On October 15, 2026, Enshrouded will leave Early Access with the major 1.0 update. We’ve already had the developers show us the numerous new features.
Since its Early Access release in January 2024, Enshrouded has released eight major updates, countless patches, new areas, weapons, enemies, and mechanics. More than two and a half years later, the German survival game is nearing completion.Version 1.0 will be released on October 15and brings yet another host of new features—as well as the final piece of the puzzle for the story and open world.
The next big step, but not the last
We sat down with the developers of Enshrouded for an hour and had them show us the major 1.0 update. And my goodness, Keen Games has big plans for this. Here are just the top five points before we dive into more detail:
- There will be another area with new enemies, quests, and more.
- Enshrouded is coming to PlayStation 5.
- Graphics and performance will be improved.
- A new logic system will enable constructions as complex as those in Minecraft with Redstone.
- The update includes dozens of small balance and quality-of-life changes.
Bigger, but also better
Let’s start big: The world of Enshrouded is expanding (for now) one last time. With the new floating islands, the entire game world now spans about 100 square kilometers. Exploring the islands is a bit more vertical than in the rest of the world. We’ll use climbing, grappling hooks, and gliders to navigate significant elevation changes. We’ll face new robot-like enemies, including new bosses like a giant spider.
In the new areas, the story revolves primarily around the mysterious and ancient civilization of the Builders, who are believed to have also designed the deadly robot guardians. To reach the islands, we must first traverse new dungeons that were built by the Builders.
But Keen Games hasn’t forgotten the rest of the world either: In the existing areas, dozens of locations have been revamped and spruced up. In addition, there are graphical improvements; distant areas and buildings are now rendered with significantly greater detail and no longer blur into unsightly blocks. However, this shouldn’t come at the cost of additional performance—quite the opposite: For this major update, the developers promise noticeable performance optimizations.
Building like in Minecraft?
One of the biggest new features in Version 1.0 is for base building. It’s getting a new logic system that lets us either automate our base in certain ways or even build our own dungeons.
For example, we can build levers, pressure plates, and switches that can be chained together to perform specific functions: they open or close a door, activate drains, or turn on lights. If you want to do more than just light up your base at the push of a button, you can also spawn enemies or trigger traps. With a little skill, you can build your own dungeons just like the ones we already find in the game. For tinkerers who have already built complicated Redstone machines in Minecraft, this looks like a dream come true.
Small but mighty!
Anyone who’s already spent a few hours in Enshrouded will also be thrilled by the many smaller changes in this major update, which are primarily designed to improve convenience but also tweak the game’s balance:
- Chests in the base can be upgraded directly without having to remove the items stored there and drag the chest to the workbench.
- Loot can be collected automatically, and we no longer have to pick up every single piece of wood when we cut down a tree.
- NPCs now have fully voiced dialogues, so the constant grunting and grumbling is a thing of the past. We can also now simply listen to the notes scattered throughout the world. These recordings can be paused and played back whenever we want.
- We can build bases in the fog, but to do so, we have to work our way into the fog from the outside.
- Chests and markers in the world can be named.
- Getting started in the game has been simplified, and the grind at the beginning has been reduced.
- Player models can be given more realistic proportions via the settings if desired.
Enshrouded Lives On
Even though Update 1.0 is intended to complete the game world, according to the developers, that doesn’t mean Keen Games is done with Enshrouded by any means. According to the studio, they plan to continue working on the survival game for years to come, as it has been a huge success for the small development studio: They have now alreadyreached five and a half million players.
Keen Games isn’t working on a new project just yet and is continuing to focus on Enshrouded for the time being. They haven’t revealed exactly what’s planned after Version 1.0. But the studio can envision exploring entirely new worlds in Enshrouded. So we can look forward to seeing where the journey takes us next.
Editor’s Conclusion
I recently started playing Enshrouded in co-op again, and I’d probably spend every evening building and exploring if I didn’t have other gaming commitments. After a bit of a learning curve, the survival game really starts to shine, and the many possibilities for base-building in particular motivate me to keep exploring the world, unlocking new crafting options, and gathering resources.
Update 1.0, however, addresses my pain points exactly: Having to read everything yourself to follow the story can be quite exhausting at times, so the new voice acting comes at just the right moment. And the quality-of-life improvements when collecting loot and upgrading chests also help eliminate minor moments of frustration.
The fact that Keen Games is focusing heavily on the fundamentals for this last major Early Access update and improving existing content and mechanics is absolutely the right decision.
