Unknown Escape is a special development version of the regular Escape map. It is nearly identical to Escape but displays "Unknown" as the map name. Only developers and game testers have access to the developer server that hosts this map. Very little is known about the map due to the inability to access it.
General Info[]
Unknown Escape acts as a playground/sandbox environment for testing most features. Unreleased weapons and items are accessible for testing here. The map runs Team Death Match with an infinite 99:99 on the clock. This Team Death Match is not the standard mode players are familiar with, instead borrowing elements from the survival modes: Battle Royale and Death Match Royale. Backpacks, armor, healing, limited ammo, and other aspects of the survival modes are accessible in the map.
Battle Royale[]
The original testing purposes of Unknown Escape were for the yet to release "60 player game mode", currently released and known as Battle Royale. Testing first started here for spawning and picking up items, as well as testing some of their functions. Not all items would receive functions and release however.
This testing was done while the Battle Royale Map was in active development. Once the initial testing was refined for these items, testing was moved from Unknown Escape to Pacific after it was prepared for a public test of the mode. The Pacific testing phase was to stress test the limits of the game within the limitations of a browser environment with the unique Squad Death Match game mode initially before Battle Royale. Once the Battle Royale Map was completed the Battle Royale mode released with minimal item options.
Unknown Escape tested over 10 additional items that never made it to the Pacific tests or Battle Royale. The majority of these can still be found mentioned in the language files for the game.
Unreleased Items[]
Recycled Items[]
In addition to the items above, four others were also tested—only two had names. The Air Strike was one, under the name of "Walkie Talkie 2" at the time, and an additional "Walkie Talkie 3" would later be recycled as the pickup in Battle Royale to revive a dead duo partner. The two unnamed items not included in the language file were both used in events. One of these was later recycled as the Antidote in Halloween events. The other was recycled as the Satchel in the Christmas 2024 event.
Few Public Showcases[]
While nobody among the public has had access to Unknown Escape, some images have been shared from time to time. These images are normally very rare and no specific mentions to the map are made. This makes the map not just mysterious in nature, but also incredibly secret and unknown. Unknown Escape is easily the least-known map in the game.
Current Use[]
While its early uses for testing were more known due to images from developers, its current uses are very much unknown. It is unclear if the developers even use it anymore as most testing would now involve being in either the Dead End City or Battle Royale maps to test new events before release; not something possible to test in Unknown Escape. Weapons also do not require the map and could be tested anywhere, so it's unclear even if weapons are still tested in Unknown Escape. The most information known about its use currently is that the game tester, Sauna Makkara, continues to use it as a playground for testing and is regularly in it to see what is new and upcoming.
Trivia[]
- Similar to Escape, it transitioned from day into night since it is essentially the exact same map.
- Unlike Escape, Unknown Escape still has Vehicles.
- The argument can be made for Unknown Escape to be the very first alternate version of a map (though outside of standard means).
- Unnamed maps default to the name "Unknown". Unknown Escape uses this default text but is clearly Escape which leads to the nickname of Unknown Escape. In truth the map doesn't have a real name.