Black Ice

Nonadecimal Creative Super Duper Garrett Cooper · Super Duper Game Company

Released: Jul 9, 2014
Platforms: WindowsmacOSLinux
Last updated: 04 Sep 2026, 12:55 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

25 Jul 2026Developer post
Welcome to the Arcade... Again
Hope you're having a good summer! This update cleans up a lot of bugs that players have reported since the big menu overhaul and also starts setting up the next big update that will improve the Inventory, Inbox, and Progression screens! Plus, I improved the framerate to 150+ on m
Hope you're having a good summer! This update cleans up a lot of bugs that players have reported since the big menu overhaul and also starts setting up the next big update that will improve the Inventory, Inbox, and Progression screens! Plus, I improved the framerate to 150+ on my machine, hopefully giving everyone more frames per second too.
Where Credit's Due
The last update was so big that I ran out of time to finish some of the lesser used menus like Multiplayer and Credits. Since it's important to acknowledge all the people that have contributed to the game over the years, this update upgraded the credits, including links to everyone's professional pages.
Welcome to the Arcade... again
It's been a long-running issue that framerate drops when you look at the Arcade from anywhere in the world. To fix this, I replaced all the flashy light shaders with ones that not only use less calculations but also look a little better. Plus now they all respect Photosensitive Mode. Since these shaders had been reused around the world, such as in the Oshiro and Helices megacorp towers, those areas should also get a performance boost.
The old Arcade entrance sign didn't match the vibes, so it's been replaced with arches that match the colors of the 3 founders. Welcome back to the Arcade!
Setting Up the Next Update
The next update is one of the biggest and scariest for me: replacing the Inventory, Inbox, and Progression screens. This is some of the oldest code but also the most important foundational code of the game's FPS and RPG systems. It's really important to make sure nothing breaks, so I'm doing it slowly. This update includes the first steps: replacing text, matching colors, grouping UI elements. I also started applying the controller-friendly changes I've been making in the last patch.
Now you get a taste of the upcoming email sender icons so you can see the corporate and hacker contacts you're working with (or double-crossing). In the next big update, Talents will become Firmware upgrades, Perks will become Chips that plug into your deck, and the Achievement/Unlock system will become Street Cred rewards from the hacker community. Plus better controller navigation, better tooltips, less confusing item icons, and easier visibility of the important information.
Guess I better get back to work!
0.9.228 - Welcome to the Arcade... Again (7/25/26) Full Patch Notes
Updated the Credits in the main menu
Finished adding controller support for Multiplayer menus
Fixed a bug that sometimes caused a Loading popup on the main menu to stay active forever
Fixed several bugs when scrolling lists with keyboard / controller
Fixed the Main / Music volume sliders
Adjusted the spider egg positions so they're not partially underground
Replaced the Arcade light displays for better visuals and better framerate
Replaced the Welcome To The Arcade sign
Fixed the Rebind Keys menu so that it is usable with controller
Added controller navigation to Inventory and Inbox menus
Started adding email avatars for story characters
The Options menu no longer has all checkboxes checked by default
[p align="start"]- Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
12 Jul 2026Developer post
Neon Swarms
This update was actually 4 updates but each one broke something else that required another rework and more months to fix. Collectively, this is the 3rd update on our Dev Roadmap to Launch ! Neon Enemies (again) Since the world and game color overhaul, the enemies didn't match the
This update was actually 4 updates but each one broke something else that required another rework and more months to fix. Collectively, this is the 3rd update on our Dev Roadmap to Launch!
Neon Enemies (again)
Since the world and game color overhaul, the enemies didn't match the rest of the game's visuals. This required a lot of work to replace each enemy's texture with crisper neon lines that matched their silhouettes and allowed better color control. This gave them more readable outlines and makes their movement easier to predict. Plus, now they actually match the colors of their servers. You can see the full list of new enemy visuals here!
This created an opportunity to give the Bufferfish a new, incredibly huggable face that will align with its lore in an upcoming mission. The spider eggs, which new players didn't realize were eggs without lots of on-screen prompting, have been given an entirely new model. Now you can see the spider floating inside the egg and it's much clearer that they will hatch spiders.
Character Creation
Replacing the main menu also meant replacing the character creation & selection. Now you can see which character is selected, where you're about to spawn, and how long since you last played. The full character list shows the same info to make it easier to tell each character apart and pick the right one.
The character creation screen shows you what your character looks like and added a few hundred more RNG names for your new hacker. Not only can you set your logo and visuals from the start, but it's easier to edit them in the Options menu. Each character's visuals save separately to help you tell them apart.
Main & Options Menus
While applying the new UI elements and colors to the main menu, there was an opportunity to improve the functionality and fix some old bugs. By adding dropdowns and new sliders, it's easier for mouse/keyboard and controller to navigate the menu choices.
The Options menu also got an overhaul, simplifying the choices and removing options that no longer did anything. New quality presets make it easy to reset to defaults if your tinkering ruins performance. Plus, there's an easy way to adjust the settings when you switch between desktop, laptop, and Steam Deck.
Arcade Minigames
Some of the Arcade minigames were broken and none had final exterior visuals. This update pushes them closer to completion and fixes the gameplay and rewards for all but the Console Cowboy Quickdraw shooting gallery. If you encounter any other bugs with the minigames, please post in Bug Reports or message us on Discord.
Fixes & Performance
I discovered and fixed a few major bugs from the last update. I apologize those bugs were live for so long! One caused loading to freeze for some character saves, blocking progress. Another would reset story progress back to the tutorial. The last was briefly live this week during testing and caused enemies to break in the volcano.
Since these bugs were live longer than I'd like without anyone reporting them, I added better error handling that will take you back to the main menu and help you send me an email with the save files so I can test and fix. I will try to add more error handling and reporting in future updates.
I tried to do some performance profiling and improve the framerate for a few players. Unfortunately, the CPU and GPU profiling didn't reveal any single, large performance issues. Instead, there are dozens of small performance issues. Each one I attempted to fix only caused negligible improvements of a few FPS. I will keep trying to target the worst offenders in each patch.
This patch mainly focused on Arcade shader performance for when you're looking toward the center of the world, which currently drops your framerate. It also enabled me to replace them with static visuals in Photosensitive Mode. These fixes didn't yield much FPS improvement, but I have a few ideas for future work, such as removing the expensive Voronoi calculation from the Arcade lights and replacing with a simple texture.
Remaining Known Issues
Still some menus not working properly on controller... will fix ASAP!
Console Cowboy Quickdraw shooting gallery not working properly
More performance improvements needed for Arcade and lava shaders
Speed boost paths in the Arcade aren't working
Lag when entering the Transportation area under Oshiro
0.9.227 - Neon Swarms (7/11/26) Full Patch Notes
Replaced all enemy textures for crisp neon lines, better visibility, and more expressive features.
Replaced spider eggs with a model that shows the spider inside.
Gave Bufferfish a smile.
Replaced main menu, character select, character creation, and multiplayer screens for better user experience.
Added error handling if a character fails to load and a prompt to email your save file to me!
Updated the button colors in all the in-game menus from the last couple patches.
Replaced Options menu with better control over visual elements (especially when using controller).
Adjusted Options ranges so it's harder for players to make the game look worse.
Added 5 quality presets to make it easier to set visuals that match your hardware.
Improved the booth exteriors for Test Your Might, Professor Barbarossa's Mindgames, the Dunk Tank, Console Cowboy Quickdraw, and the Airgap Challenge. Fixed some of their gameplay and systems performance.
Added new terrain to the Arcade for better navigation.
Fixed some enemies stuck in volcano walls.
Improved various holographic logos around the world.
Split up UI canvases based on their update frequency to try to improve UI performance.
Removed some continuously looping logic that ran on each of the game's 600 corporate servers = performance improved.
Added hundreds of new hacker names to the Character Creator.
Streamlined loading screen messages and synced colors with new palette.
Removed virtual cursor from Main & Options menus.
Edited all the Arcade shaders to try to improve color balance and performance.
- Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
02 Mar 2026Developer post
Regenerating Hotfix
This hotfix is mainly to fix 2 experience-breaking bugs. Regenerating Fix Regenerating enemies were increasing their max health when regenerating at full health. This made for some impossible hacks. Sorry, it's now been fixed! I had noticed Regenerating was very hard in my testin
This hotfix is mainly to fix 2 experience-breaking bugs.
Regenerating Fix
Regenerating enemies were increasing their max health when regenerating at full health. This made for some impossible hacks. Sorry, it's now been fixed! I had noticed Regenerating was very hard in my testing but didn't realize why. Shout out to the players isolating the cause on the Steam forum.
Proxy Fix
While I had added improved waypointing and HUD prompting for the boss fight events that used proxy points, I had missed a line of code in the normal servers' Proxy security. This made those servers unbeatable since the proxy point would never be dismissed. Fixed!
Plus a few other fixes...
0.9.226 - Hotfix (3/2/26)
Fixed bug where Regenerating enemies' max health was also increasing.
Fixed missing HUD indicators and bugs for Proxy security.
Added HUD text alerts for ambushes, lockout, and proxy.
Made damage numbers and pickup text more visible on screen.
