The Long Dark — patch notes and updates
Stored observation / content update:
Dated developer announcements recorded from Steam. Open the source for the complete update.
| Update | Date | Excerpt / source |
|---|---|---|
| The Long Dark WINTERMUTE Updated to version 2.24 -- Episode Five version 2.54 | 2026-04-23 | Hello players,We have just updated THE LONG DARK to: Survival: 2.55 181032Episode Five: 2.54 181117WINTERMUTE: 2.24 181038 This is a Hotfix for THE LONG DARK: WINTERMUTE, addressing bugs introduced with the Episode Five release. Known Issues Spoilers Ahead! The team is currently aware of the following issues in the game. If you encounter one of these issues, there is no need to report it to the Support Portal. The team is currently aware of the following issues in the game and hard at work addressing them:Players who Alt-Tab away from the “Previously On” cinematic shown when beginning Episode Five, will find that the video restarts upon retur |
| The Long Dark WINTERMUTE Updated to version 2.23 | 2026-04-08 | Hello players,We have just updated THE LONG DARK to: Survival: 2.54 180535Episode Five: 2.23 180559WINTERMUTE: 2.53 180603 This is a Hotfix for THE LONG DARK: WINTERMUTE, addressing bugs introduced with the Episode Five release. Known Issues Spoilers Ahead! The team is currently aware of the following issues in the game. If you encounter one of these issues, there is no need to report it to the Support Portal. We are aware of some potential issues with loading Checkpoint saves created when Jace leads Mackenzie to the bunk room in Suzuki Facility. As we work on fixing this issue, it would be best to avoid loading checkpoint saves created durin |
| EPISODE FIVE, Post-Launch Update | 2026-04-02 | An Episode Five post-launch status update from our founder and creative director.Hello players! We’re about 48 hours after the release of Episode Five, and I just wanted to give you a quick update on what’s been going on. LAUNCH SUCCESSThe team was thrilled to watch the launch live at 10AM Pacific Time, along with our players. We had a successful trailer watch party on YouTube with over 3000 fans logging in to watch and participate in chat, and then we quickly overcame our historical Steam CCU peak and hit the highest concurrent player count on Steam since our launch back in 2014 -- 14,878 concurrents, and we think we might break 15,000 this |
| The Long Dark Updated to version 2.52 | 2026-03-31 | Hello Community,We have just updated THE LONG DARK to: Survival: 2.52 179852Episode Five: 2.52 180269WINTERMUTE: 2.22 180167 This is a Major Update to THE LONG DARK: WINTERMUTE, introducing Episode Five and completing Story Mode. Known Issues Spoilers Ahead! The team is currently aware of the following issues in the game. If you encounter one of these issues, there is no need to report it to the Support Portal. During the SAR Mission, if a player enters a Trailer, they will be unable to leave. Reloading a previous save will be the only way to proceed.Story save files from before 2023 (prior to the Survival/Story application split) will not ap |
| EPISODE FIVE: THE LIGHT AT THE END OF ALL THINGS, NOW LIVE! | 2026-03-31 | The moment you’ve been waiting for, for years, is finally here!Play as Mackenzie and Astrid as they battle the elements and other threats to finally uncover the mystery of the Aurora. The culmination of the epic Canadian survival saga is finally here, and as our friends at Shacknews put it, “Episode Five is the perfect end to The Long Dark’s story”. Episode Five: The Light at the End of All Things is a free update for anyone who owns THE LONG DARK, and is now live on Steam.To all our players, thank you for your years of patience as we finally arrive at this moment. Thank you for taking this journey with us, we hope you feel it was worth the w |
| EPISODE FIVE LAUNCH TRAILER WATCH PARTY (March 31st @ 10AM Pacific) | 2026-03-30 | Join other fans of TLD to celebrate the launch of Episode Five. We’ll be premiering the launch trailer on YouTube just before 10AM, so make sure you jump in and experience the pre-release buzz!We’ll update this thread with the final video link, but for now you can simply subscribe to the Hinterland YouTube channel to be notified when the trailer goes live tomorrow morning!We hope to see you there.- The Hinterland Team |
