Leaf Blower Co. News

[p][/p][p]As always, thank you for your feedback and for being part of the Leaf Blower Co. community. We read your messages, suggestions, and reports every day, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see how actively you’re playing and helping the game grow. This update includes a large set of improvements, fixes, and changes inspired by your input.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]✨ New Features & Improvements[/h2][p][/p][h3]Campaign Overhaul[/h3]

• [p]Levels are now played in a fixed order (no optional unlock levels after each day). Instead of the 23 levels being scattered over posters, 10 days of progress and 10 optional days – the campaign plays in order – so the new end day of the campaign is day 24. If you are mid-way through a play through, it will remain on the old system. You can choose to reset your career to initiate this new system.[/p]
• [p]Some seasonal levels have moved from Posters to Postcards.[/p]

[h3]Scan System Upgrades[/h3]

• [p]Fully upgraded Scan can now detect:[/p]
  • [p]Wasp Nests[/p]
  • [p]Spider Webs (Halloween only)[/p]
  • [p]Logs[/p]
• [p]On snow levels, a reminder appears after 40 seconds to use Scan to find hidden leaves.[/p]
• [p]Leaves in snow are now more responsive.[/p]

[h3]Controls & Input[/h3]

• [p]Custom Interact key now updates correctly on all interactable objects (e.g. if bound to “P”, objects show “P”).[/p]
• [p]ESC key now works correctly on Input, Controls, and Credits screens.[/p]
• [p]Mouse/Gamepad skip prompts now correctly reflect your active device on the intro / end movie.[/p]
• [p]End Level Summary can now be skipped (Left Mouse / Right Trigger) once results finish displaying.[/p]
• [p]For Mouse and Keyboard, you can change the default mouse wheel function (power) to swap tools instead. (Power still available on Z,X).[/p]
• [p]Added new hint toggles in the game to remind you of these options (Mouse Wheel Toggle, Sprint Toggle, General Toggle hints).[/p]
• [p]Tools now automatically turn off when sprinting.[/p]
• [p]Tools are no longer active when exiting to the Summary screen.[/p]

[h3]XP & Progression[/h3]

• [p]XP earned in the Hub is now divided by 10 to prevent farming.[/p]
• [p]Magnet skill reworked for improved reliability and now unlocks correctly on Day 2.[/p]
• [p]Job card updated with a new colour for improved visibility on the Job Board.[/p]
• [p]Side cards on the Quest Board now appear more reliably.[/p]

[h3]Mini-Games & Gameplay Adjustments[/h3]

• [p]Football mini-game now limits balls to 10 at once (spawning another removes one at random).[/p]
• [p]Japan Bike mini-game:[/p]
  • [p]Bikes no longer count as placed in “don’t drop” zones.[/p]
  • [p]Moving bikes no longer disturb nearby leaves.[/p]
• [p]Chess Area: Bags can no longer be launched out of the level by moving pieces.[/p]
• [p]Roller skill now correctly respects gravity and grips the ground properly.[/p]
• [p]Bouncing balls now correctly play impact sounds.[/p]
• [p]Bags in third-person mode no longer get kicked out when walking into the tarp.[/p]

[h3]Environment & Hub Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Hub lights and windows now illuminate at night (6pm–6am).[/p]
• [p]Movable bins now display directional arrows.[/p]
• [p]Snow reminder message added to snow levels.[/p]
• [p]Wind added to House01 trees.[/p]
• [p]Purchased shop items now correctly return to their display position.[/p]
• [p]Green walls now visible when standing on Mr. Johnson’s roof.[/p]
• [p]Shredder capacity increased for both shredders, with purchased upgrades also increased[/p][p][/p]

[hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🐞 Bug Fixes[/h2][p][/p][h3]Gameplay & Physics[/h3]

