Escape from Tarkov launch times and release date for 1.0
After a lengthy eight-year beta the Escape from Tarkov 1.0 release date is finally upon us, and after such a long wait, I'm here counting down the final hours with launch times carved up by region. The grandaddy of extraction shooters will make the leap tomorrow, November 15, through Battlestate Games' usual client at the same time it debuts on Steam.
The only bummer is you'll have to buy Tarkov again if you want all of the usual Valve integrations, but if you aren't worried about the friends list synchronization, achievements, or Steam profile activity tracking, then you can stick with the same old client.
Whether you're planning to buy Tarkov again or you're a first time player preparing for launch, it's worth referencing Battlestate's FAQ for a rundown on linking your account and character progression. For those of you that are raid ready, here's when you can play Escape from Tarkov across timezones.
Escape from Tarkov release date and and launch times
Escape from Tarkov 1.0 launches on Saturday, November 15 at 3 am PST and will be available through Steam or the Battlestate client. There's a few hours difference between when Steam says the game unlocks and what the official Discord has listed, but the earlier Steam time may reflect something like a client update and not when the servers open.
With that said, I'm using the time listed in Battlestate's Discord. The Steam time is earlier by three hours.
- 3 am PST November 15 (Los Angeles)
- 6 am EST November 15 (New York)
- 8 am BRT November 15 (São Paulo)
- 11 am GMT November 15 (London)
- 12 pm CET November 15 (Berlin)
- 10 pm AEDT November 15 (Sydney)
- 12 am NZDT November 16 (Auckland)
If your timezone isn't listed here, just visit this premade calendar for a handy tool that lets you plug in your city. It does all the annoying time and date math for you.
Escape from Tarkov 1.0 countdown timer
Tarkov TV broadcast times
If you're looking to kill some time before the servers go live, then a special release broadcast of Tarkov TV begins at 12 am PST on November 15. Coincidentally, it's the same timing Steam seems to be using. Not too big a difference, but here's what that looks like across timezones:
- 12 am PST November 15 (Los Angeles)
- 3 am EST November 15 (New York)
- 5 am BRT November 15 (São Paulo)
- 8 am GMT November 15 (London)
- 9 am CET November 15 (Berlin)
- 7 pm AEDT November 15 (Sydney)
- 9 pm NZDT November 15 (Auckland)
You can watch the broadcast on Twitch, and I'm assuming it'll share a few more details on the Tarkov Twitch drops scheduled to begin on the same day.
Is there preloading for Escape from Tarkov 1.0?
Preloading for Escape from Tarkov is available now through Steam, but it sounds like it's not the only download you'll need in order to play when servers go live. The Steam preload is a little over 33 GB without the launch day patches.
It's a pretty standard approach for live service games on Steam that launch a third-party client to play. You download the bulk of it now, then update with everyone else when the patch is live through the launcher.