The Long Dark News

[h2]With this release, the TALES DLC expansion pass is now complete![/h2]



Hello Survivors,

Today we’re pleased to announce the release of TALES Part Six, “Broken Silence”. This is the last part of the TALES DLC for Survival Mode, and concludes the 2-year expansion pass. The TALES DLC will continue to be available for purchase in its entirety moving forward.

“Broken Silence” is the biggest update for TALES and the base Survival game since the launch of the DLC expansion pass campaign in December 2022. The following 18-minute update video goes into great detail about all the new features and content in “Broken Silence”, for both the Paid and Free streams.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

NOTE: Paid content is only available to people who own the TALES DLC. Free updates are available to anyone who owns THE LONG DARK or THE LONG DARK: SURVIVAL MODE products.

For a full roadmap outlining all the features and content included in the TALES DLC, please visit the full Expansion Pass site. The following major features are included in “Broken Silence”:

[h2]Safehouse Customization (Free for all players)[/h2]



We’ve added a deep Safehouse Customization system for all players to use. Over 100 locations in the game can now be modified by moving or removing furniture and decorative items, crafting new items using the Furniture Bench and Woodworking Tools, and gathering materials and decorative items from all over Great Bear island and the Far Territory. This is one of the biggest changes to the game the team has ever accomplished, and we are excited to see how players express their creativity and survival ethos through their personalized Safehouse locations. (Includes many new items never before available in the game!)

[h2]Cougar Redux (TALES DLC owners only)[/h2]



The Cougar hunts and patrols its territory, mainly located in the rocky or deeply forested areas on the fringes of various regions. Enjoy it from afar, or risk your life traversing its territory. The more you encounter it, the more its territory expands, ratcheting up your risk factors for travel and survival. The Cougar is a crafty hunter and is best avoided, but if you dare encroach on its territory you will face a struggle for survival beyond anything you’ve encountered so far. Look for signs, listen, be wise, and be careful!

[h2]Global Wildlife Refresh (Free for all players)[/h2]

Establish new patterns for hunting and travel through the world to avoid, or seek out, wildlife. Every wildlife spawn region in the game has been refreshed. Expect to encounter predators like Bears, Wolves, and now Cougars, in new and dangerous places. Find prey animals like Deer, Rabbits, and Ptarmigan have made homes in new locations. Wildlife populations have been rebalanced across the entire game world. Even Timberwolf spawns have been refreshed, so that they don’t always appear where they used to.

[h2]Instant Camera (TALES DLC owners only)[/h2]



Find the Instant Camera, along with colour, black & white, or sepia film stock. Take photos and add them to your journal Album, where you can notate them. Frame them and hang them in your Safehouse. Become a wilderness photographer.

[h2]Trader (TALES DLC owners only)[/h2]



Keep your ears open for the emergency radios across the Island to come to life during an aurora. You may hear an unexpected voice from a boat offshore. Sutherland’s been out there since the lights in the sky first appeared, and he has a story to tell. But first, you’ll have to earn his trust. He’ll trade rare items that he scavenges off the coastline in exchange for things he needs from Great Bear Island. (Includes many new items never before available in the game!)

[h2]Meat Curing Box & Salt (TALES DLC owners only)[/h2]

Use Woodworking Tools to craft a new Meat Curing box. Gather salt from caves or the coastline, and preserve meat or fish for the long haul.

[h2]Achievements (TALES DLC & Free for all players)[/h2]

We’ve added Achievements for TALES, including some unlocks for features that were added to the base Survival game for free, and some that are TALES specific.

[h2]And More...[/h2]

Please watch the update video and visit the TALES expansion pass site for more information on what has been included in “Broken Silence”.

[h2]A Note on Release Platforms[/h2]

Please note that today’s launch of “Broken Silence” is for Steam, Xbox, and Epic Game Store. The PlayStation version will be updated ASAP this week; we are waiting for Sony to approve it for release. As has already been communicated to players, the Nintendo Switch release of Parts Five and Six have been delayed until the new year.

[h2]Bugs and Support[/h2]

Please report any issues you have to our Support Portal. We expect a high volume of reports and the Support Portal will take precedence over our other communication channels, so it is your best way to get help. It will not be possible to respond to every forum post or social media post reporting bugs or issues. We ask for your patience as we work to resolve all outstanding reports during this busy time of year.

[h2]Winter Holiday[/h2]

The team will take a much-needed break between December 20th and January 6th. Support channels and general communication will be delayed during this period as a result. We appreciate your patience.

