Escape from Tarkov's 2026 roadmap has already delivered its headline patch: 1.1.0 arrived on August 3, 2026 and launched Season One, Kord Breach, the game's first season. Seasonal characters run on their own servers with a free battle pass, and TarCoins pay for an early seasonal reset and the Expansion Hub storefront.
Season One: Kord Breach
Kord Breach is themed entirely around the Black Division faction, and 1.1.0 is the most major update to hit the game since November 2025. The patch is cross-platform, so it affects PvP, PvE, seasonal characters and Escape from Tarkov: Arena. Ahead of the patch, the roadmap had placed an in-game event called Blackout in July.
Seasonal characters exist on separate servers and are completely independent from PvP Zone and PvE Zone characters, and you create and switch between them from a dedicated character selection screen.
Season One is bound by modifiers, both global and personal, and you are selecting alterations that will exist on that character for several months, so it pays to choose carefully.
Seasonal rewards run on thresholds rather than a store: you unlock them by reaching a specific PMC level, completing a specified task or finishing an entire chain of missions, and many will never return outside that season. Anything you unlock during a season stays unlocked. The Kord Breach storyline also unlocks more side missions, unique achievements and trade offers for highly specialized and new weapons.
Seasonal characters vs PvP and PvE
| Profile | Wipes |
| Standard PvP | No wipes; persistent long-term progression for Lightkeeper, Prestige, late-game quests and stash growth |
| PvP Season | Automatic reset every four to six months with a major content update and the start of a new season |
| PvE | No seasonal wipes; separate profile with its own Prestige system to come |
TarCoins and the Expansion Hub
TarCoins can be earned through battle pass progress, found in locations, or bought with real money. Battlestate tied them to the Expansion Hub, a storefront powered by the currency that sells exclusive outfits, stash expansions and access to the PvE ecosystem.
TarCoins also buy an early seasonal reset: you can pay the currency to restart a seasonal character before the automatic wipe instead of waiting for the usual reset cycle. Free wipes remain available once every three weeks for both PvP and PvE.
Battle pass and TerraGroup documentation
The battle pass that arrived with 1.1.0 is free and shared across PvP, PvE and PvP Season. You level it by finding TerraGroup documentation around the world — on the bodies of Black Division operatives, or handed to you for completing Kord Breach missions. Classified Documents bought from the Expansion Hub override the standard TerraGroup documents and unlock everything in the battle pass.
What shipped in Patch 1.1.0
Side tasks
Side tasks are now tied to trader loyalty levels and open in a non-linear fashion, in groups of two to four at a time, so progress depends less on specific tasks, and they pay more money and XP than before. On group tasks the assisting player must still fulfil every task condition, such as distance, required equipment and active status effects. Some tasks remain strictly solo, including The Tarkov Shooter and The Punisher chains, which are treated as a test of player skill.
Economy
Trader prices increased by an average of 25%, while the price traders pay for items sold by players dropped by an average of 20%. The support package can be received no more than once every 18 hours, and the message must be claimed within 18 hours of being received.
Progression and account changes
The Kappa Path achievement was removed and replaced by Dawn of a New Era, and the road to the Kappa container is easier. PvP Season content is synchronized with EFT: Arena, so you can transfer PMC experience, skill and weapon mastery, trade reputation, currency and tactical clothing from Arena to PvP Seasons.
World, gear and optimization
A new customization tab in the main menu lets you change your character's appearance and voice. Interactive mechanics were added across the world, including padlocks on certain doors and containers that must be blasted off, openable elevator doors on some maps, breakable bottles, exploding fire extinguishers and cars that react to physical damage. Streets of Tarkov got a new method of calculating the playable area, and Customs received additional optimization work. The Norinco QBZ-191 5.8×42 assault rifle was added.
The June roadmap also listed an observer camera, group-shared kill objectives for tasks, a rebalanced insurance system, rebalanced hideout progression, improved beginner assistance packs, AI behavior improvements and additional anti-cheat measures among the 1.1.0 changes.
