Update 1.1.0.0 arrives on 3 August 2026 and brings Season 1, Kord Breach. It is the biggest change to how Tarkov is played since the game left beta: the wipe, as a thing that happens to you, is over. Seasons are something you opt into, on a character you make for the purpose, while your real PMC keeps everything.
Written the day before launch. This is put together from Battlestate’s announcements and the reporting around them on 2 August 2026 — the full patch notes are not out yet. Everything here is sourced at the bottom, and anything the coverage disagrees about is flagged rather than guessed at. Expect this page to be rewritten once the notes drop.
The headline: no more wipes
Traditional full wipes no longer happen automatically. Your main PMC, your stash, your hideout and your Kappa progress persist — in PvP and in PvE — and they keep persisting. Nobody is going to take them away on a schedule.
If you want the fresh start, you go and get it. That is what a season is.
Worth being clear about before you plan anything: if you do nothing at all on 3 August, you keep your character exactly as it is. A season is an opt-in, not an event that happens to your account.
What Kord Breach actually is
Season 1 is called Kord Breach and is tied to the Black Division storyline. Joining it creates a separate seasonal character: level 1, empty stash, no flea market until you unlock it — the wipe experience on demand, without touching the account you have spent months on.
PvP only. Your permanent PMC is untouched while you play it, and it is waiting for you when the season ends.
Traits: you buy the good with the bad
The interesting part. A seasonal character is built from positive and negative traits that have to balance — you cannot simply stack advantages. Reported examples:
The shape is clear enough to plan around: decide what you want your season to be about, then pay for it with something you can live without.
If you have never done a hard-mode run, a trait that disables the flea market is the single biggest change to how the early game feels. It is also the one most likely to make you learn the maps properly.
The battle pass is free
Kord Breach adds a battle pass, and Battlestate have confirmed it is free — everything on it can be earned in game. It is available across all modes: seasonal, PvP and PvE. You do not need to play the season to progress it.
Progress does not come from a purchased currency. You earn it by finding TerraGroup documentation in raids — a new loot type that behaves like a task item, so everyone can pick up their own copy even if another player already took one. Different documents spawn in different places (Streets and Customs for some, Factory and The Lab for others), and one type can be exchanged for another if you keep finding the wrong ones.
Also in 1.1.0.0
- A task system rework, for clarity and rebalancing. This is the one that changes the Collector requirements — see the Kappa guide, which already carries the warning.
- New weapons and customisation options.
- The Blackout event extended into the patch.
- A Unity 6 engine migration is reported to ride along with this update, with better performance on CPU-heavy maps like Streets. Treat that one as reported rather than confirmed — it comes from secondary coverage, not from Battlestate directly.
Right now, before it lands
There is a surprise pre-season event running until the update, and it is worth knowing about because it makes raids genuinely more dangerous:
- Bosses spawn at 100% — every map, every raid.
- Cultists at roughly 45%.
- Boss trophy items are barred from the flea market, so they have to be used or held.
- Scavs are carrying cursed builds with extended magazines.
- Night raids are noticeably riskier as a result.
A 100% boss spawn on every map is not a bonus loot event. If you are running budget kits to finish tasks before the season, expect to lose them — go in expecting the boss to be home, because it is.
What is still unclear
Two things the coverage does not agree on. Both are worth waiting on rather than planning around:
- How long the season runs. One report puts it at 155 days from a preview interface; another says a minimum of 74 days. Those are not the same claim, and neither is from Battlestate directly.
- TarCoins. The name appears in some coverage as a seasonal currency, but the detailed reporting on the battle pass describes progression through TerraGroup documentation rather than a currency. Until the notes land, treat anything you read about buying seasonal progress with suspicion.
What to do on day one
- Decide before you click. Joining a season is opt-in and makes a separate character. Your main is safe either way, so there is no rush and no penalty for sitting the first week out and watching what the traits actually do.
- Finish anything time-limited on your main first. The pre-season event ends when the patch lands, and boss trophies you are holding become tradeable again.
- Read the trait list properly. They have to balance, so the choice is real. Pick the negative you can actually tolerate for months, not the one that sounds mildest.
- Do not buy anything promising seasonal progress. The pass is free and the progression comes out of raids.
Sources
Every claim above comes from one of these. Where they disagree, the guide says so.
- Forbes — Seasons update and wipe delayed until August (28 July 2026): the 3 August date, the end of automatic wipes, the task rework, new weapons, Blackout extended.
- PCGamesN — Tarkov is adding a battle pass, but you won’t have to pay: the free pass, TerraGroup documentation, trait examples.
- ixbt.games — Surprise event before Season 1 (30 July 2026): boss and cultist spawn rates, flea-barred trophies, cursed scav builds.
- Official Escape from Tarkov news — check here first once the patch notes are published.