• [p]Large boxes can no longer be placed on small pallets (Warehouse Area 2).[/p]
• [p]“Teleport to Start” now works correctly (no longer pushes player through the map).[/p]
• [p]Collision fixed to prevent money getting stuck in Cash Cleaner (Area 2).[/p]
• [p]Playground out-of-bounds routes closed off.[/p]
• [p]Main Hub garden tree collision fixed.[/p]
• [p]Chairs repositioned in Country Club to prevent flipping.[/p]
• [p]Snow texture seam fixed (Christmas).[/p]
• [p]Extra charger removed from Gardens; chargers added to Christmas.[/p]
• [p]Snow ground issue fixed in Japanese Temple.[/p]
• [p]Landscape hole fixed in Skatepark.[/p]
• [p]Extra mansion geometry corrected.[/p]

[h3]Visual Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Roman level visual issues resolved.[/p]
• [p]Ghost’s eyes fixed (Halloween).[/p]
• [p]Beach fixes (tree wobble, torch stretching, wind issues).[/p]
• [p]Missing windows, floating fences and vegetation fixed (Skatepark).[/p]
• [p]Gap between cap and snowman fixed.[/p]
• [p]Store bin typo corrected.[/p]

[h3]Audio Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Footstep audio now correctly centered (no left-ear bias).[/p]
• [p]Weather volume reduced globally.[/p]
• [p]Store fountain volume significantly reduced.[/p]
• [p]Battery charging sound volume reduced.[/p]
• [p]Interaction sound no longer plays when interacting with already-fixed objects.[/p]
• [p]Sound FX settings now correctly affect the following sounds:[/p]
  • [p]Battery charging[/p]
  • [p]Rake[/p]
  • [p]Store fountain[/p]
  • [p]Gate opening[/p]
  • [p]Weedkiller burn[/p]
  • [p]Flamethrower burn[/p]
  • [p]Warehouse trapdoors & flames[/p]
  • [p]Spray paint tool[/p]
  • [p]Roman levers[/p]
  • [p]Halloween coffins[/p]
  • [p]Moving bins[/p]
  • [p]Nozzle changes[/p]
  • [p]Garage door[/p]
  • [p]Shower[/p]
  • [p]Throwing bags[/p]
  • [p]Dropping fan[/p]
  • [p]Dropping movable wall[/p]
  • [p]Magnet skill[/p]
  • [p]Robo Pest[/p]
  • [p]Slalom switch (Snow level)[/p]
  • [p]Deer animation[/p]
  • [p]Snow crunch (Christmas ball)[/p]
  • [p]Japanese Courtyard fountain[/p]
  • [p]Beach seagulls[/p][p][/p]

[hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🎨 Graphical Enhancements[/h2]

• [p]Night-time brightness increased across all maps (post-Lumen adjustments).[/p]
• [p]Additional lamps added:[/p]
  • [p]Japanese Temple[/p]
  • [p]Japanese Courtyard[/p]
  • [p]Orchard[/p]
• [p]Wind effects improved on trees.[/p]
• [p]Various minor lighting and visibility improvements across levels.[/p]

[p][/p][p]— The Leaf Blower Team[/p][p] [/p][hr][/hr][p]Looking for more?[/p][p]Check out the Forklift Interactive publisher page and follow it to see new games and updates as they arrive.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[h2]🎄 Happy Holidays from the Leaf Blower Co. team! [/h2][p][/p][p]As the year comes to an end, we want to take a moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope the holidays bring you some well deserved rest, cozy moments, and maybe even a bit of time to blow some virtual leaves. 🍂[/p][p]Most of all, thank you!
Thank you to everyone who plays Leaf Blower Co., joins our playtests, shares feedback, reports bugs, and takes the time to talk about the game. Your support and involvement genuinely help shape Leaf Blower Co., and we’re incredibly grateful for it.[/p][p][/p][p]To celebrate the season, we’ve added some festive holiday content to Leaf Blower Co. Make sure to jump in and check it out while it’s live![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]If you enjoy the update (or the game in general), we’d really appreciate it if you could leave a Steam review, if you haven’t already. Reviews help new players discover the game, improve its visibility on Steam, and give us valuable insight into what you enjoy most. Every review truly makes a difference.[/p][p]We’ll be taking a short break for about two weeks to spend time with family and friends, recharge, and get ready for the year ahead. We’ll be back and fully reachable again starting the week of January 5th, with fresh energy and more plans for Leaf Blower Co. in the new year.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you once again for being part of this community.
Happy holidays, and see you soon! 💚[/p][p][/p][p]— The Leaf Blower Team
[/p][hr][/hr][p]Looking for more?[/p][p]Check out the Forklift Interactive publisher page and follow it to see new games and updates as they arrive.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[h2]Hotfix Notes[/h2][h3]Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Minor adjustments to prevent players from escaping the Playground and Japanese Temple[/p]
• [p]Warehouse update: fixed an issue where a box could spawn inside a crate [/p]