Fixed bug when looking at the info terminal for the Overkill shop in the Arcade.
Fixed some but not all powerup pickup notifications.
Only Startup Valley servers are hacked at the end of the demo, making for a brighter world.
- Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
22 Feb 2026Developer post
Job Contracts
This update took a little extra time to clean up old code but that also fixed a lot of bugs along the way. This is also the 2nd update on our Dev Roadmap to Launch ! Job Boards Random world events have been reworked into job boards where hackers can accept contracts. These events
This update took a little extra time to clean up old code but that also fixed a lot of bugs along the way. This is also the 2nd update on our Dev Roadmap to Launch!
Job Boards
Random world events have been reworked into job boards where hackers can accept contracts. These events bring higher level enemy types (mantas, snails, bats, bufferfish) into the low level areas as timed challenges. Turret spawns coming in a future patch.
By giving them defined routes, we can combo different enemy types with terrain that suits them. This allows for themed fun, like making deliveries to a nearby shop, intercepting data payloads sneaking through volcano tunnels, or tagging graffiti.
Deliveries give item rewards for completing the routes before the package degrades. The waypoints have been spaced so that there's multiple routes, allowing for more creativity and item usage to improve your time.
Payloads can be allied or hostile, spawning both attackers and defenders. Heal.bat integration coming in a future patch. Unlike the previous versions, payloads navigate to the destination without you and move at a faster speed. You'll have to keep up and keep the waves of attackers away. Allied payloads can be healed too, making those items more useful. I hope to add fast and flying payload types in addition to the armored crab payload.
Expect more of these events to be integrated into the inbox missions soon to spice up the story. Plus the return of world events, but in response to your actions in each sector.
Hacker Factions
It was difficult to represent all the factions for hackers, corporations, and eccentrics through only the inbox mission system. Too much text! Thanks to the job boards and their graphics and scripted events, there's room for more characters.
The endgame will challenge you to organize groups with different goals and cultures according to their common interests. Plus, you might be able to call in favors to make the final missions easier.
panic()
Artists, poets, and idealists resisting the conformity of product cycles.
DIYcrypt
Hobbyists and pirates who jailbreak and recycle corporate devices past their expiration dates.
X_X
Masked anarchists interested in amusement and profit.
The Knights of Ishkar
They want to protect Finality, just in case it's a next-gen AI studying humanity and waiting to hatch.
Machiavelli's Pizza
They're really passionate about pizza delivery and don't like their rival restaurant using AI for takeout orders.
Future patches will add job boards for The Word, Ol' Glitchy's Bait Shop, and a few other factions.
Graffiti
This is the first of several graffiti drops but I added a few graffiti paintings from artists Lea Kieser and Ben Nicholas. Lea painted two panic() hackers that will appear in the main story. Ben added some graffiti of soldiers to the Wasteland's broken battlefield. We'll have more graffiti art coming in future patches, including from Dom2D!
Boerner's Hot Merch
Speaking of lore, the volcano's secret shop has been upgraded in honor of one of the Supermesh's first hackers who popularized volcano runs. A custom fire-themed shop inventory will land in a future patch.
Fixes
Maybe this patch was the fixes we made along the way. Check the full patch notes below but highlights include mouseover text fixes for all loot pickups, fixes for waypoints that just wouldn't go away, and fixes for the unusable hacker caches and recycle bins.
Have a good weekend, hackers!
0.9.225 - Job Contracts (2/22/26)
Added new HUD indicators for delivery and payload events, along with the ability to spawn attackers and defenders in response to your progress. More spawn improvements coming in future patches.
Added 5 job boards through the volcano with delivery and payload contracts.
Introduced DIYcrypt, panic(), and X_X as factions in addition to the Knights of Ishkar and Machiavelli's Pizza.
Replaced several mission events with defend and delivery segments.
Mission defense events now prompt you to get to the area before the hack starts.
Replaced the volcano secret shop.
Improved chat messages to list all your rewards with more color and less text.
Added several new graffiti arts (thanks to Ben Nicholas and Lea Kieser)
Added HUD prompts for proxy hack modifiers and boss fight events. Boss fight redesign and balance coming in future patch
Improved the Portcullis color scheme.
Added a panic() room.
Fixed mouseover descriptions for many pickups.
Fixed hacker caches and recycle bins that were unusable.
Fixed waypoints not being removed after missions.
Fixed dropping items from the inventory.
Fixed boss fight HUD texts.
Improved text readability and added more server and item colors to text notifications.
Made enemies teleport less frequently in combat.
Fixed server and waypoint indicators in Einar's throne room.
Fixed waypoints to volcano summit and throne room.
Fixed waypoints through the firewall tunnel.
Fixed bugs with chat placement and font sizing.
Plus I probably forgot a couple dozen late night bugfixes that got left out of the notes...
Now I can sleep for the first time in 4 months.
- Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
07 Nov 2025Developer post
Music Viz
Wanted to get a small update out before the weekend while I continue working on the Courier and Payload event improvements. Custom Waypoints This update fixes the custom waypoints you can add by right-clicking on the map. Their animations have been restored and they are now numbe
Wanted to get a small update out before the weekend while I continue working on the Courier and Payload event improvements.
Custom Waypoints
This update fixes the custom waypoints you can add by right-clicking on the map. Their animations have been restored and they are now numbered, making it easier to follow your own directions using the world waypoints.
Music Viz
This was missing from the last update but there's now a music visualizer in the pause menu so you can channel your 90s winamp hacker vibes.
Have a good weekend, hackers!
0.9.224 - Music Viz (11/7/25)
Repaired and re-animated custom map waypoints, along with numerical labels
Fixed animations on Deliver waypoints
Added a music visualizer back to the pause menu
Fixed more text and backgrounds in the new UI elements
Increased aniso texture levels so that visuals are less blurry for some GPUs
Fixed some text in Einar's throne room
Minor performance improvements
Upgraded Unity version for security fixes
- Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
20 Oct 2025Developer post
ouroborOS: HUD Upgrades
HUD Upgrades Following the Technocolor update and As Advertised update that replaced the shaders and rebalanced the colors for the world's terrain and decorations, the HUD and servers needed their own overhaul. This update replaces many HUD elements and makes the servers pop with
HUD Upgrades
Following the Technocolor update and As Advertised update that replaced the shaders and rebalanced the colors for the world's terrain and decorations, the HUD and servers needed their own overhaul. This update replaces many HUD elements and makes the servers pop with sizzling neon!
Targeting Info
When you aim at servers or enemies, you now see a compact bar with security types, health bars, and other info. Server and enemy names are colored to match, making it easier to tell which enemies belong with which server. New icons and detail about buffs / debuffs coming in the next updates.
Interaction Prompts
When aiming at a shop or interactable item, you'll get on-screen prompts under the reticle telling you how to interact with them. Similarly, you'll get warnings when you're being ambushed or hacked with instructions what to do next. In the next update, that will include instructions for defeating Lockout enemies and Proxy security.
If you leave the hack radius, you now get on-screen warnings with a countdown until the hack cancels, helping you time split-second flanking maneuvers.
Event Bars
When you hack, defend, or battle a boss, persistent event bars track your progress at the top of the screen. These can stack with each other and with the targeting info, helping you to battle multiple targets and objectives at once.
When 2 servers fight, you'll see a "tug of war" meter with their enemy counts and the rewards each side is offering. Help one color fill the meter to get their reward!
Allied servers now display as chrome, along with chrome spawns that are clearly your friends.
Chat Systems
The old chat messages were hard to read, especially during combat. Between a new cyberpunk font, better text outlining, and sender icons, it's much easier to tell at a glance who you're talking to and what they have to say. More important messages also trigger notification bubbles in the corner of the screen, also replacing the old tutorial message system. Expect these improvements to come to the Inbox and mission system soon...
Coming Next...
The next 2+ patches will complete the HUD and gameplay menu improvements.
First, the new HUD elements will be extended to the courier delivery missions while connecting them to specific companies and their lore, such as deliveries for the Knights of Ishkar or Machiavelli's Pizza. The payload events will be improved and adapted to work within story missions, destroying and defending payloads before they get to their destinations. I'll also add more elements and information to smaller HUD elements like the reticle, the buff / debuff feedback, more information when aiming at items/powerups, and more NPC and system icons for the chat system.
The second upcoming patch will focus on the Inventory, Progression, and Inbox screens. I've been getting a lot of feedback that those are the most confusing UIs that need improvements. In the inventory, better item tooltips and item icons that match the type of gun rather than its payload. The Progression screens will get an overhaul to make them less confusing and fit the cyberpunk flavor. The Inbox will also get an overhaul with better information about the missions, sender avatars and images to make it easier to tell who you're talking to, and more feedback on the rewards and objectives. Both items and servers will get a new batch of icons for their modifiers.
Altogether, these changes will make you feel more like a hacker interfacing with hardware and software modules and also provide smoother gameplay experiences.
Since these are some of the oldest systems and oldest code, please be patient as it takes a lot of time to debug everything that breaks while making the necessary changes. This update alone changed more than 10,000 lines of code in 300 files. But if you look at the Before / After shots from recent patches, it's worth the wait!

