Are there Wipes in Gray Zone Warfare?

Gray Zone Warfare took the tactical extraction shooter niche by storm in the midst of Escape From Tarkov‘s befuddling Unheard Edition drama, and though it’s definitely an Early Access product, there’s something special about it. Being what it is, though, does Gray Zone Warfare wipe every so often?

Wipes are, in the context of extraction shooters, special progression-killing events that reset all of the players’ accounts back to zero every so often. In Tarkov‘s case, for example, wipes usually coincide with major new content releases, but this isn’t set in stone. As for wipes in Gray Zone Warfare, specifically, they do exist and they will happen on a semi-regular basis. This does mean, yes, that all of our progress in GZW will be periodically wiped clean.

Gray Zone Warfare’s wipes explained

As extraction shooters are all about gearing up and stocking more and more high-end loot in each subsequent raid, it’s fairly self-apparent that people build up immense arsenals over time. Wipes are, therefore, used as a semi-elegant solution to this issue, as they allow developers to reset the clock and go back to zero every so often. In Gray Zone Warfare, specifically, wipes have even more functionality, as they’ll allow you to change your faction, for example.

The curious bit, in our book, is that Gray Zone Warfare‘s latest hotfix allowed players to wipe their own accounts if they choose to do so. This was released specifically to allow for faction switching on the fly, which the community has been asking for from day one onwards.

The obvious caveat is that wiping your account does, in fact, wipe your account of any and all progression you might’ve made. But, the option is there if you need it, and it will be available in the future, too, should it be necessary.

Now, those who purchased Gray Zone Warfare‘s more expensive editions received larger inventory sizes, some bonus starting gear, and an assortment of additional goodies. All of this stuff will be awarded to you again following each wipe, so there’s nothing to worry about on that front.

Of course, if wipes just aren’t your thing but you still want to enjoy some tactical gunplay, the single player Tarkov mod SPT-AKI may be the right option. Full-featured and maintained by a whole community’s worth of dedicated developers, the project is a joy to play and a showpiece of what’s possible with good AI programming.