[p][/p][p]Just in time for the holidays and Steam’s Winter Sale, we’re excited to unwrap a little gift for you. Actually… a pretty big one![/p][h3]
Say hello to the Winter Wonders Update ❄️🍃[/h3][p]This update brings new places to clean, a festive surprise, and one of the biggest performance upgrades Leaf Blower Co. has had since launch.[/p][p][/p][h2]What’s new at a glance[/h2]

• [p]A brand new main job The Gardens, unlocked on Day 11[/p]
• [p]The Japanese Temple, unlocked as a Side Job after finishing The Gardens[/p]
• [p]A fun Christmas Level, hiding under the Christmas Tree in your office 🎁[/p]
• [p]Steam Cloud Saves are now enabled and working for everyone[/p]
• [p]A massive upgrade to our Lighting and Graphics systems, bringing big performance gains, especially on older or lower-end machines[/p]

[p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]We hope you enjoy the new content, the many quality-of-life improvements, bug fixes, and performance boosts. We’re incredibly excited about 2026 and what’s coming next for Leaf Blower Co. 💚[/p][p]If you’d like a more detailed breakdown of everything included in this update, you’ll find it below 👇[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h2]❄️ MASSIVE PERFORMANCE UPDATE + NEW CONTENT[/h2][p][/p][p]This update is all about speed, stability, and polish — plus some brand-new places to clean up.[/p][p][/p][p]We’ve done a major overhaul of lighting and rendering to dramatically improve performance across the board.[/p]

• [p]Lumen has been disabled for now
  (Lumen is Unreal Engine’s fully dynamic lighting system — it looks great, but it’s extremely demanding, especially in large, physics-heavy levels.)[/p]
• [p]Nanite has also been disabled[/p]
• [p]Reverted to DirectX 11 for better stability and compatibility with older graphics cards.[/p]
• [p]Much higher and more consistent FPS ( for many this will be double the previous framerate).[/p]
• [p]Far fewer crashes, especially on longer play sessions[/p]

[p]This has resulted in one of the biggest performance gains since launch.[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Christmas – available immediately[/p]
• [p]Japanese Temple – unlocked on Day 11+[/p]
• [p]Gardens – unlocked on Day 11+[/p]

[p]More variety, more atmosphere, more leaves to deal with.[/p][p][/p][p]Steam Deck players should see a much smoother experience:[/p]

• [p]Automatic Steam Deck detection on first launch[/p]
• [p]Best-fit graphics settings applied automatically[/p]
• [p]Video settings rebalanced — generally hitting 60 FPS with shadows[/p]
• [p]FidelityFX removed to reduce crashes[/p]
• [p]Crash Log Folder can now be opened directly from General Settings.[/p]

[p][/p]

