Season 1 — Kord Breach, patch 1.1.0.0 — is the biggest Escape from Tarkov update since 1.0, and like every big Tarkov drop it landed with a wall of launch problems: launchers stuck at 0%, "The Game Cannot Be Started," endless Awaiting Session Start, and connection errors the second the servers flicker back on. If you've been staring at a spinner for the last hour, you're not alone and your account isn't broken.
Here's the part that actually saves you time: most of what's happening right now is server-side overload, not a problem on your PC. This guide splits the two cleanly — what you just have to wait out, and the handful of things you can genuinely fix yourself — so you stop reinstalling the entire game for no reason. Every step is checked against Battlestate Games' official posts (the official @tarkov channel and the Escape from Tarkov support page).
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Quick answer: how to fix Tarkov 1.1.0.0 not launching
TL;DR — Tarkov Season 1 (1.1.0.0) won't launch or connect: On launch day this is usually BSG's servers being hammered, not your rig — the fix for connection/queue errors is to wait and retry, not reinstall. Work down this list: (1) confirm the update actually finished installing (BSG's rollout was a 6–8 hour window and can extend); (2) fully close and restart the launcher and run it as administrator; (3) for a stuck download, hit pause → wait 10s → resume, or use the launcher's Settings → Repair / integrity check; (4) for "Awaiting Session Start," connection lost, or auth/BackendError — that's server load: leave the queue, wait a few minutes, re-queue, and check @tarkov for status; (5) if the client won't start at all, verify game files and, if you launch via Steam, make sure the BSG launcher is present in your Steam library; (6) clear the usual local blockers — flush DNS, disable VPN, allow Tarkov through your firewall, update GPU drivers. If half the playerbase is posting the same error, it's a BSG problem and patience beats troubleshooting.
Fast facts to set expectations:
- The install window was long by design. BSG scheduled the 1.1.0.0 rollout for 6 to 8 hours, "but may be extended if required" — the game is fully offline during that time.
- This is a season launch, not a wipe. Tarkov 1.0 replaced traditional wipes with a seasonal model: your permanent character stays, and Season 1 adds an opt-in seasonal character. Launch-day server load is the same brutal rush either way.
- Tarkov is PC-only. There's no console version, so anything you read about "console fixes" doesn't apply — every fix below is a PC/launcher fix.
Is Escape from Tarkov actually down right now, or is it just me?
On a Season 1 launch, assume it's the servers first. Battlestate confirmed the rollout timing directly:
"We have started the installation of update 1.1.0.0 for #EscapefromTarkov. The installation will take between 6 and 8 hours, but may be extended if required. The game will be unavailable during this time." — Battlestate Games (@tarkov, official announcement)
That single post explains 90% of launch-day panic. During the install the game is intentionally unavailable — a launcher that won't connect at 9 a.m. isn't broken, the servers simply aren't open yet. And the moment they do open, tens of thousands of players slam them at once, which is why the first errors you'll see are queue and connection errors, not client crashes.
How to tell which side the problem is on:
- Everyone's posting the same thing (r/EscapefromTarkov's live thread, @tarkov, a third-party outage tracker) → server-side. Nothing to fix; wait and retry.
- Only you have the problem, friends are in raids → client-side. That's when the fixes below actually do something.
Check BSG's channels before you start uninstalling anything. Reinstalling the whole game to solve a server queue is the single most common launch-day time-waste.
Why won't Tarkov launch after the 1.1.0.0 update?
If the servers are up but your client won't start or won't finish updating, work through these in order — cheapest first:
- Confirm the patch finished. The launcher must show it's fully updated to the current build, not mid-download. A partial patch will refuse to start the game.
- Restart the launcher completely — close it from the system tray, not just the window — then reopen it. This alone clears a huge share of "stuck" states.
- Run the launcher as administrator. Right-click → Run as administrator. Permission issues are a classic cause of a launcher that opens but never starts the game.
- Fix a stuck download the right way. If the download hangs at a fixed % (30% is the infamous one on big patches), pause it, wait ~10 seconds, and resume. Servers are saturated on launch day, so a stalled chunk usually just needs a re-request rather than a full restart.
- Use the launcher's Repair / integrity check. In Settings, run the integrity/repair option so it re-downloads only the corrupted or missing files instead of the whole game.
- Check your free disk space. A near-full drive silently fails the unpack step at the end of a patch. Tarkov needs comfortable headroom — clear space and re-run the update.
Only after all of that fails should you consider a reinstall — and even then, reinstall the launcher first, not the whole game.
Tarkov stuck on "Awaiting Session Start" after the Season 1 update?
"Awaiting Session Start" is the launch-day error that panics people the most, and it's almost always not your fault. It means the client is waiting on the server to hand you a raid session — and on Season 1 launch day, those servers are queued to the roof.
What actually helps:
- Give it a couple of minutes, then back out. If it hangs well past the normal spawn-in time, leave the matching screen, wait, and re-queue. Repeatedly re-queuing into an overloaded matchmaker often just resets your place in line.
- Restart the launcher between attempts. A fresh launcher session re-authenticates cleanly and clears a stuck matchmaking state.
- Try a different map/region if you can. Some maps and server regions are less hammered than others in the first hours; switching can get you a session faster.
- Wait out the peak. The historical pattern on Tarkov launches is that "Awaiting Session Start" and connection errors ease within a few hours as BSG scales and stabilizes the servers. If it's game-wide, patience genuinely is the fix.
If it only happens to you while friends spawn in normally, treat it as client-side and run the universal checklist below (VPN off, firewall allowed, DNS flushed).
