Winter Survival News

[h2]❄️ Winter Survival Closed Playtest: Everything You Need to Know! ❄️[/h2]



Are you ready to test your survival skills in the brutal, ever-changing cold? We’re excited to announce the next Closed Playtest for Winter Survival! Mark your calendars, the test runs from August 7 to 15.

Whether you’re a returning survivor or facing the winter wilds for the first time, this is your chance to shape the game before full release. Here’s everything you need to jump in:

[h3]🔥 How to Join[/h3]
Want to join the Winter Survival Closed Playtest? It’s easy!
Just fill out the registration form available here 👉 Winter Survival Playtest Sign-Up

[h3]📢 Selection & Feedback[/h3]
Selection: Once registration closes, we’ll review all submissions. If you’re selected to participate, you’ll receive an email at the address provided in the form with all the details and next steps.
Watch your inbox! Selection emails will be sent out by August 1, 2025. If you don’t get selected this time, don’t worry—there will be more chances to play in future tests.

Feedback: Your insights are crucial! Bug reports, performance notes, and gameplay impressions help us refine the Winter Survival experience. We’re especially looking for feedback on gameplay, story, balance, clarity, game modes, survival mechanics, and what makes the world feel harsh (or not harsh enough!).

[h3]🏕️ What’s in This Playtest?[/h3]
This time, we’re excited for you to experience the improved Act I and Act II, plus—for the very first time—the brand new Act III!

Whether you’re revisiting the winter wilds or stepping in for the first time, you’ll get to:

• Explore and survive through all three acts, each with unique challenges and surprises.
  
• Test out new mechanics, big and small, introduced since the last playtest.
  
• Experience rebalanced, polished, and improved systems that make survival even more intense (and rewarding!)
  
• Help us stress-test the latest content and provide feedback that will shape the final game.
  

Your experience and feedback in this playtest are more important than ever. We’re counting on your insight to help push Winter Survival to the next level!

Play at your own pace—there are no time limits within the test window.

[h3]🗣️ Languages & Sharing[/h3]
Language: English only for this test.
Sharing: Please remember that this playtest is under NDA. We’d still love your feedback—just make sure to share it with us privately!

[h3]❓ Need Help?[/h3]
Have questions? Join our Discord or drop by our Steam forums. The devs and community are there to help.
Want to stay up to date? Follow us on Steam and our socials for news, behind-the-scenes peeks, and more.

[h3]💙 Our Aim[/h3]
Your feedback during this playtest means a lot to us. Since the Early Access launch, we’ve already learned a ton—and this next round of testing is key to shaping the final release. You’re helping us squash bugs, fine-tune survival mechanics, and improve performance across the board. We’re listening closely, so let us know what you think. And good luck out there—the cold doesn’t play fair!

[h2]🔥 Join Now![/h2]

It’s time for another round of updates to be rolled out in Act III. This devlog focuses on technical improvements that influence gameplay, including crafting UI, building system, and animal tracking events.

[h2]Crafting with clarity - UI Improvements 🧩✨[/h2]

Crafting is no longer a walk in the dark. We've reworked the crafting UI to give you insight into what you’re making and how it works.

• You’ll now see what effects your crafted item will remove, and how completely.
  For example, do you want to stabilize a broken leg? You’ll know right away that the leg stabilizer removes the twisted ankle effect 100%.
  
• We’ve also removed the energy cost associated with crafting. Finally, no more second-guessing whether you can afford to craft in the middle of a blizzard. Now, if you have the materials, you can build it.
  

[h2]Fixing Shelter - Upgrade of the Building System 🔨🏠[/h2]

The shelter building system just got a visual communication upgrade. No more hovering over buildings to guess if something’s off. Now, Instinct Mode visual cues tell you instantly if repairs are needed.

• We’ve improved how damage and destruction are shown on structures.

With better visual feedback, you will know when you need to fix your place to stay.



[h2]Hunt or Be Hunted - Tracked-Down Event 🐻🐾[/h2]

Let’s take a look at tracking the bear. Previously, trailing wildlife was more guesswork than strategy, so we’ve rebuilt the tracking event to let you take control.

• Also, the bear tracks are easier to spot, making it possible to simply avoid a deadly encounter altogether. We also revised their locations on the map.
  
• We’ve upgraded a meat pile that makes the bear sleep.
  

Each of these changes was designed to make key systems more intuitive, provide better information up front, and reduce unnecessary friction during play.




