Is Escape from Tarkov down?
Yes, Escape from Tarkov is down right now because the developers have taken the servers offline to deploy update 1.0.0.2 on December 1. The maintenance window began at 5 AM GMT / 12 AM EST, which is when live game services were disabled and players were automatically disconnected or prevented from logging in.
During this period the backend infrastructure, matchmaking, and in‑raid systems are all stopped so that Battlestate Games can apply code changes, database updates, and server-side optimizations safely, without risking data corruption or raid desync.
For players, this means any attempt to start the launcher, authenticate, or join a raid will either fail outright or hang during connection checks until maintenance is fully completed. It does not help to restart the client, reinstall the game, or troubleshoot your internet connection while the servers are intentionally offline, because the issue is on the game’s side and not on your hardware or ISP.
If an outage tracking site or social discussions show a large spike in reports around this exact time window, that is simply reflecting the same planned maintenance rather than a new, separate error.
Many players confuse this kind of scheduled downtime with unexpected crashes, but the key difference is that Battlestate announced the outage window and provided specific start times in advance. Extended maintenance like this is common around major patches and early 1.0 updates, as the studio needs more time to push content, fix launch issues, and stabilize servers after a difficult initial release period. So if you are seeing errors now, the safest assumption is that the game being down is intentional and temporary, not a ban or a problem unique to your account.
When will Escape from Tarkov Maintenance End?
Battlestate Games has stated that the installation of update 1.0.0.2 is expected to take about 6 hours, which puts the earliest estimated end time at roughly 11 AM GMT / 6 AM EST on December 1. This is a target duration, not a hard promise, so players should treat 6 hours as the minimum length of downtime and understand that the studio may extend the maintenance if tests reveal new problems or if extra fixes are being pushed at the last minute.
In practice, maintenance for large patches can end in three ways: it may finish close to the 6‑hour mark, be extended by a few extra hours, or be brought online in stages, where login returns first and some related services follow slightly later.
When the work is done, Battlestate usually confirms the end of maintenance through official channels and players will see the server status change back to online, with raids and matchmaking becoming available again. Until that confirmation appears, it is normal for the game to remain inaccessible even if a few players report intermittent success getting to menus or partially logging in.
If you are planning your play session, the best approach is to wait until after the 6‑hour window has fully passed, then check an official social channel for a clear “servers are up” message before opening the launcher. Trying to force reconnections every few minutes during maintenance can be frustrating and will not speed up the process, because all the key services stay locked while builds are deployed and tested.
Website and account center downtime
Along with the in‑game servers, Battlestate has also scheduled downtime for external services: the official Escape from Tarkov websites and the Battlestate Games Account Center are planned to be unavailable from 6 AM GMT / 1 AM EST to 8 AM GMT / 3 AM EST on December 1. This separate 2‑hour window overlaps with the main game maintenance but is slightly shorter, and it affects actions such as viewing news posts on the official site, managing linked accounts, editing profile details, or making new purchases through the account system.
During this web outage, even basic tasks like resetting passwords, checking your edition ownership, or redeeming certain services may not work, so error messages or blank pages on the official site are expected. The web services are typically brought back up once the back‑end changes are applied and verified, but it is normal for the game itself to remain offline a bit longer while full gameplay testing is completed.
What players should do now?
While the servers are down, there is no technical fix on the player side, so the focus should be on waiting until Battlestate confirms that maintenance is over. You can use the downtime to review patch information, plan new builds, or catch up on community discussions about upcoming content and balance changes that are expected with the 1.0.0.2 update.
Once an official post states that servers are live again, restart your launcher, let it download any remaining files, and then log in—if connection errors still appear after that point, they are more likely to be post‑patch server load issues rather than continued maintenance.
Disclaimer
This article summarizes publicly available information and official announcements from Battlestate Games. Server maintenance times are subject to change, and players should always check official channels for the most accurate and up-to-date status information.