[h2]Thank you![/h2]

Thank you to all those who purchased the TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY DLC. Your support of our efforts helps enable us to continue updating THE LONG DARK. We appreciate all your patience as we worked to deliver the promised roadmap, which took much longer than expected. Please refer to the October Dev Diary for more information on our plans to continue supporting THE LONG DARK next year, including shipping WINTERMUTE Episode Five ASAP.

Enjoy “Broken Silence”, and we’ll see you in the new year.

- The Hinterland Team

***



The Long Dark Updated to version 2.33 (CL 147890)

Applies to: THE LONG DARK, THE LONG DARK: SURVIVAL MODE, and TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY DLC.

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]

• After completing all three TALES, players will not immediately receive the Rüdiger's Dream achievement. Instead, it will unlock upon reloading their save.
  
• Only the first loaded Custom Survival save will provide players the option to toggle the Cougar feature on/off. Loading subsequent Custom Survival saves will not provide this option, disabling Cougar by default.
  
• Player-crafted Workbenches do not yield a Workbench Vice as expected when broken down.
  
• Rarely, Decoration placement is greatly offset after destroying or breaking down an object beneath where it is placed. (Workaround: Save and reload.)
  
• Players using a controller are unable to select a Photograph for player-crafted Framed Photo.
  
• Players can place decoration objects in inappropriate locations where they can no longer be interacted with.
  
• Placing or dropping the orange Patterned Wool Mittens causes them to become invisible.
  
• Players will be unable to Quarter Aurora Cougar Carcasses.
  
• Players will be unable to break down or destroy the Furniture Workbench.
  
• Some objects that should have the option to be broken down are missing that functionality. EX: Shrubs which block player from reaching certain locations.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

This Major Update includes fixes for the following issues:

[h3]CRASHES[/h3]

• Fixed an issue that caused a hang, after lighting too many Campfires at once.
  
• Fixed an issue which caused some Xbox players to receive error code '-996' after the disclaimer screen, and subsequently returning them to the home screen.
  
• Fixed a rare issue that caused a crash when entering or leaving interiors.
  
• Fixed a rare issue where the player's game crashes and their save is deleted when choosing to Cheat Death.
  

[h3]GAMEPLAY, UI, CONTROLS[/h3]

• Fixed an issue that caused Ptarmigans to become stuck in an animation loop.
  
• Fixed an environment issue in Sundered Pass that resulted in players being able to climb on top of certain structures.
  
• Fixed an issue where the incorrect location text is displayed when waking up after Cheating Death.
  
• Fixed an issue in WINTERMUTE Episode Four where the subtitles were incorrectly timed with the audio of the final scene.
  
• Fixed an issue where items could not be retrieved after being placed on a building ledge in the yard of Blackrock Prison.
  
• Fixed an issue in Lonely Lighthouse where items left on the stairs could only be retrieved from certain angles.
  
• Fixed an issue in Desolation Point which caused players to fall through weak ice while standing safely on the damaged boat.
  
• Fixed an issue in Coastal Highway which caused players to fall through weak ice while standing safely on the damaged boat.
  
• Fixed an issue where high quality and TALES Mission items could be collected through a closed window in the Mine Headframe Building.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused a 'Failed to restore the game from a previous save' error when transitioning from an outdoor location.
  
• Fixed a rare issue with the weather system which could result in corrupt save data.
  
• Fixed an issue where partially consuming a Venison Pie could result in it dropping into negative weight values.
  
• Fixed an issue where dropping a partially consumed food item along with unconsumed food items of the same type resulted in it returning to an unconsumed state.
  
• Fixed an issue with the Major Bruising Affliction which resulted in it having no effect on the Survivor's Condition.
  
• Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented players from placing a symbol with Spray Paint.
  
• Fixed an issue that allowed the Survivor to quarter a carcass with no resources left.
  
• Fixed an issue that displayed the incorrect crafting time of items when the Survivor doesn't have the associated crafting tool in their Backpack.
  
• Fixed an issue in Ash Canyon where some items could spawn in unreachable areas.
  
• Fixed an issue in Sundered Pass where a backpack could not be searched.
  
• Fixed an issue where Beachcombing containers and items could duplicate when exiting and re-entering the Region.
  

[h3]ART & ENVIRONMENTS[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where inspecting Polaroids resulted in a visible incorrect watermark on the object.
  
• Improved the detail on all vehicle engines.
  
• Fixed an issue with Glimmerfog that resulted in cave entrances appearing clearly through the fog at any distance.
  
• Fixed an issue in Keeper's Pass that caused incorrect lighting on the mouth of a short rock tunnel.
  
• Fixed multiple issues in Forsaken Airfield where Cattails were incorrectly located.
  