~Kinia

[h3]Hey, survivors![/h3][p]We’ve been hard at work on some updates, and just as promised, it’s time to check what’s waiting up ahead in the upcoming Act III. This devlog is our next checkpoint.[/p][p]And as always, we’re not steering alone. Your feedback shapes the path ahead as well. Let’s take a ride through the latest changes.[/p][p]In this devlog, we’re introducing a set of improvements that will have a significant impact on interacting with the game and its core gameplay systems.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]First stop: The Status Rework[/h3][p]We’ve retouched the Status Tab to keep you better prepared. It’s now split into two clear sections: Health and the brand-new Environment Tab.[/p][p][/p][p]Health: you’ll now have better visibility of perks, symptoms, mental state, and status effects, as well as the stench determining how the animals can detect you.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Inside the Environment Tab, you’ll find:[/p]

• [p]Compass Markers: every marker you’ve dropped across the wilderness is now easy to track.[/p]
• [p]Wilderness Events: all unlocked events are listed and clickable, taking you straight to your journal. Some are tied to what you do in the wild: sleeping, cooking, or moving through dangerous areas, and the world reacts adaptively.[/p]

[p]A small shift on the surface, but one that sharpens your decision-making when the cold hits hard.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Next up: Trolley 2.0[/h3][p]The trolley is more than just a ride. So we gave it the attention it deserved. The old damage system felt clunky and sometimes unclear, so we rebuilt it from the wheels up.[/p][p]We polished a more comfortable ride and smoother track switching. Now, when your trolley breaks down, you’ll get instant visual feedback not only showing that something’s wrong, but also how bad the damage is. This new system is designed to improve clarity. In the heat of survival, you don’t want to waste time, and now, you won’t have to.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Story Mode: Where the journey begins[/h3][p]Shaping a unique playthrough in the mysterious Story Mode is perfect for those who want more than just the fight to stay alive. From the beginning, your path is shaped by constant movement. For newcomers, it’s a great way to get familiar with the genre without being thrown into the deep end. For seasoned survivalists, it offers clever twists on core mechanics and a compelling narrative that keeps you engaged.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Winter’s Tale #1 — The Voice That Still Echoes[/h3][p]No one is born a hero. But when the world turns upside down, you don’t get to choose. Especially not Danny, just an engineer with a head full of unfinished business, who only wanted to spend a few quiet days in the forest before his life changed forever.[/p][p]He left Sarah behind: tired, disappointed, yet still holding on to the hope that he might finally grow up. She is pregnant and has given him one last chance. As he walked out the door, she said just one thing, calmly, without reproach: “Honey, I’m waiting.”[/p][p]The trip was meant to clear their heads. Just Danny, Joel, and Mike, best friends, out for a few quiet days in the frozen forest. For a while, everything felt almost normal. Then the blizzard came, and things began to fall apart.[/p][p]He’s woken by Joel’s scream and the sound of branches snapping, followed by a bear’s roar nearby and, somewhere beyond, the howling of wolves. Mike is gone, lost in the chaos. The snow has already buried their tracks before they can make sense of what happened.[/p][p]From that moment, the nightmare begins. Cold seeps into bone, fear locks the body in place, and every step becomes a risk. But this is also where the story starts. Winter Survival isn’t about survival in the traditional sense; it’s about adaptation, about how far you’re willing to change just to stay alive.[/p][p]Narrative Story Mode guides you carefully, step by step. It shows you how to survive the first attack, how to build a shelter, and how to make it through the night in a cave that might not be empty.[/p][p]This isn’t a story about heroes. It’s a story about those who aren’t ready to give up.
And about a voice that still echoes, long after everything else has frozen:[/p][p]“Honey, I’m waiting.”[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]The road ahead[/h3][p]Thanks for riding with us in this devlog and shaping the game alongside us. Got feedback, questions, or wild theories? Drop them in the comments; most of what you see here started with a message from you, Survivors.[/p][p]Stay sharp. Stay warm.
And don’t let the trolley freeze over.[/p][p]~ Kinia[/p][p]
[/p]

As promised in our last announcement (check it out [here] if you haven’t yet), it’s high time for the next part of our development sneak peek series, where we take a closer look at what we’ve been cooking up for you over the past few months.

We've been listening closely to your feedback and working hard behind the scenes to deliver an update that not only polishes core systems, but also introduces much-anticipated changes to balance and optimization. Let’s break down each change coming to the game alongside ACT III 👇

[h2]Torch Rework – More Than Just a Light Source 🔥[/h2]

Your torch is no longer just for visibility – it’s now a viable defensive tool in combat. Up until now, it’s been useful for fending off wolves or lighting your path through dark caves and nighttime exploration (seriously, what are you doing wandering the wilderness at night?).



With the reworked torch, players will now be able to block incoming attacks, making it a vital part of your survival kit. And when the fuel runs out? You’re not defenseless – you’ll still have a burnt-out stick to use as a makeshift melee weapon.



