Abiotic Factor is my favorite survival game ever, at least right now. I have been chomping at the bit to get more news and updates! Luckily, I finally have a good amount to share regarding the Spring update.
In the Discord server, we got a partial look at the updated roadmap.
Here is the roadmap we got on October 11, 2025, for reference. We can see here that Spring 2026 was completely redacted. The Pet 2.0 update was slated for Summer 2026. Under the new roadmap, we can see a little line that says Chemistry System. At this point, we don't have a further updated roadmap.
What happened before?
Before we dive into the Spring update content, I wanted to do a quick recap for those who have been out of the loop.
We got Abiotic Factor 1.1 or community update 3 on November 3, 2025.
This update featured a slew of content and fixes.
Challenge Accepted
Introducing… Hardcore Difficulty and Iron Mode!
“What are those?” we hear you ask (you should really disable that microphone).
Hardcore Mode is a forced-Apocalyptic difficulty mode where the bravest of scientists can take on the challenge of losing everything if they perish. Along with this mode, we’ve added a basic Spectator mode in which you can continue spectating after you have died. We’ve also added a button to the Admin panel to allow Admins to reset Hardcore state, if you must. But just know that is the coward’s way.
Iron Mode is a selectable job when running on Hardcore Mode, which will disallow certain actions, such as sharing recipes with others, reducing health regen substantially, and more. If you are just in it for the pain, Iron Mode might be for you! This role can also be disabled by the server in Sandbox Settings, for whatever reason one might want to do that.
New Enemy Abilities
One major update we made to Apocalyptic Difficulty (whether in Hardcore Mode or not) is enemies will now occasionally have new abilities. Ever wondered if Peccary might be harder when they can actually steer their charge? Well, the answer turns out to be… yes. There’s a whole slew of new abilities and changes, but we’ll let you discover what those are. After all, we wager you are playing Apocalyptic difficulty for one reason, and one reason only.
Exercise Machines
Can we really be called scientists if we’re afraid of simple machinery? No! Therefore, we’re happy to announce, our scientists can now utilize exercise machines to skill up AND keep your base powered while doing it!
No more carrying around 10 radfridges to get your sweat on, now scientists can level up their strength in the comfort of their own base! Sprinting into a wall repeatedly to level up Sprinting? Try the Exercise Bike instead!
Yolk up, eggheads.
What’s more, pre-existing gym equipment is no longer indestructible. You can dismantle these chunky objects and free up some extra floor space to fill with anything you like (maybe even the new charging crate, which does exactly what it sounds like it does!)
Throwing Toggle
There’s a new way to throw throwables, such as grenades. Alt Fire no longer does an underhand throw, but instead toggles which state you are in (underhand or overhand.) We felt this was better from a user-experience standpoint.
Incremental Reloads
Remember how you’ve had to reload all the shells and rounds in your shotgun and/or magnum revolver when you reloaded? Well, that will soon be a distant memory. You can now reload each round individually, meaning if you only spent one round, you only reload one round!
Sheesh, we sure took our sweet time on that one, huh? Wild west of game development out here. Yeehaw.
Trader Improvements
Highly requested changes have been made to trader behavior. That’s right, they can sit down now!
Oh! And they’ll get out of your dang way. Traders will try to move if you bump into them, and you can also shove a particular ‘lil fella who gets underfoot a little too often. Should we add a bed for him or something?
Industrial Crossbow
There’s a new upgrade for the Makeshift Crossbow, which comes with a very minor 2x scope.
Melee Wielders: REJOICE!
In our quest to only take care of Sharp Melee users (that was a joke) we have added a new Hardlight Spear, something with a bit more range, wieldable with a shield, and a unique throw type which sends out a holographic something or other instead of throwing the actual weapon itself.
We have also made some improvements to at least one substantial encounter (avoiding spoilers here) where melee wielders were a bit left behind. There is now a way to deal consistent melee damage during this particular, climactic fight. Are we being vague and also clear enough here? Maybe!
And yes - we’ll look at the Blunt Melee drought as well. We hear you. It’s definitely on The List, we just want to make sure we get it right and actually address the core of the issues.
Many Other Quality of Lifes. Lives?