0.9.223 - ouroborOS: HUD Upgrades (10/19/25)
Added new info bars for target info, hack events, defense/takeover events, and boss fights.
Replaced the chat system with new message window and popup notifications.
Added alerts when you leave the hack radius and a countdown to get back before it cancels.
Added new animated waypoints for Hack, Deliver, Defend, and Destroy events.
In addition to the XYZ world location, your current Sector is displayed above the RAM bar.
Linked servers' targeting info now displays how many servers are linked and the +X levels added from those servers. Hacking the defenders now decreases the displayed hack level.
Replaced most of the menu prompts with ouroborOS wireframes.
Replaced the Game Over screen with info about what killed you (images coming in a future patch)
Replaced the Escape Menu (music player info & visualizer coming in a future patch)
Added several new fonts for UI readability.
Replaced most of the loading screen backgrounds.
Streamlined the tutorial with better prompting and covered some missing fallback states.
Replaced the item loadout for the demo with more exciting weapons like a bouncy MG, a missile shotgun, the (Manta) Ray Gun, and Einar's Flame War.
The miniatures of Einar's servers located in the Arcade are now gold-plated.
So many small bugs were discovered and fixed during these upgrades that there's too many to list!
- Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
01 Jun 2025Developer post
Volcanic Activity
Following up on the Tree Fort update , the Volcano needed more complex terrain and servers to spice up the early game. This update increases the routes and platforming in each area and replaces key servers with more stylized ones. Combining a few servers into larger ones speeds u
Following up on the Tree Fort update, the Volcano needed more complex terrain and servers to spice up the early game. This update increases the routes and platforming in each area and replaces key servers with more stylized ones. Combining a few servers into larger ones speeds up the progression, getting you to the open world faster. Plus, more routes to survive the submerged lava caverns and a new bridge to the volcano with better platforming and jumpscares.
Einar's Legacy
Complementing Einar's trophy servers, billboards for his companies expand their backstories and the progression of his career.
Gameplay Balance, Continued
There will be a lot of balance changes as we close in on final launch. We decreased the levels for the post-volcano missions to match the recent changes to the early game. The Prank War also lost its first 2 hacks to shorten the tutorial sequence. The inbox was reporting server levels that included the boosted levels of defended servers, making missions appear much higher level. This fix should also speed up the progression. Looking ahead, the story is about to get an overhaul to match the progression and connect with the final chapter. The UI will get a major rework to offer more prompts during special events and hack types. This will also improve waypointing and mission objectives. The rework should improve inventory and progression usability. This may be an ongoing project that spans the next few updates. See you soon!
0.9.222 - Volcanic Activity (5/31/25)

