early to draw definitive conclusions until we've tried Arena Breakout: Infinite in action. But it is already clear that this project can become a dream game for Escape from Tarkov veterans and fans of brutal hardcore in general.
Honest monetization "time is money", gameplay close to the original with a shareware distribution model... And most importantly – hurrah! – the absence of hateful wipes after the release.
The gameplay of Arena Breakout can be both worse and better than the original. The donation system may be too aggressive for a PC game (although it is unlikely to be, given their very balanced approach even on mobile devices), the system requirements are a bit intimidating, and the prospect of a clone in a "foreign land" that already has EFT may raise questions... But for me personally, this project is already an order of magnitude better for the absence of wipes alone.