Prestige
Early Prestige steps no longer sit behind the full Kappa/Collector grind: Prestige 1 starts around level 25 through the New Beginning quest and involves Scav kills, a Labs survive-and-extract step and figurine turn-ins. Prestige 2 opens after Prestige 1, and higher levels add stricter level, combat, raid and hand-in requirements, with Kappa/Collector progress still mattering deeper in. A skip Prestige requirements function is on the roadmap, costing a large in-game fee.
Lighthouse rework
The Lighthouse rework went live in September 2026 and brought new tasks with it. Lighthouse now shows a red skull mark on the menu because Glukhar and his minions have taken over the Water Treatment Plant, and he sits at a 100% spawn rate, appearing either in the middle of the Plant or around building 2.
Lightkeeper access changed: you progress the Tour quest until you can reach Lighthouse from the menu, which means giving 20k USD to Mechanic, and you reach loyalty level 3 with all traders except Ref and Fence. Talking with Mechanic then starts the To the Light questline, which eventually unlocks the Lightkeeper. Prapor's questline, starting with Fog of War, leads to rewards worth chasing.
Escape from Tarkov roadmap: what's still to come
- GPS mechanic: a simplified version aimed at helping new players navigate the game's maps.
- Extraction rework: an overhaul of the extraction systems.
- Ranked Leagues: leaderboard tiers covering the top 10, 50 and 100, bundled with additional anti-cheat measures.
- Gear preset containers: containers tied to pre-built equipment sets.
- Referral and Welcome Back programs: incentives for new, returning and invited players.
- First-person magazine loading animations: proper animations for manual ammo packing.
- Squad size: a possible reduction of the maximum squad size from 5 to 4.
Unity 6, FSR 4.0 and reconnect
Unity 6 and FSR 4.0 were part of the Q3 2026 roadmap, aimed at engine, graphical and performance boosts, with Unity 6 pitched as a meaningful upgrade for CPU-heavy maps like Streets of Tarkov. A raid reconnect rework targets the long-standing problem of getting back into a crashed raid, alongside improvements to the downtime around matching, loading and unloading.
Later in 2026
PvE is lined up for its own separate Prestige system, and Scav Life and Clan System DLCs are on the roadmap, aimed at expanding Scav progression and long-term group and social systems. A revive or knockout system is also planned, where certain deaths become a recoverable downed state teammates can pick you back up from. More story events, a larger Halloween event, new animations and interactions, and a separate map and story update called End of the Line round out the list, and Tarkov Arena is getting parallel ranked and seasonal updates.
How to prepare for the next season
- Early quest routes: seasonal characters start fresh every four to six months, so learn the efficient routes you will be re-running.
- Budget kits and early trader progression: a seasonal reset punishes anyone still relying on a stacked permanent stash.
- TarCoins: bank the ones you find in locations or earn through battle pass progress before spending them in the Expansion Hub.
- Squad routes: group tasks are live, so plan shared-progress routes instead of solo grinding.
- Prestige reset: an early-game rebuild is low-stakes practice for the early-wipe skills a season rewards.
Check out more Escape from Tarkov guides:
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Escape from Tarkov Patch 1.1.0 release?
Patch 1.1.0 released on August 3, 2026, and it launched the game's first season, Kord Breach.
How often do Escape from Tarkov seasonal characters reset?
Seasonal character progression resets automatically every four to six months with a major content update and the start of a new season, and TarCoins can buy an early reset instead.
How do you earn TarCoins in Escape from Tarkov?
Through battle pass progress, by finding them in locations, or by buying them with real money. They are spent in the Expansion Hub on exclusive outfits, stash expansions and PvE access, and they can also trigger an early seasonal reset.
How do you unlock the Lightkeeper after the Lighthouse rework?
Progress the Tour quest to reach Lighthouse from the menu by giving 20k USD to Mechanic, reach loyalty level 3 with all traders except Ref and Fence, then talk to Mechanic to start the To the Light questline.
