Tarkov’s 2026 Roadmap is Kind of Meager

(Intro)

The 1.0 release of Tarkov has been with us since November, and since its launch, things have felt rather quiet from the end of BSG. For a while, there wasn’t a ton of communication from them about what to expect in 2026 for the game in terms of updates, patches, and what to expect next. As if right on queue, last week BSG released a roadmap for the year showcasing what we can look forward to. And to be brutally honest, upon initially looking at it, there isn’t a ton going on. Or at least, not as much as I and maybe others were expecting. There are a myriad of reasons why this might be the case which we’ll get into later, but for now, I figured even though I am late to this party, it’s still worth quickly going over the roadmap and seeing what’s coming that is exciting, concerning and everything else in between. This first year after the full release will be very important for Tarkov; it could be a make or break for the game as a whole.

(The actual roadmap)

Let’s take a look at the roadmap, which I didn’t think we would be getting anytime soon. For some reason I expected it closer to the beginning of spring, but it’s a pleasant surprise, nonetheless. The roadmap is essentially broken into three sections, with quarter one and quarter two being the main focus of the map so far. Within quarter we can expect technical improvements across the game in various locations, the introduction of DLSS 4.5, sound effects for dropped magazines, balancing and quality of life changes directly from the community, and a reworked reconnection system for active raids. It seems like the entire year and especially quarter two which we’ll get to in a second here, is primarily focused on technical and backend improvements, which I am honestly completely fine with. I said this in a previous video, but if the first year of EFT post 1.0 is fixing a lot of different elements about the game to just improve the experience as a whole, if that means we see few additions to the game like guns and gear, we have plenty for the time being, that stuff can certainly take a back seat. From the Q1 list, the most beneficial change if they can nail it would most likely be the technical improvements to task functionality. What that exactly means, who knows. But I could imagine that means either fixing when sometimes quests take forever to either complete or be given to you after you hit accept. Which is a quirk that has been around for a while. But the one change on here that’s the most interesting to me personally is the changes to weapon animations while moving. I wonder which perspective is going to be affected more. The first-person animations for how it looks on our end, or the third-person animations for how others see us when walking around. Normally, these kinds of changes affect both, but for some reason I see this impacting first person more. What else could you change or add to third person to make it more immersive or engaging to look at, you know?

But those are all mainly for quarter one of this year. Not a ton; not nearly as much as I would’ve guessed, but it’s the first year of support post launch. Quarter two on the other hand, is also more technical and backend changes, with a large event also being added to the game too. Including a new boss; no idea who it will be, where they will be located, or if they will become a permanent member of the game. I’d have to imagine that a boss will most likely stick around after the event is over. I only hope it’s not another modified version of an already existing boss. More backend adjustments to help with match loading times as well as improve the performance of the game outside of raids. This is something if they can nail; it will be profoundly impactful. The game outside of raids has become so bloated with items and menus that it sometimes takes forever to just build a kit. So, any progress to improve loading and how sluggish the menus will be very much appreciated. Improved culling systems in raid for better performance, even more balancing from the community, and more cosmetic items for PMCs.

And that’s it for the road map; the third panel just says more to come later in 2026. Which again, looking back at the roadmap itself, there isn’t a ton in terms of sheer volume of changes or additions. But what is on here if it all goes smoothly, could have a hugely positive impact across the game. It also wasn’t all the information we got about what to expect going forward this year.

(Nikita’s additions)

Nikita took to Twitter to add some extra insight into what else will be coming later in 2026. Going quickly here he mentions seasonal characters but not until quarter three of this year, they are currently addressing long match times as we speak, they are constantly working on anti-cheat stuff so expect more adjustments on that pretty much every update, The culling changes in quarter two are part of a major optimization overhaul alongside huge vegetation optimizations coming later as well, Unique edge of darkness clothing coming in quarter two or possibly earlier, the icebreaker event being in Q2 is because it’s a huge event and they want to get it right, so they’re doing a lot of testing around the event to make sure it releases smoothly and that FSR4 is currently in early stages of being added. Always appreciate when more information and context is added, but I really do wish he would relay this information on other platforms. I don’t have Twitter, never will, so having to see this stuff through other means mainly the Tarkov subreddit has always been kind of annoying. Regardless, at the very least there is a little more planned for this year than just the roadmap, which is interesting why everything Nikita elaborated on wasn’t on the map, but I digress. It’s BSG we’re talking about; nothing about their communication has ever really made sense. But even with his addendum to the roadmap at least confirmed to be in the works, something about this still feels... off. And I’m not sure why.

(Am I crazy for thinking it feels sparce?)

Am I the only one who was hoping for a little more? I guess it really depends on this: all the optimization and backend adjustments, if they work as intended and do what they are supposed to do, things could feel drastically better across many different avenues of the game. From menus, to walking around on maps that suffer from framerate issues, there is a universe where these changes do have a substantial impact on the overall performance of the game. Not to mention if they can tackle loading times both getting in and out of raids, because recently, it has been awful how long I have to wait sometimes to even get back to the main menu. It’s only gotten worse overtime recently, so anything they can do to make it remotely better I am here for it. Again, I wasn’t expecting a ton of content or new guns and stuff, but I was expecting to see just a laundry list of optimization and performance changes. Who knows; maybe these broader statements about changing backend stuff encompass more than we think. We’ll just have to be patient and wait for things to start dropping and take it from there.

(Outro)

This roadmap has been out for a while by now, but I always find it interesting to read them and see what is in store for EFT going forward. Because again, we’re in 1.0 now; so, things are going to be released and paced a lot differently than they were previously. Because most of the content they wanted to get into the game is here, so now it’s about cleaning up the mess and trying to make the experience more seamless and smoother. Which is something they’ve been trying to do for a long time, so hopefully now that they can really focus on major optimizations, the game can start feeling better in places where it has been struggling for a long time. I just want Customs to run better man, is that too much to ask? Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to watch this video. Let me know down in the comment section below your thoughts on the roadmap for 2026, what you would like to see improved across the game and be sure to subscribe for more videos going over any planned updates for the game that we see ahead of time, that may or may not help the game in any meaningful way. I hope to see you in future ones.