• Fixed an issue in Forsaken Airfield where a fence was not correctly placed on the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue in Sundered Pass where a deer carcass was not correctly placed on the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue in Zone of Contamination with a missing square piece of geometry on the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue in Zone of Contamination where a sheet of ice was not correctly placed on the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue in Bleak Inlet where a post incorrectly intersected a shelter roof.
  
• Fixed multiple issues in Bleak Inlet with unintentional pieces of jagged terrain.
  
• Fixed multiple issues in the transition cave from Bleak Inlet to Forlorn Muskeg with rocks not correctly placed on the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Wool Toque would incorrectly intersect with the Aviator Cap when worn together.
  
• Fixed an issue in Sundered Pass where snowdrifts were not correctly connected to wooden structures.
  
• Fixed an issue with T-Shirt models that caused the interior to intersect with the exterior.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Pleasant Valley Farmhouse that caused a Sewing Kit to disappear from view at different angles.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Steam Tunnels where a portion of pipe was disconnected and floating.
  
• Fixed an issue in Mountain Town where snow covered rocks were not correctly displaying snow.
  
• Fixed an issue where global lighting was not correctly applying to the Survivor's hands.
  
• Fixed an issue in Bleak Inlet where players could incorrectly see the exposed back face of a cliff.
  
• Fixed an issue in Forsaken Airfield where players could incorrectly see the exposed back face of a snowdrift.
  
• Fixed an issue in Mystery Lake where players could incorrectly see the exposed back face of a cliff.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck in a corner of the Community Hall in WINTERMUTE Episode Three.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck on top of the truck in Keeper's Pass.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck in Ash Canyon within a ruined building at Miner's Folly.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck inside a helicopter in Forsaken Airfield.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could become stuck between rocks in Coastal Highway.
  
• Fixed an issue in Sundered Pass where players could get stuck in terrain near the bridge to the Weather Station.
  
• Fixed an issue in Mountain Town where players could get stuck in terrain in the Paradise Meadows Farmhouse.
  
• Fixed an issue in Bleak Inlet where players could get stuck in terrain on the Cannery Workshop staircase.
  
• Fixed an issue in Forsaken Airfield where players could get stuck on a rocky outcropping.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck when crouching near the truck in the Maintenance Yard.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck behind stalagmites in the transition cave between Hushed River Valley and Mountain Town.
  
• Fixed an issue in Mountain Town where players could get stuck near the waterfall outside of town.
  

[h3]ANIMATION[/h3]

• Fixed an issue that resulted in the wrong animation playing when harvesting a wolf carcass with the Improvised Knife.
  

[h3]PLATFORM-SPECIFIC[/h3]

• [EGS] Fixed an issue that caused a black screen on launch for players on the Epic Games Store.
  
• [PS4/Switch] Fixed memory leak when loading into a new level
  
• [PS4/Switch] Reduced memory usage for falling snow effect
  
• [PS4/Switch] Reduced memory usage for post fx by reusing render textures between passes
  

### END OF UPDATE ANNOUNCEMENT ###

[h2]OCTOBER 2024[/h2]

Hello players,

As the end of the year approaches, we have many many things to update you on, so I’m going to dive right in. This dev diary is a big one, as in addition to news about THE LONG DARK, I’ve tried to answer some commonly asked community questions relating to the game, and other things we’re doing at Hinterland.

[h2]WINTERMUTE, EPISODE FIVE[/h2]

You may have noticed that we haven’t announced a release date for Episode Five. Our last update on progress was last December when I said we would launch it by the end of this year. Unfortunately, the episode is not quite ready yet. Wrapping up TALES for the end of this year took up much more time and resources than we originally planned for, including the time needed to redo the Cougar.

The good news is that with Part Six of TALES coming out in December, that will wrap up our work on the DLC, and from that point onward the *entire* TLD team will be heads-down focused on finishing Episode Five and releasing it ASAP next year. Everyone on TLD will be working on finishing and shipping this final part of our story.

Caption: Along the frozen shore near the hamlet of Perseverance Mills.

As a recap, Episode Five, titled “The Light at the End of All Things”, concludes the WINTERMUTE storyline, and wraps up all the various threads introduced in the previous four episodes. The Episode takes us to the Suzuki Radio Telescope, the enigmatic Atwood, Perseverance Mills, reveals the contents of Astrid’s mysterious hardcase, and brings to a head the conflict between Mackenzie and Mathis. You play as both Astrid and Mackenzie in this episode. It’s our biggest episode to date, and will be the end of the Story Mode for THE LONG DARK. Episode Five also reveals what is *really* going on with the Aurora, and sets up the fiction and IP for future stories, in more games, film, television, and beyond.

