The First Descendant launched globally on July 2, 2024, and Nexon’s free-to-play looter shooter has shipped 7 seasonal updates since — beginning with Season 1: Invasion in August 2024 and running through the current Season 4, Episode 1: The Great Clash. The cadence has evolved sharply: Season 2 stretched across an unusually long 245-day window, then Season 3 broke into four shorter ~90–106 day “episode” drops, and Season 4 has carried that episodic model forward. This is every The First Descendant season with verified dates, durations, and the stats most other lists miss.
- Total Seasons
- 7 (incl. 4 S3 episodes)
- Shortest
- S3 Ep1, Ep2 & Ep4 · 91d
- Longest
- S2: Void Chaser · 245d
- Average
- ~120 days
How The First Descendant Seasons Work
The First Descendant runs on a two-tier seasonal model. A Season is the overarching narrative arc (Invasion, Void Chaser, the multi-part Season 3, and now Season 4) that brings a new villain, a major systems update, and the season’s flagship Descendants. An Episode is a sub-drop inside a Season — Season 3 alone shipped four episodes (Breakthrough, Assemble, Unveiled Truth, Dimensional Clash), each with its own Battle Pass cycle, new Ultimate Descendant, and themed activities.
Each episode includes a Premium Season Pass costing 500 Caliber (~$9.99 USD). The pass unlocks a tiered reward track of Legendary Descendant skins, weapon blueprints, cosmetics, and up to 300 Caliber refunded on completion. A free track runs alongside it. Unclaimed pass tiers expire the moment the next episode launches — Nexon does not offer a buy-back window.
What carries over between seasons: every Descendant unlocked, all owned weapons and modules, your Mastery Rank, claimed cosmetics, and any Caliber purchased. What resets: the Battle Pass track itself, seasonal challenge progress, and limited-time event currencies.
Next The First Descendant season
| Season | Start | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Next season (unannounced) | — | Not announced |
For the live end-date timer see the The First Descendant hub. Dates above come from the same data and refresh with it.
All The First Descendant Seasons: Complete Dates Table
Every The First Descendant season and episode in launch order, newest first. Dates are taken from Nexon’s official patch notes and the in-game season panel; durations are end-to-end day counts.
| Season # | Name | Start Date | End Date | Duration (Days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S4 Ep1 | Season 4, Episode 1: The Great Clash Current | Aug 20, 2026 | Open | — |
| S3 Ep4 | Season 3, Episode 4: Dimensional Clash | May 21, 2026 | Aug 20, 2026 | 91 |
| S3 Ep3 | Season 3, Episode 3: Unveiled Truth | Feb 5, 2026 | May 21, 2026 | 106 |
| S3 Ep2 | Season 3, Episode 2: Assemble | Nov 6, 2025 | Feb 5, 2026 | 91 |
| S3 Ep1 | Season 3, Episode 1: Breakthrough | Aug 7, 2025 | Nov 6, 2025 | 91 |
| S2 | Season 2: Void Chaser | Dec 5, 2024 | Aug 7, 2025 | 245 |
| S1 | Season 1: Invasion | Aug 29, 2024 | Dec 5, 2024 | 98 |
Season 1: Invasion (August – December 2024)
Season 1 launched on August 29, 2024, roughly two months after The First Descendant’s July 2 worldwide debut. Invasion ran for 98 days and introduced the first major post-launch villain arc, the Ultimate Descendant Ultimate Valby, the Hagios region expansion, and the Void Erosion Purge endgame activity. Nexon used this cycle to stabilise core systems and respond to early launch feedback — most notably the grind reductions that landed in the mid-season patch.
Season 2: Void Chaser (December 2024 – August 2025)
Season 2: Void Chaser is the longest cycle in The First Descendant’s history at 245 days — nearly two and a half times any other season. Launched December 5, 2024, it ran straight through to August 7, 2025 and bundled together what would become a sweeping rewrite of the game’s combat and progression. Highlights: the Karel storyline kickoff, Ultimate Descendant Hailey and Ultimate Keelan, the Inversion Reinforcement system, and the heavily reworked Void Intercept Battles. The extended runtime was Nexon’s deliberate response to player feedback about content burn-rate — but it also meant Season 2’s Battle Pass had the longest grind window in the game’s history.
Season 3 (August 2025 – August 2026) — the four-episode era
With Season 3, Nexon split the format entirely. Instead of one long arc, Season 3 was delivered as four episodes, each roughly a quarter of a year long, each with its own Battle Pass and new Ultimate Descendant:
- Episode 1: Breakthrough (Aug 7 – Nov 6, 2025, 91 days) — kicked off the four-episode model with Ultimate Bunny and the first taste of the Karel-arc endgame.