Major redesigns to each area of the volcano and new servers to improve combat flow and get you through the volcano faster
Added advertisement billboards for Einar's companies
Moved the volcano boss fight respawn point to the Skyward server and shop area so you can restock or buy items before retrying the boss fight (previously you respawned directly outside the boss area and had to return to Arcade)
Added a grappling hook mission reward in the volcano for extra fun
Fixed navmesh on the bridge to the volcano
Fixed mission text to show the base level of a server, not the upgraded level (this was causing the story mission in Quarkus to show as a level 38 hack instead of 28 due to linked servers adding levels)
Shortened the Prank War by 2 hacks
Fixed low level items missing stats
"Sell All" button in shops no longer sells "New" items (next patch will sell them on second button press)
Rebalanced the levels of Act 2 (post-Volcano) missions
Fixed and brightened the map colors for better visibility
- Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
01 Apr 2025Developer post
As Advertised
As Advertised What's a corporate dystopia without intrusive advertising everywhere you go? At long last, we have added the advertisements you crave! The ad billboards will accentuate the worldbuilding, add more flavor and background details to the corporations you hack throughout
As Advertised
What's a corporate dystopia without intrusive advertising everywhere you go? At long last, we have added the advertisements you crave! The ad billboards will accentuate the worldbuilding, add more flavor and background details to the corporations you hack throughout the story, and foreshadow future events so that you're already familiar with the places and people by the time you meet them. Now that we have greater control over the world's colors, we can add even more.
Linked Servers
Linked servers that would join a hack to defend each other were meant to add an element of strategy. Trace the paths backwards to remove the layers of security protecting your target. Hacker vibes. But in practice, it sometimes meant hacking the server at the end of the line to activate ?? hacks and spawn hundreds or even thousands of enemies for a 20-minute hack. While we want you to be able to challenge yourself, we'd rather they be opt-in experiences in arenas and special encounters than punishing and time-consuming difficulty spikes in the core experience. We've changed the linked servers to still pass their security types downstream but not activate as a multihack. Each downstream servers also gets +2 level to boost the difficulty. Now there's still an advantage to peeling back the layers of linked servers but you're less likely to soft-lock yourself with an extremely long hack.
Gameplay Balance, Continued
With randomized loot, it was possible for a new character to end up with an inventory full of shotguns. Since we want every playthrough to start with a variety of build options, we've guaranteed a selection of different items in your first dozen hacks. Now a new character will find a heal, mobility items, a variety of weapon types, a scope, a mine, and even a grenade. We decreased the level that some items unlock to also expand the early game loot variety and build options. In the last patch, I had decreased the server levels in the early game but forgot to decrease the levels that missions unlock. Sorry about that, new players, it's been fixed! P.S. Watch out for all the cats today!
0.9.221 - As Advertised (4/1/25)