You’ve waited a long time for this, and we’re well aware of all the delays that have got us to this point. This puts all the more pressure on us to make sure that what we release at the end is worth the wait. There’s enormous pressure. The team is handling it by staying focused on doing their best work, and only putting out an episode that we are proud of and believe lives up to all the time and effort that has gone into THE LONG DARK until now.


[h2]COUGAR 2.0[/h2]

We’ve nearly completed work on the revised Cougar, taking on board all the feedback from players who wanted to see this predator as a more active presence in the world. The revised system removes a lot of the previous game mechanics around territory control and timers, and instead builds the Cougar up as a dangerous hunter in the world. It can be avoided by players, but will become increasingly hostile if players seek to encounter them. You can choose to hunt them, but you may find yourself hunted instead. Rather than relying on in-game HUD elements and map counters, the new Cougar systems will put the information in the world, and you’ll have to pay close attention to the sounds and signs that warn you of its presence. It’s a much more dynamic system, but still designed so that the risks can be avoided by making good decisions.

Since every release requires Test and Release Management effort, to avoid creating redundant work by splitting the launches of Cougar 2.0 and the Part Six release, we’ve rolled the updated Cougar into Part Six, and they will release together. This will ensure the team can keep their focus on validating the system and ensure it launches in the best shape possible, along with the rest of the Part Six feature set.


[h2]NINTENDO SWITCH[/h2]

We’ve been struggling with various memory issues and crashes on the Switch since releasing the first four Parts of Tales. We’ve had programmers and technical artists working on finding ways to optimize further and to solve the crashes. Unfortunately, we have really pushed the Switch hardware to its limit and it’s proving very difficult to address the issues. We are deep into the guts of the game and the system, trying to find where to extract more performance headroom.

Our plan is to release a Switch update ASAP that fixes as many of the performance issues and crashes as we can, so that our Switch players can enjoy TLD and the first Parts of TALES without crashing. This means the Switch release of Parts Five and Six, along with the revised Cougar, have been pushed out until the new year, as releasing more of TALES before these issues are addressed will only make matters worse on the Switch.

We’ll share an updated timeline for Parts Five and Six on Switch once the crash issues are resolved. We’re hoping to be able to release a fix to the crashes before the end of the year, but it will depend on our success in identifying and addressing the issues. As with the other platforms, the revised Cougar will be included in Part Six, although our plan for Switch is to release Parts Five and Six together, so it all comes in one big release. I apologize to any Switch players who have been impacted by the crashes -- it’s not the quality or experience we wanted to give you.


[h2]TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY, PART SIX[/h2]

We are releasing TALES Part Six in December, on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Epic Game Store. This final release will conclude the TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY DLC for THE LONG DARK’s Survival Mode.





Caption: The new manual instant camera, with B&W, Colour, and Sepia film stock.


Part Six has some of the most significant features in the entire expansion pass campaign:

• The Trader. An enigmatic figure and a voice on the radio. They’ll trade with you, but getting access to their best items might require you get comfortable with some questionable demands. What has this survivor been doing on Great Bear Island since the Quiet Apocalypse? Note that this system also includes a variety of new items that are only available via the Trader. (Players who don’t want the Trader in their game will have the option to exclude it.)
  

• Safehouse Customization. Move furniture and decorative props around your favourite locations in the game. Repair broken items and clean up the mess. Craft items from an entirely new series of hand-made furniture and decorative props. Collect and move every framed pancake photo in the game to one place. Make pretty much any valid interior in the game your personal Safehouse with this powerful system. Note that “valid interiors” in this case include any interior space that has a separate scene load (ex. Trapper’s Cabin, Quincy’s Quonset, etc.), and most of the structures connected to the region scenes (like the Lookouts and the Mountaineer’s Hut). The possibilities are (almost) endless. There are also some new Safehouse-centric gameplay tools included with the release.
  

• Cougar 2.0. As described above -- a major revision on the Cougar we originally released in Part Five (then immediately removed based on player feedback). The new version is more present, more dangerous, and entirely avoidable if you make smart decisions, but you’ll face a relentless stalker if you don’t. (Players who don’t want the Cougar in their game will have the option to exclude it.)
  

• Instant Camera. Discover an old manual instant camera. Take photos anywhere in the world and add them to your Album. Craft photos into wall-hangings for your personal Safehouse. Find Colour, Black & White, or Sepia-toned film stock. Be a photographer at the end of the world.
  

• Global Wildlife Refresh. Now that the Cougar is finalized, the team is able to complete the Global Wildlife Refresh. Every wildlife spawn in the entire game has been redone, including all predator and prey animals, so you’ll need to find some new play patterns as you move through Great Bear Island and the Far Territory. It’s a whole new world of wildlife out there.
  

Caption: Trapper’s Cabin redecorated using Safehouse Customization, before and after.

