Escape From Tarkov Softcore Update Eases Grind This Week

Escape from Tarkov will get a Softcore patch this week that reverses what’s left of the Hardcore wipe and adds a lot of changes, including reduced movement and recoil penalties, and faster progression and access to Flea Market, following players’ feedback on the state of the extraction shooter.

Escape from Tarkov is getting a Softcore Road to Release patch this week, most likely on October 8, according to Nikita Buyanov, CEO of Battlestate Games. The update eases progression and gunplay with reduced inertia and aimpunch, a higher carry weight limit, faster XP and skill gains, earlier Flea Market access, and denser high-value loot.

List of currently known Softcore patch changes:

• Decreased inertia up to 70%, depending on the sum of gear/items’ weight.
• Increased the character’s carry weight by 50%.
• New dog tag barter trades will be available at loyalty level 2 (specific trades are not yet specified).
• Reduced aimpunch by 60%.
• Increased the quantity and quality of items in areas with valuable item spaws (e.g., Marked Rooms).
• Increased the quantity of bag containers and stashes in locations.
• Added spawning of weapon cases and other types of cases in Marked Rooms.
• Colored access cards spawn more frequently in the Laboratory location.
• Players can trade all types of items at the Flea Market.
• The Flea Market is available from level 10.
• The minimum number of slots in the Flea Market is 5.
• Increased skill progression speed.
• Increased experience multiplier per raid completion.
• Hardcore wipe achievements are no longer available for completion.

The Softcore patch is also a live test for balance and core gameplay mechanics. It remains unclear which of these changes will make to the 1.0 release.

Tarkov’s Hardcore wipe

In July, the Hardcore wipe cut most quests, turned off the Flea Market, and limited early play to Customs and Factory locations, while other maps required in-raid transit. Boss spawns and repair/insurance costs went up, while many crafts were nerfed, and hideout and trader progression slowed.

The community reaction to Hardcore was controversial, and Tarkov had the worst Twitch stats in years (it’s the only way to evaluate the game’s popularity and state, since it’s not released on Steam yet). Battlestate has quickly reverted some changes, while others were gradually scaled back over the last few months.

The Softcore patch is scheduled to arrive this week, while the 1.0 version of Escape from Tarkov is set for release on November 15, 2025. The Steam store page of the game is already live. The upcoming update refocused the game’s progression loop on a more traditional approach before release, a shift widely welcomed by both content creators and the community.

Escape from Tarkov is a hardcore PvPvE extraction shooter on PC (Steam and standalone launcher) by Battlestate Games. The studio bills it as a highly realistic military simulator, a “Hazardous Environment Combat Simulator” (HECS), and it’s been in beta since July 2017.