Tarkov creator Nikita Buyanov reveals new Sci-Fi project COR3

Nikita Buyanov, the creative force behind the hardcore extraction shooter Escape from Tarkov, has officially pulled back the curtain on his latest venture, a science-fiction project codenamed COR3. Following weeks of elaborate digital puzzles and community-driven investigations, a debut trailer released on February 1 confirms a significant shift toward an interplanetary, futuristic setting that appears to blend high-stakes military gunplay with the vacuum of space.

The newly released footage offers the most concrete look yet at a project that has lived primarily in the shadows of cryptic social media posts and hidden websites. The trailer begins with a grounded, first-person perspective that will feel familiar to Tarkov veterans, featuring a protagonist wielding a "Kalash Corp" rifle, a futuristic evolution of the iconic Kalashnikov, near a derelict signpost for "Mariner City." However, the narrative quickly escalates as the camera pulls away from the surface, ascending through the atmosphere into a debris-filled orbit. The sequence concludes with a striking image of a spacesuited figure, identified by a patch as part of the "Bogatyr First Navy Squad," floating among the wreckage of a spacecraft.

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This "Bogatyr" reference serves as the strongest connective tissue to Buyanov’s previous work, as the name is shared by a specific elite unit within Escape from Tarkov’s BEAR faction. Despite this nod, the lore established on the project's interactive website, COR3.gg, suggests a timeline set centuries beyond the current "Tarkov" era. Documents found within the site’s virtual terminal describe a world in the year 2251, where an organization known as "Core" rose to prominence after humanity narrowly avoided total annihilation two centuries prior.

Industry observers have noted that COR3 currently appears to be a personal endeavor for Buyanov rather than a traditional Battlestate Games production. Trademark filings for the title are registered directly to the director, and the marketing campaign has been conducted almost exclusively through his personal accounts. This distinction has fueled speculation regarding whether the game will be a standalone narrative experience or a new iteration of the extraction formula that defined the last decade of Buyanov's career.

The project’s aesthetic, described by some as "cassette futurism," maintains a gritty, tactile feel despite its sci-fi trappings. Teasers have showcased modular plate carriers, orbital defense schematics, and planetary terraforming reports, suggesting that while the theater of war has shifted to the stars, the emphasis on realistic equipment and unforgiving environments remains a priority. While a firm release date and specific gameplay platforms have yet to be confirmed, the reveal has successfully pivoted the conversation away from the terrestrial confines of Russia's Norvinsk region toward the broader mysteries of a colonized solar system.