With these final features completed, we conclude the development of TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY. We didn’t get it finished in the originally expected time-frame, but we’re happy to have completed it for you and we hope you have enjoyed the journey so far. And if you’ve been sitting on the fence about TALES, waiting for it to be finished before you jumped in, now’s a great time to do so. Also remember: we’re heading into Steam Sale Season.



Caption: New craftable Safehouse items.

[h2]VISUAL ENHANCEMENTS[/h2]

As part of TALES, the team has completed a suite of visual enhancements to the base THE LONG DARK game. These are targeted at higher-end platforms like PCs well above recommended spec, and PS5 or Xbox Series S/X, although some of the improvements will also be available on lower-end systems.

To give the team breathing room to focus on finalizing the rest of the Part Six features, I’ve pushed the release of the Visual Enhancements out to the new year. We’ll share a full list and some comparative screenshots or videos along with a Visual Enhancements update in the Spring. These will be available for free to everyone who owns THE LONG DARK.

[h2]NOW WHAT?[/h2]

With TALES now coming to its conclusion, and the team’s focus shifting to Episode Five to finish it ASAP in 2025, you’re probably wondering what’s next for THE LONG DARK, beyond that.

We have some plans to continue supporting THE LONG DARK into 2025 and likely 2026, depending on what happens with our new projects. For 2025, the current general roadmap for TLD is:

• Finish Episode Five, and conclude the WINTERMUTE storyline.
  

• Ongoing content-focused updates to key game systems, including targeted additional content for the TRADER and SAFEHOUSE CUSTOMIZATION, in the form of new Trade Items, and additional craftable furniture and decorative items. The emphasis will depend somewhat on how many folks buy TALES and whether players are excited about these new systems.
  

• Visual Enhancements for high-end systems, as mentioned above.
  

• A completely overhauled Custom Settings system, exposing as many tunables as we can beyond the current offering, so that you can customize your TLD experience along very specific lines of gameplay settings and whatnot. This should be a very powerful set of tools for fine-tuning the TLD experience to your liking.
  

• Proper Mod Support, including tools, documentation, and a community hub dedicated to Mods. A lot of the modifications we’ve made over the past two years, to the core game structure and content needed to support the development of TALES, will now become useful in providing tools for you to create your own content for THE LONG DARK.
  

The majority of the TLD team will be focused on Episode Five, so our ability to do many content-centric updates to Survival Mode will be quite limited until the episode is finished. We really need to get this episode out the door so that our players have some closure around WINTERMUTE, and we feel that with the story mode completed, we’ll finally have the opportunity to take stock of our development around THE LONG DARK, and how we want to continue to grow and maintain it in the future.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we shift into a bit more of a quiet period of focusing and finalizing Episode Five.

[h2]NEW GAMES, AND THE FUTURE[/h2]

Last year, I hinted that alongside THE LONG DARK, we’ve also been slowly incubating some new games. This probably seems counter-intuitive to folks who have been waiting for us to complete WINTERMUTE, so I wanted to take a moment to explain a bit about why I have decided to do this.

As an independent, self-funded developer, Hinterland doesn’t have the luxury of having multiple years of “down time” between our games to build up our next things and launch them. We don’t have an external publisher paying our bills while we build new things; we are our own publisher, so we have to pay our own bills. This also means that we own our own revenue, rather than having to split it with a publisher, and this means we can invest our own revenue in taking care of our people, running our company ethically, and making the kinds of games we want to make. We can prioritize quality and continuing to invest in our game even when a traditional publisher would have long abandoned it, or forced us to move on to something new. We can focus on working sustainably and supporting our game and community without being primarily driven by maximizing profitability. But we can only do that as long as we generate enough revenue to cover our costs.

Hinterland’s revenue is entirely generated from sales of THE LONG DARK and TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY, and generally speaking TLD continues to sell well but only because we continue to update it. Updating it costs a lot of money, and inevitably the revenue will decline over time because no game stays successful, or relevant, forever.

In thinking ahead to the future, I want to ensure the smallest possible window between the time where TLD starts to decline significantly in popularity (and sales), and when our next big game is ready to launch. This will help ensure that the new game is starting to ramp up in terms of revenue and popularity at the same time as TLD starts to wind down. I want to make it clear -- TLD has been a super steady success for us over the past 10+ years, with year-over-year revenue that is remarkably stable. Mostly this bucks the trend of games that tend to lose 25% of their revenue every year, until they wind down into a kind of maintenance mode. But at some point the revenue will decline to the extent that it’s not sufficient to keep our operation going, and it’s my primary job as head of the studio to ensure my team has long-term financial stability so they can focus their energy on making games for you. Anyone who tracks the game industry right now, understands how challenging this is for almost every developer at the moment. Not to mention for some of the biggest publishers in the business. So, probably unsurprisingly, a big thing I focus my time on is how to plan the future so that we can live up to our obligations to our current players while also preparing for the future, so that Hinterland can survive another 10+ years.