Added advertisement billboards to the startup valley and volcanyon
Decreased the levels where post-volcano mission unlock (sorry, forgot to do this in the last patch!)
Linked servers now pass their security types and +2 level downstream but don't activate as multihacks
Revised drop pool after the tutorial to guarantee a variety of items in your first loot pickups
Decreased the level where many items unlock to improve early game build variety
New Perk, Buffer Overflow: on kill, get a random buffer for a few seconds
Screen desaturates at low health again (sorry, broke this in last patch)
Rebalanced some story server levels in the volcanyon
Recycle Bin now tells you the percent chance of output items
Removed 2 hacks from the Prank War to get you to Arcade faster (farewell Smellson)
Additional minor fixes and tweaks
WeCare about you. <3 - Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
12 Mar 2025Developer post
Presented in Technocolor
Easy on the Eyes This update brings balance to the world colors, making walls darker and walkable terrain more obvious. Darker terrain also helps the enemies, projectiles, and other things that can hurt you be more visible against the background. Lava has been redesigned to have
Easy on the Eyes
This update brings balance to the world colors, making walls darker and walkable terrain more obvious. Darker terrain also helps the enemies, projectiles, and other things that can hurt you be more visible against the background. Lava has been redesigned to have less obvious tiling AND now it flows downhill! Firewalls also got a makeover to mask their tiling. Terrain color also changes in response to elevation, making routes and platforming easier to see at ground level and on the map! Plus all the dark spooky canyons got a little spookier. Most of all, these changes benefit users of Photosensitive Mode, which was intensifying the color warping. Your experience should match the colors and intensity of the default game without needing to wear dark sunglasses. Expect more changes to colors as we get closer to launch day. Better color balance will help us improve the HUD and UI to be more readable in the next couple patches. Plus we'll start seeing ~billboards~ for corporations, improving our worldbuilding.
Gameplay Balance
The Volcanyon, the first area before the volcano, got its own refresh, replacing its worst terrain and servers with more ramps and platforms. This also reduced the server count for this area, speeding you along to the volcano. Like the updates to the Forest in the last patch, expect more balance and improvements in the weakest areas in future patches. Probably the volcano and the industrial area under Oshiro. Feel free to tell us which spots you think we should work next!
0.9.220 - Presented in Technocolor (3/11/25)

Rebalanced all the game shaders for better color control
Added the ability for lava to flow downhill and improved the lava textures/colors
Replaced servers and terrain in the Volcanyon to improve flow
Removed a few servers from the early Volcano
Custom multiplayer settings now save between sessions
Enemies now make better long-distance vertical jumps
Fixed mouseover reporting the wrong server info
Fixed Payload event not starting on entry
Fixed repeat "you've got mail" message
Fixed repeat Encyclopedia unlock message
Fixed rolling barrels
Fixed UI not updating after rebinding keys
Additional minor fixes and tweaks
Stay safe, hackers. - Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
26 Jan 2025Developer post
Tree Fort
Forest Service While the forest has always been about platforming to the treetops, the terrain was a bit too flat. This update adds a lot more terrain variation and cover, improving combat in this area. Now the bridges, tunnels, and cliffs give us more room to hide secrets and ha
Forest Service
While the forest has always been about platforming to the treetops, the terrain was a bit too flat. This update adds a lot more terrain variation and cover, improving combat in this area. Now the bridges, tunnels, and cliffs give us more room to hide secrets and hacker stashes before launch.
Black Ice, Inc. Vault
Black Ice, Inc. added a vault to the forest. It's sealed for now but who knows what treasures are locked inside. In addition to adding more places to jump during some Quarkus fights, this tree fort would be a fun place for some PVP.
0.9.218 - 1/25/25 Tree Fort