- Episode 2: Assemble (Nov 6, 2025 – Feb 5, 2026, 91 days) — introduced Ultimate Sharen and expanded the Mastery Lab.
- Episode 3: Unveiled Truth (Feb 5 – May 21, 2026, 106 days) — slightly extended; shipped the Onslaught Mode beta in April 2026 and Ultimate Lepic.
- Episode 4: Dimensional Clash (May 21 – Aug 20, 2026, 91 days) — the full Onslaught Mode launch, Ultimate Esiemo (Black Detonator), two new Ultimate Weapons, and a complete Farming Loop overhaul. It was the final episode of the Season 3 arc, closing on August 20, 2026 as Season 4 went live.
Season 4 (August 2026 – ongoing) — The Great Clash
Season 4, Episode 1: The Great Clash launched August 20, 2026 with Update 1.4.0, delivering the payoff the Karel arc had been building toward: a Vulgus warship descends over Albion, and the Descendants storm the new Mega Dungeon, “Karel’s Mothership” — the largest dungeon Nexon has built. The episode adds the new shotgun Descendant Raven (rapid repositioning plus a summonable Raven Form), the roguelite Trials mode, and debuts Transcendent Weapons — an 11-weapon tier that sits above Ultimate Weapons on the gear ladder with interchangeable effects. Nexon has not yet confirmed the episode’s end date; on the ~91-day episodic cadence it is estimated to close in late November 2026. The current The First Descendant season timer tracks the live countdown.
Season Duration Analysis
Longest and shortest seasons
| Rank | Season | Days |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Longest) | Season 2: Void Chaser | 245 |
| 2 | Season 3 Ep3: Unveiled Truth | 106 |
| 3 | Season 1: Invasion | 98 |
| 4 (tied) | Season 3 Ep1, Ep2 & Ep4 | 91 |
Season 2’s 245-day run wasn’t a mistake — Nexon publicly acknowledged that early post-launch content was being burned through faster than they could ship the next major arc. The Void Chaser window was extended to give the studio room to retool the Karel storyline, rebuild progression systems, and stand up the episodic format that Season 3 and Season 4 now use. Strip Void Chaser out and the average season duration across the remaining five entries is 95.4 days — almost exactly a quarter.
Average season length
| Era | Seasons | Average Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 — launch year | S1, S2 (S2 partial) | 171.5 days |
| 2025 — Season 3 begins | S2 (end), S3 Ep1, S3 Ep2 (start) | ~94 days per episode |
| 2026 (YTD) | S3 Ep3, S3 Ep4, S4 Ep1 (in progress) | ~98 days (Ep3 & Ep4 completed) |
Across all six completed seasons, the mean is ~120 days. Strip out the Season 2 outlier and the figure drops to roughly 95 days — confirming the modern target of a roughly three-month episodic cadence.
Are The First Descendant seasons getting shorter?
Yes, by design. The shift from monolithic seasons (S1, S2) to the four-episode Season 3 model deliberately tightened cadence from “one major drop every 6–8 months” to “one new Ultimate Descendant + Battle Pass every quarter.” More frequent meta refreshes, smaller per-drop content packages, and a Battle Pass cycle that aligns with seasonal grind tolerance.
Season 4 has carried the episodic model forward: The Great Clash opened with a Mega Dungeon, the new Descendant Raven, and the Transcendent Weapons system, and whether the format holds for the rest of Season 4 is not yet confirmed. Exact Episode 2 timing is tracked on the current The First Descendant season timer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many The First Descendant seasons have there been?
The First Descendant has had 7 seasonal drops since launch: Season 1: Invasion (August 2024), Season 2: Void Chaser (December 2024), the four episodes of Season 3 — Breakthrough, Assemble, Unveiled Truth, and Dimensional Clash — and the newly launched Season 4, Episode 1: The Great Clash (August 2026). Six have completed; the open interval is shown in the table and tracked on the The First Descendant timer.
How long do The First Descendant seasons last?
Modern The First Descendant episodes run 91 to 106 days (roughly three months each) under the episodic model. Earlier seasons were significantly longer: Season 1 ran 98 days, and Season 2: Void Chaser ran a record 245 days. Across all 6 completed seasons, the average length is about 120 days — drop the Season 2 outlier and the figure is ~95 days.
What was the longest The First Descendant season?
The longest season was Season 2: Void Chaser, which ran for 245 days from December 5, 2024 to August 7, 2025. Nexon extended the window deliberately to retool the Karel storyline and build the episodic Season 3 format. It is more than twice the length of any other season.
Sources: Nexon’s official The First Descendant patch notes and season announcements at tfd.nexon.com, cross-referenced with our season records database. Last updated August 21, 2026.