The last DayZ server wipe on official servers came with update 1.30 and the Badlands expansion on October 15, 2026: a full wipe across all platforms. Bohemia hasn’t announced the next one. It announces wipes in the update article, usually alongside a big stable release, so watch the experimental phase for the next hint. Community servers are different: the owner decides when to wipe. Below: every official wipe since 2021, how to read the signs for the next one, and how to update and wipe your own server without losing the world by accident.
When is the next DayZ server wipe? (2026)
As of October 27, 2026, no next wipe date has been announced. The most recent official server wipe happened on October 15, 2026, with update 1.30, and before that Bohemia announced a full wipe for the 1.29 stable build, which went live on April 8, 2026. Bohemia wipes with big updates, not on a fixed calendar, and announces it in the update article or the status report before it.
The pattern that helps you guess:
- Experimental first. Each update runs on the experimental branch on PC before it goes stable.
- Stable 4 to 6 weeks later. That’s Bohemia’s own rule of thumb from its February 2026 status report.
- The wipe goes with stable. When an update has a wipe, it happens on the stable release day across official servers.
So when the next experimental build appears in Bohemia’s Steam news, read the article for the word “wipe”. If it’s there, the wipe lands with the stable release roughly a month or so later.
DayZ official server wipe history
Bohemia has wiped its official servers with a handful of updates since 2021, but not with every update; it said in 2021 it wouldn’t. Some wipes cleared everything, some only the map. Here are the wipes Bohemia announced in its update posts:
| Date | Update | What was wiped | Community servers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 2026 | 1.30 + Badlands | Full wipe, all platforms | Owner’s choice |
| Apr 8, 2026 | 1.29 stable | Full wipe announced for the stable release (Feb 2026 status report) | Owner’s choice |
| Aug 14, 2025 | 1.29 experimental | Experimental servers and characters only | Not affected |
| Feb 25, 2025 | 1.27 | Full wipe, all platforms: all maps and characters | Owner’s choice |
| Oct 15, 2024 | Frostline expansion | Official servers wiped after the loot economy went regional | Bohemia recommended a wipe |
| Nov 7, 2023 | 1.23 | Both maps wiped; characters and the loot they carried kept | Owner’s choice |
| May 23, 2023 | 1.21 | Characters and server persistence files | “Not mandatory” |
| Jul 2021 | 1.13 | Complete wipe: characters, items, vehicles, bases | “At their own discretion” |
The DayZ server wipe 2025: the official wipe of 2025 came with update 1.27 on February 25. Bohemia called it a full wipe on all platforms, every map and every character. The other 2025 wipe was on the experimental branch only, in August, to test a new loot economy.
Before the 1.13 wipe, Bohemia boosted helicopter crash events with high-tier loot on official servers for the days leading up to it. So if crash sites suddenly seem everywhere, a wipe may be close.
Do community servers wipe when official servers do?
No. A community server only wipes when its owner deletes the server’s storage. Bohemia’s wipe announcements apply to official servers. It said community owners can decide “at their own discretion” in 2021, and “not mandatory for community servers” in 2023. Still, a big update is a good reason to consider it:
- Loot or map changes. When Frostline made the loot economy regional, Bohemia recommended community owners wipe too. A world saved under the old economy can keep old loot around for a long time.
- New mods. Some mods ask for a fresh start. Community Framework’s Workshop page says to wipe before installing it.
- Your players want one. A wipe resets everyone to equal. Many communities announce a date and wipe with the update.
Keeping the world through an update is fine too. If the server starts and plays normally after updating, nothing forces a wipe.
How to update a DayZ server
Updating a DayZ server uses the same SteamCMD command that installed it: app_update 223350 for stable, 1042420 for experimental. Stop the server properly first, back up the mission folder, update, update your mods, then start and check the log. Players can’t join until the server is on their build.
- Shut down gracefully. Use the restart countdown in
messages.xmlor your RCon tool, not a hard kill. Bohemia warns that a hard stop can damage characters and stored data. - Back up the mission folder, including
storage_1(the number followsinstanceId), plusserverDZ.cfg. - Run the update:
steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\dayzserver +login your_steam_name +app_update 223350 +quitOn Linux it’s the same with
steamcmd.sh. Bohemia’s Linux guide puts this in anupdate.shthat systemd runs before every start, so a restart is also an update. - Update every mod with the same
+workshop_download_item 221100 <id>lines you installed them with, and copy any new.bikeyfiles intokeys. Details: how to add mods to a DayZ server. - Check the mission files. Bohemia publishes the official mission folders on GitHub (DayZ-Central-Economy), updated with the game. If an update changes loot or adds items, compare your edited
types.xmland otherdbfiles with the new versions and copy the changes across. - Start and read the RPT log. A clean start means you’re done.
