A developer (account "brammflakes") wrote in a reply on Steam that Season 3 has been brought forward to November 12 to give everyone a proper fresh start.

• The developer's reason: Season 2's sped-up progression was the wrong call. Some players had tier 4 armour and main battle tanks within days, so the wipe never really landed.
• "Limited Mode" servers: Season 3 is also meant to bring servers with no power weapons and no vehicles.
• Still open: there is no fuller answer yet on level-locked gear or on how wipes treat people who can't play every day; it has been passed on to the team.
• Skill over hours: matches shouldn't be decided by who has ground the most hours ("Tarkov syndrome"), but by who plays smarter or aims better.