Majorly improved terrain in the Forest
Added the exterior of a Black Ice, Inc. Vault
There was a coolant spill in the Industrial area
New Powerup: Ouros (max) now randomly appearing in the world
New Affix: Double Draw Speed (Halves draw/holster time for all weapons. does not stack)
The Camera now always updates at the highest framerate possible, instead of during the physics step when the player moves, drastically increasing game smoothness at high framerates
Added a DPS tracker to the Perk Tryout area in the Arcade for all your testing needs
Shops now refresh as you open them, which means they'll give loot closer to your highest hacked level more often
New keyboard shortcut in the Talent Screen - Shift-Click to spend all talent points at once
The Encyclopedia now notifies you in the chat if you find a new Super Duper item
Weapons with Explosive projectiles now show their radius as an affix in their tooltip
Shortened time between enemy waves when there are many enemies in the queue, or all enemies are dead
Servers now spawn entire waves of enemies with a random affix instead of random individuals - especially the longer the hack takes.
Hostile Takeovers and Corporate Warfare will no longer happen between two servers of the same color, which should make it easier to tell who is who
Added more powerups and barrels in the Wasteland area
The Hack limit now always extends to encompass the entire height of the server
Fixed the 15-tile sliding puzzle in the Arcade (now moves with damage instead of clicks)
Two-way server links are no longer possible, preventing a rare crash
Exploding Barrels now leave behind a larger damaging area
Fixed the Recycle Bin in the volcano secret shop area
Fixed Unlock points disappearing on logout - this will restore any lost points
Updated the Airborne challenge to make various exploits impossible (including dying)
Fixed a bug which caused enemies spawning in to sometimes appear fully rezzed
Additional minor fixes and tweaks
Stay safe, hackers. - Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
03 Dec 2024Developer post
Corporate Graveyard
Corporate Graveyard After lots of work, the corporate wasteland is finished just in time for the spookiest time of the year... December. In the 2060s, Zheglov-Mang and Sol Fusion went to war. While the megacorps eventually negotiated peace, the cratered wrecks of old servers litt
Corporate Graveyard
After lots of work, the corporate wasteland is finished just in time for the spookiest time of the year... December. In the 2060s, Zheglov-Mang and Sol Fusion went to war. While the megacorps eventually negotiated peace, the cratered wrecks of old servers litter the battlefield. The surviving megacorps tower over the holes ripped in the Supermesh. The Wasteland is a high-level playground for veteran players, full of level 46 - 48 servers. The gigantic towers are perfect for using your teleports, grappling hooks, gliders, and triple jumps to vault from tower to tower and dodge enemies.
Enter the Dragon
Plus... there's a giant dragon. Do I need to say more?
Black Ice, Inc.
Ever wonder why every server that defeats you has a skull floating over it? Black Ice, Inc.'s cybersecurity platform is constantly studying you so their AI can shut down your hacks and fry your systems. They must not be a fan of Ouroboros or ouroborOS. I wonder who will win that fight...
0.9.217 - 12/2/24 Corporate Graveyard Patch Notes

New high-level area: The Wasteland
Added Black Ice, Inc. arena
Fixed bug that prevented the firewall on the Volcano bridge from unlocking
Added waypoint back to the tutorial cache so tutorial can end properly
Added free heal item back to cache for new characters
Decreased WeCare level slightly
Stay safe, hackers. - Nonadecimal & superdupergc
Original post
18 Jun 2024Developer post
Laser Boss Fight!
Sol Fusion... what if the final boss is lasers? Real talk about game development: There's never enough hours to make all the things you want to make. When we released the Sol Fusion megacorp tower last year, there wasn't enough time to add the final boss: *absolute tons of lasers
Sol Fusion... what if the final boss is lasers?
Real talk about game development: There's never enough hours to make all the things you want to make. When we released the Sol Fusion megacorp tower last year, there wasn't enough time to add the final boss: *absolute tons of lasers*. With each additional update to add the other megacorp towers, there was never enough time to go back to Sol Fusion. But we decided May 2024 would be Lasers Month. This meant not only fixing all the bugged lasers throughout the tower by hand one at a time, but creating a new boss fight arena with tons of rotating laser sweeps. You can limbo under the lasers to stay alive or take risks to get them to sweep through the enemies. Let us know what's the best strategy!
New Pizza, Same Great Flavor
Since this patch was all about improvement, we took the time to replace some of the Volcanyon terrain to make the new game experience a little smoother. That included replacing the Machiavelli's Pizza server with a better platforming experience and doubling the lava for the pizza ovens. There have been some persistent bugs with the mission system and waypoints and this self-improvement / self-care patch fixed as many of those as we could find. Plus we may have fixed the bug with enemies getting stuck inside servers!
Looking Ahead: Zheglov-Mang
Just like a delicious pizza, sometimes good things take awhile to cook. Zheglov-Mang's trap-filled tower is going to take us a little bit longer to build. Stay ready!
0.9.214 - 6/14/24 Laser Boss Fight! Patch Notes

