The Darkest Files

Released: Mar 25, 2025
Platforms
Last updated: 13 Sep 2026, 03:02 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

20 Jul 2026Developer post
New DLC "The Battalion" Announced!
Surprise! The time has finally come to reveal the secret. We’re incredibly excited to introduce The Battalion - the brand-new DLC for The Darkest Files and our biggest and darkest case yet. WISHLIST NOW! 🎮 NEW gameplay mechanics 🕵️‍♀️ MORE Interactions with the Bauer-Team 🗺️ N
26 Jun 2026Developer post
Steam Summer Sale is here!
Hi everyone, We're joining the Steam Summer Sale once again this year! After this sale, we're gearing up to announce some big news 🕵️‍♀️ We can't share any details just yet, but we're already excited to tell you more very soon. So if you need a companion for your summer vacation
30 Apr 2026Developer post
We've won THE German Video Game Award!
Hi folks, We still can't believe it, but The Darkest Files really won THE German Video Game Award (DCP) in the categories Best Serious Game and Best German Game! 🥳 We are incredibly grateful to you for believing in us and supporting us every step of the way. It's only with your
17 Apr 2026Developer post
We're nominated for THE German Video Game Award!
We have some incredible news to announce! The Darkest Files has been nominated for THE German Video Game Award (DCP) in no less than five categories! 🥳 ⚖️ Best Serious Game 🎲 Best Game Design 🎨 Best Graphic Design ✍️ Best Story 🎮 Best German Game Thank you to the jury and con
11 Mar 2026Developer post
Watch the devs play The Darkest Files!
Dear fellow investigators🕵️‍♀️ Something curious is happening on Steam… From March 11–18 , we’re part of the Curious Odyssey Steam Event! With 30% off on The Darkest Files. So... If you'd like to take a break, lose yourself in great stories, and forget the burning world outside
03 Feb 2026Developer post
Fun, Dark & Cozy Steam Event
Hi everyone, We're part of the Fun, Dark & Cozy Steam event! Check out the amazing games that are fun, dark, or cozy (or all three?) - where would you put us? Also, did you see the version update of The Darkest Files? We fixed achievement issues and brought back some missing
30 Jan 2026Developer post
Version 1.0.8.2 - Achievement Fix
Hi folks, We just updated The Darkest Files to fix the issue where some of you weren't getting the "Silver Tongue" achievement. We really appreciate your patience with this one 🧡 Also, the VFX that disappeared in the last version are back! Thank you to everyone who reported the
12 Jan 2026Developer post
Demo Update & Detective Fest Sale
Surprise! Just in time for the Steam Detective Fest , we updated our The Darkest Files demo. This is a brand-new demo released in January 2026, and it replaces the very dated one from 2023. 🕵️ That makes now the perfect time to try out The Darkest Files! And if you decide to buy
04 Dec 2025Developer post
German Developer Award 2025
We still can’t believe it! Last night was the DEP, and we are so happy and grateful to have won in the two categories “Best Game Design” and “Best Game Beyond Entertainment” 🥳 Especially because the other contenders had such amazing projects as well! Shoutout to "Deine Stimme",
19 Aug 2025Developer post
The Darkest Files on Gamescom's Opening Night Live!
Surprise! We’re proud to share that The Darkest Files was part of a very special Gamescom moment: The Opening Night Live show . Jörg Friedrich, one of our CEO’s, was invited to speak on stage about The Darkest Files and the important role games can play in strengthening our democ
15 Aug 2025Developer post
The Darkest Files goes Gamescom!
We’re back at Gamescom in Cologne - Find us in the Indie-Arena! 🕵️‍🔍 This year, The Darkest Files is part of a very special collaboration alongside other awesome indie titles: the “Games for Democracy” booth by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb). 📍 Meet us her
04 Aug 2025Developer post
Version 1.0.8.1
Dear prosecutors! We’ve been made aware by some of you that it wasn’t possible to load a savegame in the epilogue-chapter since our last patch. This was a result of a bugfix related to the Notebook. So, today we’re pushing a hotfix that lets you load epilogue-savegames again. Tha
17 Jul 2025Developer post
Version 1.0.8
Hey dear prosecutors, It is patch time again! This is a relatively small update that fixes a couple of minor issues and a couple of spelling errors. Something bigger is in the making, read the end of the note for more info on what we are cooking. Changes & Fixes Updated the “
Hey dear prosecutors,
It is patch time again! This is a relatively small update that fixes a couple of minor issues and a couple of spelling errors. Something bigger is in the making, read the end of the note for more info on what we are cooking.
Changes & Fixes