• [p]Rake no longer pushes leaves through walls[/p]
• [p]Major improvements to leaves going out of bounds[/p]
• [p]Scan Leaves skill now only “jumps” leaves near the player (huge performance win)[/p]
• [p]Help! A Leaf Is Stuck now removes the last 5 leaves instead of teleporting them[/p]
• [p]Bags placed in tarp now pay $10 and appear on the summary screen[/p]
• [p]New option to pause the passing of time (can be toggled mid-level). So if ending up too dark by the time you are half way through the level is not for you..[/p]
• [p]Ground circle indicator fixed on lower graphics settings[/p]
• [p]Trees now have wind and will appear to move slightly.[/p]
• [p]Cloud Save enabled[/p]
• [p]Rake now leaves trails in snow[/p]
• [p]Crows fly away in a more natural path[/p]
• [p]Lens flares added when looking at the sun[/p]
• [p]Steam’s In-Built Frame Rate will no longer show Frame Generation.[/p]
• [p]Furniture in the back yard will only be knocked over on Day 1.[/p]

[p][/p]

• [p]Fixed lighting in Skatepark[/p]
• [p]Tool ghosting when moving quickly fixed[/p]
• [p]Level payments now work correctly (Halloween, Christmas, Cash Cleaner)[/p]
• [p]Reset Key Mapping now works reliably[/p]
• [p]Fruit physics improved (less wild spinning)[/p]
• [p]Fixed floating objects (BBQs, bins, fence panels)[/p]
• [p]Player can no longer climb onto bins[/p]
• [p]Football physics improved (heavier, more friction)[/p]
• [p]Fixed stuck areas across multiple maps[/p]
• [p]Correct materials, outlines, volumes, cooldowns, UI messages, and store behavior[/p]
• [p]Audio improvements and volume balancing across effects[/p]
• [p]Tool swapping now correctly reattaches at charging stations[/p]

[p]…and many more small fixes that add up to a much smoother experience overall.[/p][p] [/p][p]✨Thank you so much for playing, for your feedback, and for being part of the Leaf Blower Co. community! [/p][p][/p][p]— The Leaf Blower Team[/p][p] [/p][hr][/hr][p]Looking for more?[/p][p]Check out the Forklift Interactive publisher page and follow it to see new games and updates as they arrive.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p][/p][h3]We wanted to give you an update as we enter December.[/h3][p][/p][p]We've been looking to your feedback and have begun the extensive process of reworking the lighting system of Leaf Blower, as we think that's the culprit behind a significant proportion of the crashes, stuttering and other performance issues. More on that below! But in the mean-time we've got a few key notes for you in this update:[/p]

• [p]The Shredders will now be able to return to their full Dev tool glory for all players upon reaching Day 11. Once you finish the last Campaign Job, you'll see new upgrades in the shop to buy for each Shredder to ramp up their capacity; we think this is a good middle ground between keeping the intended experience but also allowing our players to play how you want. Let us know your thoughts![/p]
• [p]We've also put a lot of work into the collision detection in every level, which should hopefully address those pesky leaves making their way out of bounds! ❗A word of warning though: pushing leaves against walls with your almighty rake has the highest chance of leaves exiting the play area, so we'd suggest avoiding this where possible.[/p]
• [p]And of course, there have been numerous small tweaks, fixes and alterations to make the game feel as smooth as possible.[/p]

[p]So that's what we've added now. Here's what's to come (apologies, some of this is unavoidably technical):[/p]

• [p]Switching from Lumen/Nanites to prebaked scenes. This should increase performance and decrease GPU cost.[/p]
• [p]Converting from DirectX12 to DirectX11 compatibility, which should significantly increase performance on older and lower spec machines.[/p]
• [p]Locking frame rates within game engine, as V-Sync doesn't always help here, which should help with overheating.[/p]
• [p]Steam Deck specific performance improvements;[/p]
• [p]Steam Cloud saves;[/p]

• [p]More content! In addition to getting the above core fixes (and more) we'll be adding new levels and additional gameplay appropriate for the winter season![/p]

[p]Thank you for being with us on the journey so far, we hope that you'll stick with us as we continue to make Leaf Blower bigger & better, so it can be the game our players really deserve! 💚
[/p][hr][/hr][p]Looking for more?[/p][p]Check out the Forklift Interactive publisher page and follow it to see new games and updates as they arrive.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][p][/p]