COR3 Revealed: Nikita Buyanov's Ambitious Sci-Fi FPS on Mars

In a surprise drop that has the gaming world buzzing, a cinematic trailer for COR3 surfaced on February 2, 2026, teasing what looks like the next evolution in hardcore shooters from Nikita Buyanov, the visionary behind Escape from Tarkov.

The Man Behind the Mystery

Nikita Buyanov, head of Battlestate Games (BSG) and game director for Escape from Tarkov, has been dropping cryptic hints about COR3 for weeks via an interactive website at cor3.gg. While some outlets speculate direct BSG involvement due to stylistic nods, COR3 appears to be a personal passion project under the banner of COR3CORP (or CORE Corp), a new entity linked solely to Buyanov.

Buyanov himself curated the rollout, including puzzles on the site that unlock lore snippets, fueling fan theories of it being "Tarkov 2" in space.

This comes hot on the heels of Escape from Tarkov's full release in late 2025, suggesting Buyanov is eyeing fresh horizons while BSG supports its flagship.

A Glimpse from the Trailer

The one-minute reveal trailer, titled "PRJRPNT_BLUEMARS_FO," kicks off in first-person view inside the ruins of Mariner City on Mars. Players wield a rugged rifle branded "Kalash Corp" - a clear homage to Tarkov's realistic ballistics and AK-inspired weapons.

The camera pans out dramatically: across the terraformed Martian wasteland, up a colossal space elevator, into orbit filled with shattered ships, debris, and eerily floating cosmonauts sporting Russian red-star patches.

It's a haunting visual feast blending gritty survival with epic scale, hinting at reconnaissance from a surviving space station amid an unspecified catastrophe.

Setting and Story: Humanity's Last Stand

COR3 unfolds in 2251, 200 years after humanity teetered on mutual destruction. A shadowy group called "The Core" rallied governments, salvaged civilization, and terraformed Mars as a new frontier. Players step into the role of an "Executor" - an investigator probing century-old experiments gone wrong, navigating faction wars in a high-stakes dystopia.

The cor3.gg site expands this lore through interactive terminals, equipment catalogs (scanning weapons and gear), and puzzles that reveal fragments of the universe - evoking old-school ARG immersion.

Gameplay: Tarkov DNA in Zero-G?

Expect a hardcore extraction shooter with interplanetary twists: loot, evacuate, survive brutal firefights amid realistic physics. Weapon handling mirrors Tarkov's unforgiving authenticity, but now with sci-fi flair - space pirates, orbital hazards, and puzzle-solving for progression. Patches like "Bogatyr.bs First Navy Squad" nod to Tarkov's BEAR faction, blending familiarity with innovation.

It's PC-exclusive for now ("Full functionality available on PC"), targeting fans craving depth over accessibility.