We’ve got a number of other improvements and changes to enjoy, including some bug fixes. A few (non-inclusive list of) highlights are:
- Improved teleporter tags (with a much wider selection of phrases or words)
- Broken armor indicators on your HUD
- New Chef Sense Cooking Perk
- GROWABLE MUSHROOMS
- Plantable berries of a specific shadowy sort
- A couple more ways to eat pumpkins
- More sandbox settings, such as toggling visible radiation, tainted sink water, enemy accuracy, base inventory size, and bonus perk points available at the start! There’s more than that, probably.
- Some buffs now save properly long-term, such as broken leg states.
- The aforementioned Charging Crate
- Skink Meat
- and the ability to craft ammo at the new Ammo Bench!
You can also get Balatro items in the game!
The Temple of Stone Home World
You can also buy a new Home World! The Temple of Stone comes complete with new lore, decorations, and a new puzzle! This DLC is available on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. If you don't know what a Home World is, check out our video on the topic!
Check out the full patch notes and let's move on!
Update 1.2 Holiday Cryosphere
The holiday update came out on December 15, 2025, and it brought a whole host of new features. I love this update because it added one of my favorite IS to the game, the Snowman.
Also, be sure to check out any of the dev vlogs you might have missed. These are really funny and clearly have some heart put into them. View the full patch notes here!
If the new boss has you stumped, be sure to check out the guide we have on our YouTube channel!
The first teasers: Lunar New Year Sale!
No, there is no sale going on right now. But we got our first set of new teasers during the Lunar New Year Sale. Here is the original Steam post.
The header of the post is interesting because it features a Peccary wearing a collar. It looks like the scientist was knocked off of it. This also looks like Home World Torii, but I could be wrong about that. The important thing is that we can't tame any Peccary yet! This teaser came with one of the cutest images we have ever had for the game!
Peccary on the couch in the Winter Cabin Home World! Showing us that we might be able to take our pets with us into the Home Worlds. The couch is special as well because it showcases pet furniture. Something that we don't have in the game yet.
YouTube teasers!
For the last few weeks, we have been getting YouTube short teasers. The first was for the Magma Pest, which I adore. While none of these are in the game yet, they are giving us massive clues about what the update will contain.
The second was the Volatile Peccary, which is cool. The Peccary doesn't have a volatile variant yet, which made some members of the Discord server speculate that the developers were trying to fill in the gaps.
After that, we got a short called Abe's Blue Shift that features Janet getting asked out! But this teaser mentioned Abe feeling sick after drinking the alien milk, which isn't possible in the game yet.
And finally, we got a look at the Enlightened Pest, which I am obsessed with.
The Cosmic Companions Update
First things first. The new roadmap wasn't ready for this post, but they are working on it, according to their official Steam post. The big thing here is that the Pet's 2.0 update got moved up to the spring update!
You will likely have pondered the name of this update - Cosmic Companions. We are here to discuss these faithful companions, as they are now and as they will become… friends through evolution!
We also get a look at my favorite Peccary variant being held by a scientist!
The range of Anteverse 2 mutations is increasing by a noticeable quotient. Evolve new forms, each with their own abilities and behaviors, through the power of epigenetic experimentation. Or maybe just a bit of chemistry. Are you ready to craft cozy beds and cuddle these curious new creatures?
They didn't give us too much about what the new pet features will include, but we got some clues!
These new pets can also be turned into trusty companions who will fight with, for and beside you in moments of danger using their unique skillsets. Lead them into adventure and look after them!
There’s probably a bit more you can do with them but we wouldn’t want to spoil everything right away now would we?
We were also shown a wristwatch variant, which I am stupidly excited for.
Horological advances continue with the new Wristwatch Upgrade system. The purpose of these new timepiece variants isn’t merely fashion - although several wrist adornments are rather fetching - it's also technology!
After that, we got a look at what I think is a boat or a motorized office chair.
And as always, we’ll have new foods, weapons, inventions, quality of life improvements and all that good stuff. And some things that our scientists have been asking for, for quite some time. Get excited! But not too excited, it’s still just nerd stuff. There’s so much we have planned for this next update! Far too much to fit in one sensibly sized Status Report - so we’re dividing them into separate posts.
Plus, we got this on Valantines day! Isn't this just so romantic? This image features chocolates and gemstones. As well as a lovely couple and a very jealous sister.
