The first season of Escape from Tarkov is already in July. Battlestate Games confirmed that the seasonal model will finally become a reality, featuring a new character type that will work in both PvP and PvE. Nikita Buyanov, head of the studio, joked about “thousands of years of seasons” in a recent episode of TarkovTV, but the content is serious: each season will smoothly transition from the previous one, without abrupt restarts. Screenshots were also shown: the system will feature difficulty modifiers that players activate at the start of a new cycle. Incidentally, the “Icebreaker” story event will launch in May, featuring a new boss.
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Lighthouse Map Update and Kord Breach Season Details
Before implementing the seasonal mechanics, the developers plan to rework the Lighthouse map, tweaking enemy balance and the extensive loot distribution. At the same time, the studio is focusing on optimization and bug fixes. The first season, dubbed Kord Breach, will launch in July and run until the end of 2026. It will focus on the Black Company (a faction announced back in November for version 1.0 but never fully developed). For the first time, players will receive a separate seasonal character, which will exist alongside the main fighters.
Seasonal Character Mechanics and New Player Support
New players will receive support: radars will be added to the game to help them find extraction points, making life easier. The published image shows that the season will last at least 74 days. Each new season will allow players to choose positive and negative modifiers: buffs or debuffs tailored to their desired difficulty level. Additionally, there will be several seasonal hero variants with their own modifier sets. The creators themselves compare this to RPG mechanics.
Prestige System and Cosmetics Store for Tarcoin
The Prestige system will be made more user-friendly at launch, and will later be added to PvE. The second season promises a new location, End of Line, with an emphasis on vertical gameplay. The first season of Kord Breach will also bring a Black Company-themed outfit. A separate cosmetics store will also be added in the future, using the game’s in-game currency, Tarcoin—something many fans have been asking for since last year’s reveal.
Console version of Escape from Tarkov on PS5
And yes, Battlestate Games is still searching for a publisher for console versions of Escape from Tarkov. So PS5 (and possibly other target platforms) is just a matter of time.