Just to be clear though – don’t count on it for hunting wolves. It’s a last resort, not a deadly weapon.

[h2]Symptom Tree Overhaul 🧠[/h2]

The Symptom Tree is getting a visual overhaul to make it clearer, more intuitive, and easier to understand. But we’re not stopping there.

With this update, you’ll also be able to stack the same symptom multiple times. That means symptoms can linger longer and become more severe, depending on the path you choose. It’s all up to you – and your decisions will matter more than ever.



[h2]Optimized Wind for Better Performance 💨[/h2]

We know many of you want to experience the brutal winter landscapes of Winter Survival without compromising performance. We’ve seen your comments and reviews regarding optimization, and we’re constantly looking for new ways to improve it.

This brings us to the new Wind system. While it might not sound like a big change, it’s been designed with performance in mind, and it will help boost frame rates for many players. Once the update is live, we’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on how it’s performing for you.



[h2]Weather System Rebalance 🌧️[/h2]

You spoke, and we listened. The Weather System will be rebalanced to address key issues raised by the community. Don’t worry – it’s still going to be tough out there.



[h2]Holding block no longer drains stamina? 🤯[/h2]

This might be the biggest change coming to Winter Survival (at least for me!). And yes – you read that right – holding block will no longer drain stamina. That means you can hold your defensive stance without watching your stamina bar melt away. Combined with the new torch mechanics, you’ll have way more flexibility in how you approach every encounter.

[h2]Stay Up-to-Date 📰[/h2]

That’s it for now! As always, thank you for your continued support and feedback. Drop us a comment below with your thoughts on the upcoming features, and let us know if there’s anything else you’d like to see added to Winter Survival.

As for the next announcement, you can expect it mid-June. We’ll be shifting our focus toward Story Mode, and sharing more about what’s coming in ACT III. Stay sane – and until the next devlog! 👋

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1394960/Winter_Survival/

~Sewek

Since many of you have been with us since day one, we want to stay transparent and give you a sneak peek into what’s been happening behind the scenes with Winter Survival. With that said, it’s high time for an update on what we’ve been working on over the past few months. Ready to hop on the trolley and see what’s ahead? Then, let’s get this trolley rollin’ 🔥



[h2]What are we working on right now? 🤔[/h2]

[h3]ACT III for Story Mode 💥[/h3]

As some of you might already know, we’re currently hard at work bringing ACT III of Winter Survival’s Story Mode to life, which will mark the finale of Danny’s journey through the treacherous, dangerous, and relentless wilderness. Simultaneously, the release of ACT III means that Winter Survival will leave Early Access and officially enter its 1.0 state.



[h3]What about the Survival Mode? 🐻[/h3]

That’s a pretty damn good question. The release of ACT III also means that Survival Mode will be getting new features as well. This includes another scenario to choose from, a fresh chunk of map to uncover, and of course, brand-new mechanics and flintastic features that I’m going to have as an ace up my sleeve 😮



[h2]Is that all you got? 😒[/h2]

Definitely not! We’re still actively looking at your suggestions via Steam reviews and discussions as well as on our Discord server. Thanks to your invaluable feedback, some of the features that didn’t meet your expectations — like the torch rework, building system, and trolley damage mechanic, to name a few — have already made their way into our internal testing branch.



However, it’ll take some time to test them properly because we want to give you a product that’s as error-free as possible. Simply put: once we’re happy with the internal quality, that’s when the update will go live. Also, please keep in mind that if you’ve played Winter Survival recently, you might not have seen these changes reflected in gameplay just yet.

[h2]What’s next? ⏭️[/h2]

Now, it’s time to talk a little about how we plan to keep you more regularly updated on Winter Survival’s progress over the coming months. First and foremost, we’re planning to bring back regular development updates here on Steam. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed creating these kinds of materials, and based on your responses before Winter Survival launched, it seemed like you did too. We’ll be combining that renewed communication with themed months, starting in June, when we’ll focus on Story Mode and how development is shaping up.

Apart from that, I highly encourage you to join our official Discord server and follow our social media accounts. There’s going to be a lot happening soon — AMAs, Dev Talks, Q&A sessions, just to name a few. And hey, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below if you have any suggestions on how you’d prefer us to communicate with you.



[h2]Stay up-to-date 📰[/h2]

And that’s it for today’s announcement! As always, if you have any suggestions, ideas, or problems, make sure to leave a comment below. I believe the next announcement should go live by the end of May, so if you don’t want to miss that, be sure to follow Winter Survival on Steam and our social channels. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts — but for now, stay sane and don’t let those pesky wolves catch you. Until the next devlog! 👋

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1394960/Winter_Survival/

~ Sewek