Battlestate Games is preparing to roll out a new seasonal system for Escape from Tarkov, significantly altering the gameplay experience. Nikita Buyanov, head of Battlestate Games, recently shared more details about the upcoming feature.
Under the new system, players will be able to create seasonal characters who will start fresh, mirroring the game’s traditional full wipes. A crucial aspect clarified by Buyanov is that regular PMC operators and seasonal characters will not participate in the same raids; they will have separate matchmaking queues.
Buyanov also provided examples of unique modifiers and features that players can expect in these seasonal modes. These include distinct gameplay alterations such as “No Flea Market” (removing the in-game player-driven trading hub), “Open Flea Market,” “Friendly Scavs,” or even “Scav Wars.” The developers also plan to introduce lore-based seasons and unique seasonal quests to keep the experience engaging.
“[A season] will be a separate game mode for those who want to experience everything related to wipes: starting from scratch along with everyone and gradually progressing further. Seasons will have unique modifiers, for example, ‘No Flea Market,’ ‘Open Flea Market,’ ‘Friendly Scavs,’ ‘Scav War,’ etc. Lore-based seasons; unique seasonal quests and all that.”
Furthermore, seasonal characters will have access to an RPG-style system of buffs and debuffs. Players can choose to make their personal seasonal journey more hardcore by selecting specific debuffs, which will grant them corresponding bonuses.
“Also, your seasonal character will have a set of RPG-style buffs and debuffs that you choose before the start of the season (you can make it truly hardcore for yourself personally, while receiving good bonuses for it). This is just part of the seasonal character’s features. We want to make the system interesting. More information will appear later.”
Buyanov emphasized that these are just some of the planned features, with developers aiming to make the system as interesting as possible. More information is expected to be revealed later.