Added a new Laser Boss Fight to the Sol Fusion Megacorp tower!!
Fixed misaligned Sol Fusion lasers throughout entire tower
Replaced the Volcanyon Machiavelli's Pizza server with a better design
New Volcanyon courier routes
Enemies stuck under buildings, especially Aimbots, should respawn properly after a few seconds now
Fixed the Edgerunner achievement being given incorrectly by some missions
Fixed multiple bugs related to missions not completing or waypoints not clearing
Fixed Dark Deeds/Volcano Throne waypoints displaying incorrectly
Fixed the Server Security Encyclopedia exit button not working
Rebalanced early game item drop levels to add more item diversity before level 10
Terrain and layout fixes throughout the world
Stay safe, hackers. - superdupergc & Nonadecimal
Original post
19 Apr 2024Developer post
Megascorporation
Megascorporation Deep in the mountains, the AI for a data mining facility has gone rogue! A lowly Scorporation has gorged itself on the volatile code mined from the Supermesh and become... well, a really big scorpion. You might even call it a Megascorporation. In addition to its
18 Mar 2024Developer post
Helices, Megacorp
Helices is in its Growth Phase Helices: a megacorporation known for genetic engineering, biotech, and prefab agriculture. Everyone knows Helices engineered the factory crops and lab-grown foods that helped us survive the 21st century. Along with genetic engineering to make humans
22 Dec 2023Developer post
Gilded Rage
Einar's Throne Room Einar's final resting place beneath the volcano is now fit for a king! Decked in gold, the new boss fight arena offers more platforming and routes to evade the swarm as you battle the Mother of Spiders. With the new boss fight HP bar, you can focus on the obje
Einar's Throne Room
Einar's final resting place beneath the volcano is now fit for a king! Decked in gold, the new boss fight arena offers more platforming and routes to evade the swarm as you battle the Mother of Spiders. With the new boss fight HP bar, you can focus on the objective before you're overrun. We've also streamlined the early stages of the game to help you get through the volcano faster. More routes, better waypoints, rebalanced enemy progression. We will continue improving the early game with a reworked tutorial area soon!
New Missions
A small taste of what's coming next, we added 2 new missions while streamlining the other 100 story emails already in the game. Tangle with Baba Yaga (again?) in the Forest, then help some Quarkus employees stage a coup in Act 3.
Looking Ahead: Helices
Stay tuned for the next update bringing the Helices megacorp tower. Full patch notes below!
0.9.207 - 12/20/23 Gilded Rage

Remade Einar's Throne Room (Volcano Boss Arena)
Major navigational improvements to the Volcanyon and Volcano
Added a new shop in the Volcano
Quarkus improvements, including boss attack telegraphing
Overhauled mission waypoint system to be more readable and useful
Added Courier Story Missions (including one to take you to the top of the Volcano)
The first character on an account will now always get a free heal in the Cache
Added two new unique items as rewards for the Quarkus and upcoming Helices fight
Added two new missions between level 25-35
Edited and improved all previous missions
After you complete a mission, the active waypoint will automatically switch to the next active mission
Players now run a lot faster on the Information Superhighways
Heal Over Time items now automatically enable when the player logs in or respawns
Rebalanced hack speed to make it less punishing if you fall behind on icebreaker upgrades
Added Hack Timer calculation in the Full Stats UI
Added Time To Kill calculation in the Full Stats UI
Added a Boss HP bar for dungeon bosses and Lockout enemies
Increased Flat Damage affix scaling at the low end, but also reduced drop rate
Made Lockout GUI and in-game particles easier to see
Lockout enemies now slow the hack down drastically instead of completely stop it
Added a video option to reduce the sky intensity
Reduced sky star size for stars closest to the player
Added a green cooldown indicator for items with charges to show when charges will cd
Fixed terrain hazards like lava doing increased damage in multiplayer
Evading servers no longer appear in the Volcano
Reduced Charge.bat damage
New unique Sprint which applies Frictionless
Items now have full charges when equipped for the first time, and remember both charges and cooldowns when you unequip them, which you can now do at any time.
Many bug fixes, including waypoints, missions, etc.
Stay safe, hackers. - superdupergc & Nonadecimal
Original post
27 Nov 2023Developer post
Quarkus, Megacorp
Quarkus Returns Quarkus: a megacorporation known for quantum computing and data at every scale. The biggest search and social media monopolies of the 21st century merged to form Quarkus. While its CEO Grafton Bayles never completed his vision of a "metaverse", Quarkus dominates t
12 Jul 2023Developer post
Sol Fusion, Megacorp
Sol Fusion is open for business! Sol Fusion, a megacorporation known for nuclear power and opulent enclosed cities. Formed from a merger of aging oil export corporate kingdoms, Sol Fusion ascended to megacorp status through the construction of sealed cityscapes to survive the new
29 Jun 2023Developer post
0.9.204 - Loading OuroborOS
ouroborOS: the operating system for hackers by hackers Systems online....... After a lifetime hacking in the Supermesh, Ouroboros built an operating system that gamifies network (in)security. Corporate AIs personified as spiders, scorpions, and squids. Viral vectors and brute for
26 May 2023Developer post
New Area: Green Hill Zone
Green Hill Zone The verdant Green Hills surrounding Helices are finally packed full of towering corporate fortresses, biotech cartels, and toxic sludge that amplifies damage. Another quarter of the world is filled in with the addition of this swampy cityscape full of 40+ servers
Green Hill Zone
The verdant Green Hills surrounding Helices are finally packed full of towering corporate fortresses, biotech cartels, and toxic sludge that amplifies damage. Another quarter of the world is filled in with the addition of this swampy cityscape full of 40+ servers for levels 30-40. The new Proxy security type forces you to platform the giant castles to hold unlock points in order to finish the hack. The corrosive sludge being dumped by the warring biotech cartels causes both you and enemies to take bonus damage while standing in it.... use it to your advantage!
Gotta Go Fast... Travel
We added the much-requested Fast Travel system to the Arcade. You can use the ring of launchers to fly through the air back to locations you've already visited like the volcano, megacorp skyscrapers like Quarkus and Oshiro, and distant locations like the Phish Market or the Scar. You'll have to visit those places again after this patch in order to unlock each launcher. We also added the missing respawn points to Oshiro so you can get back to the fight quicker after dying.
Specialty Shops
Four new specialty shops like Ol' Glitchy's Bait Shop and the Data Broker in the Phish Market, the Black Market in the Scar, and PiuPew in the volcano make it easier to find specific item types like minions and mods. A fifth new shop in the volcanyon makes it easier for new players to empty their inventory before heading to the volcano.
We Hear Your Feedback
We also fixed some major bugs like the broken Virtual Virtual Reality perk tryout room, the Oshiro boss fight, and enemies no longer getting stuck in walls (but please tell us if they still get stuck). Along with some level progression balancing after the volcano, we hope this makes it easier to level up and get through Act 2 of the story. And get ready for another megacorp tower to drop in June because Sol Fusion is coming online soon....
Update Highlights:

