The Long Dark cover art — Steam
Cover: Steam / Hinterland Studio Inc.

The Long Dark — Latest Updates & Patch Notes

The Long Dark is tracked daily for official Steam updates. 2,436 playing when sampled at 23:41 UTC on 2026-10-15. Latest official patch in our feed: Music for The Long Dark, Volume 3, Now Available! (May 5, 2026).

Latest official update

· Steam · Official

Welcome to Cauldron Island. Announcing THE LONG DARK: IRON ROAD!

Welcome to Cauldron Island - Announcing THE LONG DARK: IRON ROAD! “Welcome to Cauldron Island. Lost to history, hiding a mystery. Restore and activate a century-old train to journey deep along the caldera’s spine and uncover a dark secret. What you discover in the end will…

See update details ↓

Data from Steam · Last updated Oct 15, 2026 · Refreshed daily

Tracking
Daily official updates
Players when sampled
2,436
Sample date (UTC)
2026-10-15

This game stays in our update tracker even outside the most-played chart. Player counts are a timestamped Steam sample.

Latest updates & patch notes

2 English-language official updates in the last 90 days.

  1. News Steam · Official

    Welcome to Cauldron Island. Announcing THE LONG DARK: IRON ROAD!

    Welcome to Cauldron Island - Announcing THE LONG DARK: IRON ROAD! “Welcome to Cauldron Island. Lost to history, hiding a mystery. Restore and activate a century-old train to journey deep along the caldera’s spine and uncover a dark secret. What you discover in the end will…

    Read on Steam →

  2. Also patched today

    All patches

    Official Patch / Release posts · 2026-10-15 UTC

  3. News Steam · Official

    August Dev Diary

    August Dev DiaryDear community, Since a bit of rest post Episode Five’s launch on March 31st, the team at Hinterland has been busy working on a variety of things. I’ve been holding off on providing a larger update on our activities as there are a lot of work streams happening…

    Read on Steam →
  4. Release Steam · Official

    Music for The Long Dark, Volume 3, Now Available!

    Dear players, We’re happy to announce the availability of Volume 3 of “Music for The Long Dark”. This volume includes all the music from WINTERMUTE Episode Four: Fury, Then Silence, Episode Five: The Light at the End of All Things”, and from the TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY DLC…

    Read on Steam →
  5. Patch Steam · Official

    The Long Dark WINTERMUTE Updated to version 2.24 -- Episode Five version 2.54

    Hello players, We have just updated THE LONG DARK to: Survival: 2.55 181032Episode Five: 2.54 181117WINTERMUTE: 2.24 181038 This is a Hotfix for THE LONG DARK: WINTERMUTE, addressing bugs introduced with the Episode Five release. Known Issues Spoilers Ahead! The team is…

    Read on Steam →
  6. Patch Steam · Official

    The Long Dark WINTERMUTE Updated to version 2.23

    Hello players, We have just updated THE LONG DARK to: Survival: 2.54 180535Episode Five: 2.23 180559WINTERMUTE: 2.53 180603 This is a Hotfix for THE LONG DARK: WINTERMUTE, addressing bugs introduced with the Episode Five release. Known Issues Spoilers Ahead! The team is…

    Read on Steam →
  7. Release Steam · Official

    EPISODE FIVE, Post-Launch Update

    An Episode Five post-launch status update from our founder and creative director. Hello players! We’re about 48 hours after the release of Episode Five, and I just wanted to give you a quick update on what’s been going on. LAUNCH SUCCESSThe team was thrilled to watch the launch…

    Read on Steam →
  8. Patch Steam · Official

    The Long Dark Updated to version 2.52

    Hello Community, We have just updated THE LONG DARK to: Survival: 2.52 179852Episode Five: 2.52 180269WINTERMUTE: 2.22 180167 This is a Major Update to THE LONG DARK: WINTERMUTE, introducing Episode Five and completing Story Mode. Known Issues Spoilers Ahead! The team is…

    Read on Steam →
  9. News Steam · Official

    EPISODE FIVE: THE LIGHT AT THE END OF ALL THINGS, NOW LIVE!

    The moment you’ve been waiting for, for years, is finally here! Play as Mackenzie and Astrid as they battle the elements and other threats to finally uncover the mystery of the Aurora. The culmination of the epic Canadian survival saga is finally here, and as our friends at…

    Read on Steam →
  10. Release Steam · Official

    EPISODE FIVE LAUNCH TRAILER WATCH PARTY (March 31st @ 10AM Pacific)

    Join other fans of TLD to celebrate the launch of Episode Five. We’ll be premiering the launch trailer on YouTube just before 10AM, so make sure you jump in and experience the pre-release buzz! We’ll update this thread with the final video link, but for now you can simply…

    Read on Steam →
  11. News Steam · Official

    THE LONG DARK SOUNDTRACK, VOLUME 3 COMING SOON!