Updated the “Report a bug” menu with additional (optional) input fields for email and discord user names. You can fill these out when submitting a bug report if you want us to allow us to get in touch with you regarding further details.
Fixed a bug in the main menu which resulted in certain options not being selectable with a controller, in languages other than English.
Fixed a bug which resulted in Characters from The Insurgent appearing inside the Notebook during The Looter
Fixed various spelling errors in English and German
Not in this patch yet: Optimization & Nintendo Switch
We are currently working on porting the game to the Nintendo Switch. In order to get the game running on the Switch, we are making some adjustments to asset loading and graphics. We will be bringing most of these optimizations to the Steam version in the future as well. These changes will lead to a lower memory requirement, and should stop weaker systems from crashing when loading into cases.
Since these changes need time and extensive testing, they are not part of this update yet - but will be in a coming one. Stay tuned :)
Original post
26 Jun 2025Developer post
Steam Summer Sale is here!
Hi everyone, We’re part of the Steam Summer Sale! If you've been waiting for the right moment to jump into the investigation, this is it ☀️ The Darkest Files is 20% off from June 26th to July 10th - our greatest discount so far! And if you want to enjoy the warm weather outside,
28 May 2025Developer post
Version 1.0.7
Hello, dear prosecutors! We once again have a new patch for you to make some improvements, fix bugs, typos and grammar issues reported by you all. Thank you very much for all the reports when you find bugs. They really help us a lot to make The Darkest Files the best it can be as
Hello, dear prosecutors!
We once again have a new patch for you to make some improvements, fix bugs, typos and grammar issues reported by you all. Thank you very much for all the reports when you find bugs. They really help us a lot to make The Darkest Files the best it can be as we continue supporting the game. If you encounter a bug or any inconvenience while playing the game, don’t hesitate to press F5 and write a bug report.
We are also on a continuous quest to make major performance optimizations which will make the game run on much less powerful hardware via a future patch so if you’ve been getting game crashes, rest assured that we’re on the case!
Changes

Improved the viewing angle when in a kitchen talk with Simon Peters
Fixed missing comic panel text in Naumann case
Fixed an issue where the bullet hole and the graffiti above the mattress in the insurgent case were not highlighted
Added Instagram Button to Startscreen
Fixed Paula and Christoph dialogues showing up in the office instead of the kitchen area
Disabled reconstruction blueprint in the epilogue
Fixed an issue where the name of the cat Marlene had a blank space after her written name in dialogues
Made the bigger font sizes slightly smaller
Polished the artwork of the Looter chapter selection screen
Added a phone symbol to Looter blueprint
Switched out english environment texture
Fixed a bug which could lead to the game getting stuck during court
Optimized graphics memory usage so the game can run on more systems. This might prevent some crashes on lower-end hardware
Fixed a bug where you would only receive the second half of a certain character’s diary
Fixed some typos in the English and French versions
Fixed a lot of typos and grammatical errors in the German version
Original post
08 May 2025Developer post
Remembrance and Reflection & Game Availability
Remembrance and Reflection: May 8th - The Anniversary of Nazi Germany's Defeat Today marks the anniversary of May 8th, 1945 - the day that Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered, ending the Second World War in Europe. This pivotal moment in history not only liberated Europe fro
16 Apr 2025Developer post
Version 1.0.6
Hello, dear prosecutors! Today, we've got a new patch for you. This patch contains improvements to the notebook and adds a certain detail in a document to make things a little more consistent. We’ve also fixed all the most urgent and some more minor bugs and issues that you all h
Hello, dear prosecutors!
Today, we've got a new patch for you. This patch contains improvements to the notebook and adds a certain detail in a document to make things a little more consistent.
We’ve also fixed all the most urgent and some more minor bugs and issues that you all have reported to us on the forums, our discord server, or the in-game bug report tool which can be opened via F5.
Thank you very much to everyone who has been reporting issues in the game to us. Your reports enable us to improve the experience for everyone. We are still supporting this game with fixes and always look at every new bug report coming in, so if you find any issue in the game, we’d be grateful if you could press F5 and write a quick note describing the issue.
Thanks again for all the continued support,
See you in court!
Changes