New Server Security: Proxy Servers, which lockout and create capture points to unlock the hack
New Perk: Rootkit: Turret minions now have a permanent healing zone around them
Added fast travel launchers to the Arcade to catapult you back to the volcano, Oshiro, and other landmarks!
Added 4 new specialty shops around the world so you can clear your inventory and find specific items like minions and mods! Improved shop visuals to make them easier to spot too.
Fixed enemies getting stuck in walls!!! (but please tell us if they still get stuck)
Added respawn points in the Oshiro towers so you can get back in action faster.
Fixed the Oshiro Orbital boss fight server and added its reward loot.
Fixed the flying aimbots in Oshiro so they don't fly away.
More level balancing to even out the gameplay progression after the volcano.
Fixed multiplayer bugs when someone leaves your game.
Increased the Ouro max capacity so you can get more rerolls.
Fixed the teleport destination for the Virtual Virtual Reality perk tryout room.
Plus way more bugfixes and quality improvements in the full patch notes.
If you're excited about the upcoming megacorp finales, please leave a Steam review as we near the finish line! -superdupergc & Nonadecimal
Original post
22 Mar 2023Developer post
Oshiro Orbital, Megacorp
Supermesh message received, downloading... Unzipping... Oshiro Orbital My grandfather believed the only way to save humanity was to escape Earth. He thought a select few could flourish in space, free from the corruption and catastrophe of our home planet. He was willing to sacrif

Updates & announcements

Where Credit's Due

Welcome to the Arcade... again

Setting Up the Next Update

0.9.228 - Welcome to the Arcade... Again (7/25/26) Full Patch Notes

Neon Enemies (again)

Character Creation

Main & Options Menus

Arcade Minigames

Fixes & Performance

Remaining Known Issues

0.9.227 - Neon Swarms (7/11/26) Full Patch Notes

Regenerating Fix

Proxy Fix

0.9.226 - Hotfix (3/2/26)

Job Boards

Hacker Factions

panic()

DIYcrypt

X_X

The Knights of Ishkar

Machiavelli's Pizza

Graffiti

Boerner's Hot Merch

Fixes

0.9.225 - Job Contracts (2/22/26)

Custom Waypoints

Music Viz

0.9.224 - Music Viz (11/7/25)

HUD Upgrades

Targeting Info

Interaction Prompts

Event Bars

Chat Systems

Coming Next...

0.9.223 - ouroborOS: HUD Upgrades (10/19/25)

Einar's Legacy

Gameplay Balance, Continued

0.9.222 - Volcanic Activity (5/31/25)

As Advertised

Linked Servers

Gameplay Balance, Continued

0.9.221 - As Advertised (4/1/25)

Easy on the Eyes

Gameplay Balance

0.9.220 - Presented in Technocolor (3/11/25)

Forest Service

Black Ice, Inc. Vault

0.9.218 - 1/25/25 Tree Fort

Corporate Graveyard

Enter the Dragon

Black Ice, Inc.

0.9.217 - 12/2/24 Corporate Graveyard Patch Notes

Sol Fusion... what if the final boss is lasers?

New Pizza, Same Great Flavor

Looking Ahead: Zheglov-Mang

0.9.214 - 6/14/24 Laser Boss Fight! Patch Notes

Megascorporation

Startup Valley

Security Encyclopedia

What's Next?

Get the full patch notes here!

Helices is in its Growth Phase

Sticky Situation

Encyclopedia!!

Root Access

Einar's Throne Room

New Missions

Looking Ahead: Helices

0.9.207 - 12/20/23 Gilded Rage

Quarkus Returns

By their powers combined

Dissect their networks

The W.O.R.M Returns

Sol Fusion is open for business!

Climb The Lasers

ouroborOS: the operating system for hackers by hackers

Where are we going now?

What else?

Where are we going next?