| THE LONG DARK SOUNDTRACK, VOLUME 3 COMING SOON! | 2026-03-27 | Hello players!We're excited to share the news that soon you'll be able to purchase Volume 3 of THE LONG DARK's soundtrack, on Steam (with more stores to come later). Volume 3 offers nearly 2 hours of original music composed by Cris Velasco (Story Mode) and Sascha Dikiciyan (Survival Mode), and covers EPISODE FOUR: FURY, THEN SILENCE, EPISODE FIVE: THE LIGHT AT THE END OF ALL THINGS, and TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY.Volume 3 launches on April 22nd, 2026, for $9.99 USD. (Note: Track titles may contain light spoilers.)- The Hinterland Team |
| HINTERLAND EPISODE FIVE DEEP LAUNCH DISCOUNT | 2026-03-26 | Hello players,Many of you just purchased THE LONG DARK at a 90% "Deep Discount" during the Spring Sale. In order to ensure the best discount possible during the launch window for Episode Five coming next week, we've worked with Valve to extend the 90% discount until April 9th.This is your best opportunity to grab THE LONG DARK, which includes both Survival Mode and the Wintermute Story Mode Episodes, at a great discount. And if you already own the game, this is a great time to gift it to friends!Remember, Episode Five: "The Light at the End of All Things" launches on Tuesday, March 31st, at 10AM Pacific.Thanks, and we hope you enjoy the game! |
| Episode Five Story Teaser: Mackenzie and Jace Plot an Escape | 2026-03-25 | On the run from Mathis' convicts, Mackenzie and Jace discover the meaning of, "out of the frying pan and into the fire". |
| Episode Five Story Teaser: Astrid learns about Perseverance Mills | 2026-03-19 | The local bartender, Cooper, explains to Astrid what's been going on in Perseverance Mills, and points her in the right direction. |
| EPISODE FIVE -- KEY ART REVEAL | 2026-03-18 | Hello fans,We’re thrilled to reveal the Episode Five key art today.The Episode Five poster art showcases the dual struggles of Episode Five, both Mackenzie and Astrid’s journey to find each other, help the survivors of Great Bear Island, and finally crack the secrets of the Quiet Apocalypse.This art was created by Kjetil Nystuen, who also created the revised key art and posters for Episodes One to Four that you can see here.Episode Five of WINTERMUTE, The Long Dark’s Story Mode, launches on March 31st, 2026, and brings the epic survival saga to its conclusion.- The Hinterland Team |
| DEV DIARY -- MARCH 2026 -- THE END IS NEAR | 2026-03-13 | Dear players,With the Episode Five launch just around the corner now, it’s time to update you on what to expect over the next few weeks.EPISODE FIVE SCREENSHOTSFirst, some screenshots taken right out of Episode Five! OUR STORY SO FAR…Since it’s been years since we launched the first parts of WINTERMUTE, the team has put together a recap video that covers the main story beats from Episodes One to Four. This is a great refresher for folks who have already played the episodes. And for anyone who hasn’t, this is your reminder that you still have time to get through the first four episodes before March 31st. Assume about 30+ hours of play time to |
| The Long Dark Updated to version 2.51 | 2025-12-11 | Hello Community,We have just updated THE LONG DARK to version 2.51, build 170901.This is a Hotfix to THE LONG DARK and THE LONG DARK: SURVIVAL MODE and contains multiple bug fixes. Known IssuesThe team is currently aware of the following issues in the game. If you encounter one of these issues, there is no need to report it to the Support Portal. MacOS and Linux - Please note that we have temporarily disabled Additional Shadows for Structures and Terrain to address an engine level visual bug. We are working to fix the problem and will re-enable this visual enhancement as soon as possible. This impacts both MacOS and Linux versions of the game |
| The Long Dark Updated to version 2.50 | 2025-12-03 | Hello Community,We have just updated THE LONG DARK to version 2.50, build 169730.This is a Hotfix to THE LONG DARK and THE LONG DARK: SURVIVAL MODE containing bug fixes, as well as an upgrade to a major new version of Unity, in anticipation of the Episode Five launch on March 31st, 2026. Episode Five depends on Unity 6, so this pre-launch release will provide time to prove and stabilize the game on the new engine version before the launch. Known IssuesThe team is currently aware of the following issues in the game. If you encounter one of these issues, there is no need to report it to the Support Portal. MacOS - Please note that we have tempo |