Made certain documents more consistent in the Insurgent Case. (Thanks, Staiy!)
Various updates to the notebook related to font sizes, spacing, etc
Updated some notebook glossary entries, changed the layout to be one entry per page instead of three per page.
Changed the UI font size setting names to be more in line with what they actually are (from Small, Medium, Big to Default, Big, Huge (experimental).
Did a leveling pass to make sure Paula is always loud enough to understand her properly.
Made controller stick scrolling faster in the dialogue log.
Updated petition to add one backer name.
Updated 3D magazine textures, so the fashion, sport & people magazines look distinct.
Fixes

Fixed the game breaking in unexpected ways when opening the steam overlay.
Fixed an issue where a letter would not be translated inside the document detail view in French and German.
Fixed a bug which prevents the game from being auto saved before leaving for court.
Fixed an issue which could lead to showing not yet obtained documents using a controller.
Fixed an issue which could lead to not being able to add labels to paragraphs while playing in Story Mode.
Fixed certain objects not being highlighted in some of the memory sequences in the Looter Case.
Fixed an issue where character pages in the notebook were duplicated.
Fixed a bug which prevents the game from being auto saved, before leaving for court.
Fixed an issue where a dialogue on the following day would not continue if you choose to search Heidi.
Fixed wrongly displayed interrogation max count in the case summary.
Fixed text display issue in french version in personal information by making the text field bigger.
Various fixes related to texts in the game across all supported languages.
Original post
09 Apr 2025Developer post
Big Balancing Patch & Trading Cards!
Hey folks, 📢 Thank you so much for all your support and reviews, this means a lot to us! We also heard your valid critique and are excited to announce this big balancing patch of The Darkest Files. But before I tell you more about the update, we also want to share that we now ha
Hey folks,
📢 Thank you so much for all your support and reviews, this means a lot to us!
We also heard your valid critique and are excited to announce this big balancing patch of The Darkest Files.
But before I tell you more about the update, we also want to share that we now have Trading Cards! You can now collect and trade the whole team of Mr. Bauer, plus the cat Marlene. 😻
🔍 Patch 1.0.5 was released on April 8 and is a major update that adds a lot of possible solutions for conclusions and interruptions, making the game less strict and more open to different ways of thinking. We also added a new difficulty mode for a more balanced experience. The changes in detail are as follows:

Adjusted the difficulty of Investigator Mode to make it a little easier. (Removed the requirement to specify the paragraph in a given document and enabled the counter in the testimonies that shows how many optional interactables have been found). From the feedback we received, we feel that this more closely reflects the kind of "normal" difficulty that people are looking for - whereas in our minds, "Investigator Mode" was always designed to be "Hard Mode".
Added a new difficulty setting, "Prosecutor Mode", which is the former Investigator Mode aka "Hard Mode".
Added a lot more documents & paragraphs as possible solutions for interruptions and conclusions.
Removed Esther's misleading comments when combining documents into conclusions.
The reworked Investigator Mode should hopefully make the game more approachable for those who want a bit of a challenge without wanting to choose the highest possible difficulty.
We hope that you’ll enjoy this new update and are looking forward to reading your feedback about the new difficulty mode and newly accepted solutions.
🔍 And if you are still on the fence if you want to play The Darkest Files, read here what the press has to say:
If you can’t get enough of our characters and beautiful artwork, and amazing soundtrack and want to support our work, you can buy the The Darkest Files Complete Edition to add to your collection! This gives you a 25% discount on everything - if you own parts of it already, you can complete the set and get the discount on every item you add!🕵️‍♀️
The bundle includes