For the past 4-5 years, TLD revenue has been very very stable (+/- 5% YoY), which has allowed us to maintain the team size on TLD but also to put some resources behind starting up new things. TLD has been a remarkable game for Hinterland -- most studios never have a game like this, and we’re super grateful for it and for the community that continues to play and support it. I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t, or shouldn’t, continue to update TLD well into the future, as long as there are players who still want to play it and new players who want to buy it. But we can’t really afford to be in a position where there’s a 2-3 year gap between the “end” of TLD and the launch of the next big Hinterland game. And big ambitious games need a lot of time and money to conceive, develop, and launch.

Because of our work on TLD, and the delays around Episode Five, we’ve been really reluctant to say much of anything about the new things we are working on. It’s kind of sad because I’m sure many of you would be excited to celebrate something new from Hinterland, and it’d be a great morale boost for the team. But it’s just never felt like a good idea or really the right time to talk much about things outside THE LONG DARK, mainly because we don’t want to upset people.

But now that we can see a clear path to the end of WINTERMUTE, I think it’s getting close to the time where we can begin to share some of the things we’ve been working on. I hope that this is ok with you, and that you will continue to support our work. If you are unhappy to see us share news about new projects at Hinterland because you feel we shouldn’t talk about anything other than Episode Five, then I hope you will be patient with us over the upcoming months, as we navigate the completion of TLD alongside the announcement of new things from the studio. If you have enjoyed THE LONG DARK and want to see Hinterland continue to exist as a developer, putting more games out into the world, then I hope you can see the importance of us being able to share more about what we are making. (Or, the importance of supporting us by buying the TALES DLC, which has helped finance our ability to continue improving TLD, including many free updates to the base game for everyone.)

Another reason why it’s important to announce things at some point is because it takes a lot of time to build up to a launch. You need a year or more between announcing, starting to build up a community hub and Wishlists to help gauge interest and excitement about the game (required to ensure a successful launch event), time for internal and community playtesting, time to market and build up hype, and so on. The time between an announcement for our next big game, and when we think we will actually launch it for our players, will likely be at least a year. It could be longer. We need all this time to build up towards a successful launch, as our next big survival game will also be an Early Access title, and we want to maximize the impact of this launch and the potential success of this game for Hinterland, as it will help ensure our ongoing independence years from now. And independence is at the heart of everything we do.

I want to be clear that nothing we are making will ever fully replace THE LONG DARK. But I also think it’s healthy for us to work on ambitious new things, and in fact, we have to. The Hinterland team is full of vibrant, creative developers who want to make innovative new experiences. I personally also need to make more games, more worlds, as this is what drives me creatively. And as much as I love THE LONG DARK and am proud of what we have made, I think it’s only a fraction of what we have the potential to create, and what I want to create, before I’m finished with this crazy thing we call game development. And so while we absolutely love TLD and it will never be replaced, we also want to bring new things into the world, for ourselves and for our players.

I hope that all makes sense, and that when you read news about Episode Five, or about anything else we might work on in the future, that you realize how much of what we’re doing is about the love of our craft, in a world and industry that seems increasingly hostile to hand-crafted game development. And that everything we do is to preserve the independence we have. We can’t do it without your support, and I hope that by sharing some of this thinking I’ve given you a glimpse into my reasoning for incubating and eventually sharing news of new projects, potentially before the current one is completely finished.

[h2]THE LONG DARK FILM ADAPTATION[/h2]

My ambition for Hinterland has always been to create original worlds as games, and once established with strong player communities, take those worlds and stories to other platforms. If you follow games or entertainment in general, you’ll see how much Hollywood has caught up to this line of thinking, with tons of game IP adaptations in the works.

We haven’t said much about the film adaptation for THE LONG DARK in a while. Over the years, we’ve gone through the cycle of television and film adaptations along with the ups and downs of the entertainment business and how it’s changed through streaming’s ascent, peak TV, COVID, the collapse of theatrical, and whatever the heck it is film/TV is doing now.

Through all of that, we’ve never lost sight of what makes THE LONG DARK special, and how we can expand the story and world outside of the game. Although I don’t have anything super specific to share around this at the moment, I want you to know that we have not abandoned this project. It’s still underway, and with any luck we’ll be in a good place to share more news about the film, and other adaptation projects, in 2025.