Connection lost, auth errors, and BackendError on launch day
Server-overload errors wear a few different faces — "connection lost," authentication/login failures, error code 0, or a generic BackendError — but on Season 1 launch day they share one cause and one fix: the servers are overwhelmed, so wait and retry. During Tarkov's 1.0 launch, players who couldn't get in were "met at the gate by auth errors and connection failed messages," and those who did get in hit widespread issues — that's the normal shape of a Tarkov mega-launch.
Do this, in order:
- Retry calmly, don't spam. Hammering the login button adds load and can push you further back. Wait 30–60 seconds between attempts.
- Restart the launcher to force a clean re-authentication.
- Rule out your own network with the universal checklist below — but only after confirming others are online, or you'll chase a problem that isn't yours.
If the auth/connection wall is game-wide, there is genuinely nothing to fix on your end. Check @tarkov for the "servers are stabilizing" post and come back.
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"The Game Cannot Be Started" or crashing on launch
This one is more likely to be client-side, so it's worth working through even when the servers are healthy:
- Verify / repair game files via the launcher's integrity check — a patch that unpacked badly will throw this immediately.
- If you launch through Steam, confirm the BSG launcher is actually present in your Steam library / steamapps folder. A missing or half-installed launcher is a common cause of "cannot be started" for Steam players.
- Update your GPU drivers. Big Tarkov patches frequently ship engine changes that clash with older drivers.
- Known driver conflict: several players traced post-update launch/crash issues to Nvidia's "Smooth Motion" feature — disabling Smooth Motion in the Nvidia app resolved it for them. If you're on Nvidia and crashing after the patch, try that before anything drastic.
- Run as administrator and allow the launcher and game through your firewall/antivirus — a blocked executable can present as an instant "cannot be started."
The universal Tarkov launch-day checklist
Whatever the exact error, these local fixes clear the most common self-inflicted blockers. Run them once and you've ruled out your own machine:
| Fix | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Run launcher as administrator | Grants the permissions a patch/install needs to write files |
| Restart launcher fully (from tray) | Clears stuck download, matchmaking, and auth states |
| Flush DNS (`ipconfig /flushdns`) | Fixes stale routing to BSG's servers after they move load around |
| Disable VPN | VPNs frequently break Tarkov's auth and matchmaking |
| Allow Tarkov through firewall/antivirus | An over-eager security suite can block the launcher outright |
| Update GPU drivers | Removes engine/driver conflicts introduced by the new build |
| Free up disk space | Prevents the unpack step from failing at the end of the patch |
Still broken after all of that?
If you've confirmed the servers are up, others are playing, you've verified files, run as admin, cleared network blockers, and it still won't launch — that's the point to escalate, not to keep reinstalling:
- Open a ticket at the official Escape from Tarkov support page with your exact error text and a screenshot.
- Reinstall the launcher (not the whole game) as a last resort before a full reinstall.
- Wait for a hotfix. BSG routinely ships a same-day or next-day hotfix after a mega-launch to patch the launch-blocking bugs — sometimes the real fix is on their end and simply hasn't shipped yet.
Once you're finally in, Season 1 starts you on a fresh seasonal character with nothing — and the early-game grind for keys, kit, and rouble liquidity is exactly where launch-week hours disappear.
Skip the fresh-start grind and get straight into the good raids:
- Instant Tarkov Roubles — liquidity for keys, kit, and the flea the moment you're back online.
- Tarkov Leveling Boost — skip the painful early seasonal levels and unlock the traders that matter.
- Kappa & Quest Boost — a head start on the reworked Season 1 Collector path.
FAQ
Why won't Escape from Tarkov launch after the 1.1.0.0 update? On Season 1 launch day it's almost always the servers, not your PC. BSG scheduled a 6–8 hour install window (which can extend), and the moment the servers open they're overloaded — so connection, queue, and "Awaiting Session Start" errors are expected. Confirm the patch fully installed, restart the launcher, run it as administrator, and only troubleshoot your own machine if other players are online while you aren't.
Is Escape from Tarkov down right now, or is it just me? Check @tarkov and the r/EscapefromTarkov live thread. If lots of players report the same error, it's server-side and the fix is to wait and retry. If only you have it while friends are in raids, it's client-side — flush DNS, disable your VPN, allow Tarkov through your firewall, and verify your game files.
How do I fix "Awaiting Session Start" in Tarkov? On launch day it means the server hasn't handed you a raid session yet because matchmaking is overloaded. Back out of the queue, wait a minute or two, restart the launcher for a clean re-authentication, and re-queue — try a different map or region if you can. If it only happens to you, run the universal checklist (VPN off, firewall allowed, files verified).
How long did the Tarkov Season 1 (1.1.0.0) update take to install? BSG announced a 6 to 8 hour installation window for patch 1.1.0.0, and said it "may be extended if required," with the game fully unavailable during the install. Plan around that — a launcher that won't connect during the window isn't broken; the servers simply aren't open yet.
Do I need to reinstall Escape from Tarkov to fix the Season 1 launch problems? Almost never. Reinstalling the whole (very large) game does nothing for a server queue or a launch-day connection error. Try the launcher's Repair/integrity check first, restart and run as administrator, and clear local network blockers. Only reinstall the launcher (not the whole game) as a genuine last resort after everything else fails.
Is Season 1 a wipe? Will I lose my character? No — Tarkov 1.0 moved away from traditional wipes to a seasonal model. Your permanent character persists; Season 1 (Kord Breach) adds an opt-in seasonal character that resets at season end. The launch-day server crush is the same either way, but you're not losing your main progression.