A Steam copy of the The Darkest Files
"The Chronicles of Crime - Art and Fact", a digital art and factbook exploring concept art, character designs, and historical research that shaped the game.
A lot of hand-drawn digital goodies like Digital Wallpapers, Emotes and Digital Stickers, and high-quality Printable Posters featuring stunning artwork from the game
In-depth Character Sheets revealing detailed backstories, motivations, and secrets of all key characters
The complete Original The Darkest Files Soundtrack by the amazing Almut Schwacke
Thank you so much for your support!
See you in court! <3
Original post
07 Apr 2025Developer post
Version 1.0.5
This is a major balance patch which adds a lot of possible solutions for conclusions and interruptions, making the game less strict and more open to different ways of thinking. We also added a new difficulty mode in between the easy and hard difficulty for a more balanced experie
This is a major balance patch which adds a lot of possible solutions for conclusions and interruptions, making the game less strict and more open to different ways of thinking. We also added a new difficulty mode in between the easy and hard difficulty for a more balanced experience.
Dear prosecutors,
After watching a lot of you play and make reviews and community posts regarding the game’s difficulty, we’ve carefully taken notes and created a major balancing patch. The game is a lot less strict about what it considers the correct solution now as we’ve added many alternative combinations for conclusions as well as many more alternative correct solutions for interruptions during witness interviews. Many of the steps can be solved with more ways of thinking than we realized initially, and this patch addresses this.
Furthermore, after watching people struggle with the difficulty selection between only an easy-mode and a hard mode, we’ve now added a normal difficulty mode in between. The new mode in the middle no longer requires you to select individual paragraphs. This should hopefully make the game more approachable for those who want a bit of a challenge without wanting to choose the highest possible difficulty.
We hope that you’ll enjoy this new update and are looking forward to reading your feedback about the new difficulty mode and newly accepted solutions.
As with all updates, it can happen that new bugs are introduced, even though we thoroughly tested every newly added solution. So, if you encounter any bugs while playing, we’d be very grateful if you could report them by pressing F5 while in game.
See you in court!
Your Paintbucket team.
Difficulty & Balance

Adjusted the difficulty of Investigator Mode to make it a little easier. (Removed the requirement to specify the paragraph in a given document, and enabled the counter in the testimonies that shows how many optional interactables have been found). From the feedback we received, we feel that this more closely reflects the kind of "normal" difficulty that people are looking for - whereas in our minds, "Investigator Mode" was always designed to be "Hard Mode".
Added a new difficulty setting, "Prosecutor Mode", which is the former Investigator Mode aka "Hard Mode".
Added a lot more documents & paragraphs as possible solutions for interruptions and conclusions.
Removed Esther's misleading comments when combining documents into conclusions.
Graphics

Changed the used Anti-aliasing method(s) from MSAA + SMAA (Medium) to just SMAA (Quality), resulting in a sharper image and higher framerates on certain systems.
Fixes

Fixed an issue where the interruption UI would display its animations abnormally.
Fixed Theresa being called Edwina in the court opening cutscene of the second case.
Fixed a bug which can lead to players being stuck when entering a coworkers office.
Fixed various typos and grammatical errors in all languages in the game.
Original post
31 Mar 2025Developer post
Version 1.0.4.4
Thank you for your continued support! We're excited to bring you this new update with several improvements and bug fixes: Changes Changed the unlock requirements of the "Fledgeling" and "Respectable Result" so they can be unlocked when having more of the required steps to unlock.
Thank you for your continued support! We're excited to bring you this new update with several improvements and bug fixes:
Changes

Changed the unlock requirements of the "Fledgeling" and "Respectable Result" so they can be unlocked when having more of the required steps to unlock.
Bugfixes

Fixed an issue where the achievements "Silver Tongue" & "Argumentative" would not unlock
Fixed an issue which prevents an epilogue Save game to load, which has been used to play through other cases
Fixed an issue where opening the Steam Overlay with the default binding also opened the ingame Radial Menu.
Fixed an issue where the Interruption could get clicked away instantly.
Fixed an issue where the research option for Call Protocols wouldn't trigger properly in Emilia Becker's and Otto Wagner's Testimony
Fixed an issue where the option to ask Paula about Peters would sometimes not appear properly in the evening of Insurgent Day 2
Fixed an issue which would prevent the 6th conclusion to be counted as correct inside the looter court
Fixed an issue that led to the wrong conclusion being displayed in court, when a player is going to court directly after setting up their conclusions, and then answers the first question wrongly.
Fixed an issue which would result in not getting all documents from the inbox when clicking too fast
Fixed an issue which would prevent an epilogue save game to be loaded
We appreciate your feedback as we continue improving your experience. See you in court!
Original post