[h2]HINTERLAND STORE[/h2]

Many of you have been asking when the Hinterland Store will re-open, so that you can buy your favourite mug from TLD, or other Hinterland and TLD merch. We’ll have an update around that in the second half of November. I think (hope?) you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

[h2]WRAP-UP[/h2]

That’s a lot of stuff! I hope it was useful for you to read about it. The most important take-aways from this dev diary are that WINTERMUTE Episode Five will be released in the new year (date TBD), and that Part Six of TALES will be released in December (apart from on Switch, where it will come in the new year).

Keep your eyes open for the traditional update video that coincides with the launch of Part Six, which will get into more details about the new systems like the Trader, Safehouse Customization, or the overhauled Cougar.

Thanks for reading, and keep your eyes on the Hinterland YouTube Channel (we strongly suggest subscribing!), and if you want to get more regular news about what’s going on at Hinterland, we encourage you to subscribe to our Newsletter, which we are overhauling and will start using as a primary tool for community and fan engagement started in the new year.

All the best, and see you in December, for TALES Part Six.

- Raphael

Hello Community,

We have just released our v2.32 (138698) Hotfix for THE LONG DARK (including Survival Edition), TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY, and WINTERMUTE updated to v2.10 138586.

This Hotfix addresses multiple issues introduced in the v.2.28 update for TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY.




[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

This Hotfix includes fixes for the following issues:



[h3]GAMEPLAY, UI, CONTROLS[/h3]

*Added an icon to the "Injuries Sustained" counter in the Daily Log so as to be consistent with the other stats shown.
*Fixed an issue that allowed players to interact with a snow pile from an incorrect position, resulting in unintended camera positions during the animation.
*Fixed an issue that resulted in a snow pile reappearing after having been interacted with previously.
*Fixed an issue which resulted in save files being renamed to the default "Sandbox" value after Cheating Death.
*Fixed an issue that could result in a player briefly falling halfway into the ground layer after interacting with a Snow Pile.
*Fixed an issue that prevented the player from being able to pick up a flare on a small set of stairs in Sundered Pass.
*Adjusted the Broken Road Vista location to be larger and more forgiving.
*Fixed an issue in the Affliction menu that could cause the duration timer of an Affliction to overlap with other UI elements.
*Fixed an issue where the camera would slowly drift to the left on the main menu indefinitely.
*Fixed an issue that prevented players using only a controller from selecting Sundered Pass as a spawn Region, if only Transfer Pass and Sundered pass had been discovered.
*Fixed an issue where Skill Books could be lost permanently when Cheating Death.
*Fixed an issue where the satellite dish in Sundered Pass had no collision, and could be passed through by the player.
*Fixed an issue where items that spawned in the back of a flatbed truck in Sundered Pass could not be collected.
*Fixed an issue where both Sundered Pass Polaroids displayed an incorrect image when viewed in the Collections Journal.
*Adjusted the location of Tale collectibles in the Omega Bunker to better communicate Mission critical items.
*Fixed an issue where after Cheating Death, then quitting and loading, the player could subsequently fall and die in Hushed River Valley.
*Fixed an issue where players with the Settled Mind Feat active would gain skill progress after every scene transition.
*Fixed an issue where Tactical Gloves would glow white when viewed in the inventory after becoming ruined.
*Adjusted item conditions for Tactical Jacket and Gloves in long-running playthroughs for a better chance of not being ruined upon discovery.
*Fixed an issue which resulted in the Near Death state stagger being far too pronounced on higher frame rates.
*Fixed an issue in WINTERMUTE Episode 4 where subtitles were incorrectly timed during the final cutscene.
*Fixed an issue where buff timers would not properly count down during harvesting actions.
*Fixed an issue where entering the buried cabin in Sundered Pass while crouched would result in the player falling through the floor upon entering.
*Fixed an issue that resulted in the player taking no fall damage if they harvested an inventory item mid-fall.
*Fixed an issue where some items could spawn out of reach in the Sundered Pass Mine.
*Adjusted the location of a Hacksaw spawn in Misery Mode so as not to be too close to one of the Survivor's spawn locations.
*Adjusted the Cheat Death UI to only show the number of uses left after first Cheating Death.
*Fixed an issue in Custom Sandboxes that resulted in no fish being available to catch.
*Fixed an issue where items which should not appear in Misery Mode would spawn into the world invisibly.
*Fixed an issue where the Survivor could spawn into a cabin awning when Cheating Death.
*Fixed an issue that could result in a save error in Sundered Pass.