    Hello players! We're excited to share the news that soon you'll be able to purchase Volume 3 of THE LONG DARK's soundtrack, on Steam (with more stores to come later). Volume 3 offers nearly 2 hours of original music composed by Cris Velasco (Story Mode) and Sascha Dikiciyan…

    Read on Steam →
  12. Release Steam · Official

    HINTERLAND EPISODE FIVE DEEP LAUNCH DISCOUNT

    Hello players, Many of you just purchased THE LONG DARK at a 90% "Deep Discount" during the Spring Sale. In order to ensure the best discount possible during the launch window for Episode Five coming next week, we've worked with Valve to extend the 90% discount until April 9th…

    Read on Steam →
  13. News Steam · Official

    Episode Five Story Teaser: Mackenzie and Jace Plot an Escape

    On the run from Mathis' convicts, Mackenzie and Jace discover the meaning of, "out of the frying pan and into the fire".

    Read on Steam →

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Also moving today

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Last 14 days on Steam

No chart observations recorded yet.

As of . 0 of the last 30 days recorded.

Rank changes compare with our own dated snapshots: the 7-day figure is vs our snapshot 7 days ago. Steam’s weekly chart comparison uses a separate source.

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No recorded player peaks in this period.

Last 14 calendar days · rank and 24-hour concurrent player peak
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0 peak samples in the 30-day average. Missing, excluded and unobserved days are not counted; chart absence does not prove zero players.

In the news (4)

Third-party reporting, separate from official developer announcements.

  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun

    The Long Dark sequel Blackfrost hasn't been cancelled, but developer Hinterland are shifting a bit more focus onto the original's survival mode

    Things are shifting around a bit over at The Long Dark developer Hinterland Studio. Earlier this year, The Long Dark's story mode wrapped up with the release of Wintermute's fifth and final episode . After that, you may have fairly assumed that focus would have been mostly…

    Read on Rock, Paper, Shotgun →
  2. PC Gamer

    The Long Dark will get new DLC again as studio shifts devs away from the sequel to survive an 'uncertain' industry: 'We have to adapt to this'

    Survival game The Long Dark was supposed to be over when its final story episode was released earlier this year . Developer Hinterland announced its sequel, Blackfrost , two years ago and planned to go the early access route with it just like the first game... Read more.

    Read on PC Gamer →
  3. GamingOnLinux

    The Long Dark story reaches the finale with episode five out now and a big discount

    The Long Dark from Hinterland Studio has finally finished the WINTERMUTE story with episode 5 bringing us the end. Read the full article here:

    Read on GamingOnLinux →
  4. PC Gamer

    The Long Dark's final episode has been pushed back yet again, but at least it has an actual release date now

    The end of The Long Dark is nigh. After more than ten years in development and seven years working on its controversial story mode, Wintermute , the climactic episode is in the final stages of production. However, those stages aren't quite as final as developer Hinterland Studio…

    Read on PC Gamer →

Game overview

THE LONG DARK is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies -- only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.

Genre
Adventure, Indie, Simulation
Developer
Hinterland Studio Inc.
Released
Aug 1, 2017
Price
$19.99
Recommendations
112K

View The Long Dark on Steam →

Steam sources & verification dates

Screenshots

The Long Dark screenshot The Long Dark screenshot The Long Dark screenshot The Long Dark screenshot

About The Long Dark

Bright lights flare across the night sky. The wind rages outside the thin walls of your wooden cabin. A wolf howls in the distance. You look at the meager supplies in your pack, and wish for the days before the power mysteriously went out. How much longer will you survive? Welcome to THE LONG DARK , the innovative exploration-survival experience Wired magazine calls "the pinnacle of an entire genre". THE LONG DARK is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies -- only you, the…

Game details

System requirements (minimum)
Minimum: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 Processor: Dual-Core Intel i5 CPU @ 2GHz+ Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Intel 4xxx Series w/ 512MB VRAM or better Storage: 7 GB available space Sound Card: Any on-board chip will work.
Languages
English * , German, Russian, French, Spanish - Spain, Finnish, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese - Portugal, Simplified Chinese, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Portuguese - Brazil, Dutch, Italian, Polish…
Controller
Full controller support
DLC
6 available on Steam
Official site
www.thelongdark.com

Frequently asked questions

Is The Long Dark free to play?
The Long Dark is listed at $19.99 on Steam.
What is the latest The Long Dark update?
The most recent official update in our feed is "Welcome to Cauldron Island. Announcing THE LONG DARK: IRON ROAD!" (Oct 15, 2026), categorized as News. Welcome to Cauldron Island - Announcing THE LONG DARK: IRON ROAD! “Welcome to Cauldron Island. Lost to history, hiding a mystery. Restore and activate a century-old train to journey deep along the caldera’s spine and uncover a dark secret. What you discover in the end will…
When was The Long Dark released?
The Long Dark was released on Aug 1, 2017 by Hinterland Studio Inc..
What kind of game is The Long Dark?
The Long Dark is a Adventure, Indie, Simulation, Strategy game, featuring single-player, steam achievements, full controller support.

24-hour peak player counts and update notes are pulled from Steam's public data and refreshed daily (last refresh: Oct 15, 2026). Official announcements and third-party reporting are labelled separately; follow the source links for full notes. The Long Dark and all related assets are trademarks of their respective owners.