Escape From Tarkov developer Battlestate Games has revealed that “softcore changes” are set to arrive in the game very soon. The exact nature of the upcoming Escape From Tarkov update remains a mystery, with a full list of changes on the way.
Earlier this year, Escape From Tarkov announced it’s finally leaving early access, setting its release date for November 15, 2025. Since then, the game has been gearing up for that massive milestone, with a Steam release also on the way. Given that Escape From Tarkov has always been restricted to its proprietary launcher throughout its early access stint, it could mark the start of a big period of growth for the game.
Escape From Tarkov 'Softcore Changes' Coming on October 8
In a post on X, Battlestate Games studio head Nikita Buyanov revealed that a set of “softcore changes” are on the way for the popular extraction shooter, with an approximate date of October 8. He then revealed in a follow-up post that the list of changes will be “pretty big,” although few specifics have been provided at this point.
It was only a few months ago that Escape From Tarkov released its brutal hardcore wipe, which made the game far more difficult, even for experienced players. It stands to reason, then, that this softcore update will swing the game in the other direction, as something of a balance test before Escape From Tarkov releases into 1.0. While not every change from this softcore update may remain in the main game, it’s an interesting experiment to see what works and what doesn’t.
As November 15 approaches, Battlestate Games has been giving players a better idea of what they can expect from the initial full release of Escape From Tarkov. Just recently, the developer confirmed that there are plans for four story endings to Escape From Tarkov, although only a few players will be able to get the best one. The studio also plans to continue updating the game way beyond its November 15, 2025, launch.