Want to test an update before it’s stable? Install the experimental server (1042420) into a separate folder with its own ports and instanceId. Bohemia says the experimental phase exists partly so modders and server owners can check compatibility in time.
On DayZ server hosting, steps 3 and 6 are one action: stop the server and start it again, and it updates to the latest DayZ build on start. The backups and mod checks still apply.
“Server version doesn’t match the local version”
This error means the server and the player are on different builds of DayZ. With forceSameBuild = 1, Bohemia’s default, the server only lets in clients on its exact build. It nearly always shows up right after an update, when one side has updated and the other hasn’t.
| Situation | Fix |
|---|---|
| DayZ just updated on Steam, the server didn’t | Update the server and restart it |
| The server updated, a player didn’t | The player restarts Steam so DayZ updates |
| Player is on experimental, the server on stable (or the other way round) | Both switch to the same branch |
Setting forceSameBuild = 0 switches the check off, but it doesn’t make the builds match. Updating is the real fix.
How to wipe a DayZ server
To wipe your own DayZ server, stop it, back up, and delete the mission’s storage folder: mpmissions/<your mission>/storage_1. On the next start the server builds a fresh one and spawns the map’s full loot (InitialSpawn is 100%). That’s a full wipe: characters, bases, vehicles, stashes and the time of day are gone.
- Announce it. A date and time gives players a last weekend with their gear.
- Stop the server gracefully.
- Copy
storage_1somewhere safe. This is your way back if the vote changes. - Delete
storage_1from the mission folder. - Start the server. The first start takes longer while it spawns the whole map.
Not ready to delete it? The server keeps its own rolling backups too: by default one every 60 minutes, the last 12 (backup_period and backup_count in cfgeconomycore.xml). Those protect against corruption, not against a wipe you regret, so keep your own copy as well.
Running more than one server on a machine? Each one has its own storage folder numbered by instanceId. Make sure you delete the right one.
Update and wipe problems
Most trouble after a DayZ update traces back to three things: mods that haven’t caught up, mission files from the old version, or a server that never actually updated. Check the RPT log first.
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Server won’t start after an update | A mod not yet updated for the new build | Take mods off the end of -mod= until it starts; wait for that mod’s update |
| Players kicked with a signature error | A mod updated with a new key | Copy the new .bikey into keys |
| New items from the update never spawn | Your types.xml is from the old version |
Merge in the new entries from Bohemia’s mission files |
| Everything came back after a wipe | The wrong storage folder was deleted | Check instanceId; delete the matching storage_ folder |
| Bases vanished after an update | Corrupted persistence files, which storageAutoFix replaces with empty ones |
Restore your backup of storage_1 |
FAQ
Do DayZ official servers wipe every update?
No. Bohemia said in 2021 it wouldn’t wipe with every update, and it hasn’t. Recent full wipes came with 1.27 (Feb 2025) and 1.30 (Oct 2026), and Bohemia announced one for the 1.29 stable release in 2026.
Does a wipe delete my character?
A full wipe does. Some wipes only reset the map: the 1.23 wipe in 2023 kept characters and the loot they carried. Bohemia says which kind in the announcement.
Is the new DayZ update out?
The current stable update is 1.30, released October 15, 2026 together with the DayZ Badlands expansion and its map, Nasdara.
How do I find the DayZ server wipe date?
Read Bohemia’s update and status-report posts in DayZ’s Steam news. For a community server, check its Discord or the message of the day. The owner sets the date.
Will updating my server wipe it?
No. Updating replaces the game files, not the storage folder. Your world only goes if you delete storage_1, or if a mod or file problem corrupts it, which is why you back up first.
How long does a DayZ server update take?
The download is usually the slow part, and it depends on the size of the update and of your mods. Starting a freshly wiped server takes longer than a normal restart, because the whole map’s loot spawns at once.
Skip the setup: updates and wipes in one sentence
On a hosted server none of this needs SteamCMD. With DayZ server hosting on GameTeam, stopping and starting the server updates it to the latest DayZ build, Backup Now saves the world (and you can lock a backup so it’s never rotated out), and the copilot can put nightly backups on a schedule. Or ask the AI copilot: “back up the server, then wipe it for 1.30 and restart”. It makes the backup, clears storage_1 and restarts. If the server won’t come back after an update, it reads the RPT log and names the mod or file that broke. You pay per GB of RAM with unlimited slots, from $0.49/GB a week.
Setting up a server from scratch? Start with the DayZ dedicated server guide, then tune it with DayZ server settings explained.