It’s also curious that Battlestate is only responding to the idea now because a three-year-old interview with an employee of the development team had been recirculating online in which the employee insisted women couldn’t cut it in the high-tension environment of Tarkov. “We came to the conclusion that women can’t handle that amount of stress,” Battlestate dev Pavel Dyatlov said at the time. “There’s only place for hardened men in this place.” Battlestate has since said the employee was “reprimanded and properly instructed,” presumably only in how to talk to the press.