[h3]ART & ENVIRONMENTS[/h3]

*Fixed an issue where players could incorrectly get on top of a broken trailer in Sundered Pass.
*Fixed multiple issues where the player could become stuck in terrain in Sundered Pass.
*Fixed multiple environment issues which caused terrain to jut out in unnatural formations.
*Fixed an issue that resulted in players being able to see out of bounds at a rock climb in Sundered Pass.
*Fixed an issue that resulted in a visible, flickering seam in a road section of Sundered Pass.
*Fixed an issue that resulted in players being able to see out of bounds in the Transfer Pass cave system.
*Fixed multiple issues where terrain and objects intersected in Sundered Pass.
*Adjusted multiple terrain features to better guide players on the route to Sundered Pass.
*Fixed an issue where a section of road in Sundered Pass was not properly grounded.
*Fixed multiple issues where, depending on the player's position, snow would appear and disappear on top of rocks.
*Adjusted the wooden bridge in Sundered Pass to better visually communicate inaccessible areas of the structure.
*Fixed multiple issues in Sundered Pass which allowed players to incorrectly see through the back side of terrain.
*Fixed multiple issues that resulted in terrain seemingly morphing as the player approached or left.
*Fixed an issue where multiple barrels were not properly grounded in Sundered Pass.
*Fixed an issue in the Station Bunkhouse that resulted in a strange visual effect when moving nearer or farther from the interior windows.
*Fixed an issue where objects were not properly grounded after breaking down a table in the Station Bunkhouse.
*Fixed an issue where objects were not properly grounded after breaking down a shelf in the Sundered Pass.
*Fixed an issue where snow intersected the interior of a Fishing Hut in Sundered Pass.
*Fixed an issue where snow could be found piled up in the interior of a truck near the Weather Station in Sundered Pass.
*Fixed multiple issues where trees in Sundered Pass were not properly grounded.
*Fixed an issue which allowed players to incorrectly see through portions of a frozen waterfall in Sundered Pass.
*Fixed an issue where the Miserable Haunt cave shone bright blue from a distance.
*Fixed multiple issues where the player could become stuck in terrain in Zone of Contamination.
*Fixed an issue where the player could become stuck on the wing of the plane in Mystery Lake.
*Fixed an issue where the player could become stuck in a waterfall in Mountain Town.



To check current releases on each platform, please visit our Build Status Page.

Please visit our Support Portal (or consult our Known Issues page) if you encounter any issues while playing the game. For additional news and information, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Twitter (Game | Studio).

The publishers of recent city builder sensation Manor Lords and elder survival sim juggernaut The Long Dark are having a mostly gentlepersonly skirmish about how many significant updates a game should have in early access, and the potential consequences in terms of both developer overwork and players losing interest.

Read more

Hello Community,

We have just released our v2.31 (137484) Hotfix for THE LONG DARK (including Survival Edition) and TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY on Steam and Epic Games Store. Please note that WINTERMUTE’s version number has not changed. This Hotfix addresses multiple issues introduced in the v.2.28 update for TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY.



[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

This Hotfix includes fixes for the following issues:



[h3]GAMEPLAY, UI, CONTROLS[/h3]

*Fixed an issue that resulted in players becoming stuck in the Omega Bunker at the end of Tale 3. *Players should now simply be able to exit upon loading their affected save file.
*Fixed an issue where the Settled Mind Feat would not provide the associated research bonus.
*Fixed an issue where the Teardrop Vista location was not revealed on the player's map when the associated Polaroid was picked up.
*Fixed an issue that caused the player to lose control of the Survivor when choosing to Cheat Death after dying during a Carcass Harvesting animation.
*Fixed an issue that resulted in the final Affliction for Misery Mode not being applied.
*Fixed an issue that could result in the Survivor spawning in the Cannery after Cheating Death, trapping them inside.
*Fixed an issue that resulted in all imperial measurement units showing incorrect values for items with a liquid component.
*Tuned Timberwolves to reduce their presence between Placid Notch and Final Refuge in Sundered Pass.
*Fixed an issue in Sundered Pass that could result in a player becoming trapped in terrain near the Weather Station.
*Fixed an issue in Sundered Pass that prevented the Survivor from returning up a Rope Climb.
*Fixed an issue that caused reduced performance in the Carter Hydro Dam.


[h3]ART & ENVIRONMENTS[/h3]

*Updated the "Last Horizon" text on the main menu to be more visible.


[h3]AUDIO[/h3]

*Fixed an issue that resulted in intermittent audio stuttering during voice-overs triggered by collectibles in the Last Horizon Tale.

[h3]PLATFORM-SPECIFIC[/h3]

*Fixed an issue that resulted in debug text appearing in the Cheat Death UI on Steam Deck, Xbox, and Playstation.



To check current releases on each platform, please visit our Build Status Page.

Please visit our Support Portal (or consult our Known Issues page) if you encounter any issues while playing the game. For additional news and information, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Twitter (Game | Studio).