| The Long Dark is a Labour of Love | 2025-11-27 | For over twelve years Hinterland Studio has worked to craft THE LONG DARK into one of the most prominent titles of the survival genre. Now, on the precipice of the release of the final chapter of WINTERMUTE, we ask humbly for your nomination for "Labor of Love".We believe only a project that is as deeply cared for, and which a team is so passionate about, could receive such ongoing attention as THE LONG DARK. If you think our dedication to fulfilling promises, and making THE LONG DARK the best survival experience we can is worthy of commendation, please nominate and vote for us in the Labor of Love category in this year's Steam Awards.Thank y |
| November Dev Diary: Episode Five Teaser, Launch Date Announcement | 2025-11-25 | Hello players, Today, we’re excited to share the first teaser for WINTERMUTE Episode Five: “The Light at the End of All Things”. You’ll notice at the end of the teaser, the launch date: March 31st, 2026. While the majority of the episode content is now finished, there was just no way for us to wrap up the remaining cinematic work, the soundtrack, or complete the last bit of mission polish in time for the end of this year as we had originally planned. So we’re taking a couple of extra months to finish that work, then to optimize, fix the bugs, and get it ready for console certification and launch for the end of March. We’ll release a full trai |
| Games From Vancouver Sale Featuring: THE LONG DARK | 2025-11-21 | We're thrilled to be included with our friends and neighbours in the Games From Vancouver Steam Sale.You can find THE LONG DARK along with WINTERMUTE and TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY for a generous discount until November 30th. This is a fantastic opportunity to support Canadian game developers from the Greater Vancouver area by picking up something you've been eyeing, or grabbing an extra copy of your favourite Canadian game for a friend for the holidays. |
| The Long Dark Updated to version 2.44 | 2025-06-10 | Hello Community,We have just released our Survival v2.44 (157357) and WINTERMUTE v2.14 (157355) Hotfix for THE LONG DARK (including Survival Edition) and TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY.DISAPPEARING TRAVOISWe've been able to identify some cases that would cause the Travois to disappear after transitioning to and from a scene, and addressed the cause. This means that we expect this problem to become drastically less common; however, we cannot be sure that we’ve completely resolved this. As such, we encourage players to reach out to our Support Portal if this issue persists for you. We greatly appreciate videos and descriptions of consistent, repe |
| The Long Dark Updated to version 2.43 | 2025-05-28 | Hello Community, We have just released our v2.43 (156485) Hotfix for THE LONG DARK (including Survival Edition) and TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY. This addresses one major issue. GENERAL *Fixed an issue that caused items and structures to appear invisible, or partially visible. Please visit our Support Portal (or consult our Known Issues page) if you encounter any issues while playing the game. ### END OF RELEASE NOTES ### |
| THE LONG DARK - VISUAL ENHANCEMENTS UPDATE - Now Live! | 2025-05-27 | Hello players, We have just updated THE LONG DARK to version 2.42, build 156298 and WINTERMUTE to version 2.13, build 156040. This is a free update available to anyone who owns THE LONG DARK or SURVIVAL EDITION, and includes visual enhancement options targeted at high-end systems, various bug fixes, and tuning changes. For a description of the Visual Enhancements, please watch the latest Update Video: VISUAL ENHANCEMENTS We have added a collection of visual enhancements targeting high-end systems, including Coloured Shadows, Terrain Blending, Improved Anti-Aliasing, and other features mentioned above. Keep in mind these are all optional featu |