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Hey, Chemists! We’ve made a number of changes to make the game more comfortable and intuitive. Here’s what’s new and improved in the latest patch.
The timer before the dungeon opens is now exactly 10 minutes.
Boss speed across different difficulty levels may have been fixed — we’re looking forward to your tests and feedback!
The door in the room with the shortcut entrance to the dungeon now works for exiting too: no more running through the entire dungeon to get out.
We’ve added 3 more ammo crates — the ammo supply is now more generous.
New loot has been added to the room under the key — be sure to check it out.
The dungeon navigation has been simplified: the second entrance and the downward path have been removed — now there’s only one main entrance.
The area near the Forester is now marked in green on the map.
Zones closed to the player are highlighted in black — you can instantly see where you can’t go.
A ferry crossing marker has been added to the map.
The storage marker near Nikolay has been slightly moved.
A mechanic marker has appeared in the city — no need to guess where to look for help.
The through‑passages from Checkpoint 1 to the Scientists’ Camp in the city have been reworked: you can now drive vehicles through them.
You can now find Mag 10 at the initial gas station.
New loot crates have appeared in the Forester’s territory — stop by if you get the chance.
The save list now auto‑clears when it exceeds 50 saves: older saves will be automatically deleted.
The shield‑damage effect on clothing has been reduced — your gear is now a bit more durable.
AAA batteries are now available for purchase in the city from the Bartender and the Chemists’ Engineer.
The capsule collision for wolves has been adjusted — their behavior and interactions are now more consistent.
The description for the “Conductor’s Rifle” quest has been updated — read it carefully, the details matter.
The reputation economy has been adjusted: the reputation reward for trading herbs with the Lab Assistant has been reduced.
The standard AKM‑74 is now sold by Nikolay in the village and by the military gunsmith Gogi.
The muzzle flash effect for the FN PR90 submachine gun has been replaced — check out the updated visuals.
The muzzle flash effect has been removed from the AS‑VAL — shots are now slightly less noticeable.
We’re working to make the game better with every patch, and your feedback is a huge help. If you notice anything unusual, please write in the chat or leave a comment. Thank you for playing and helping us develop “CHEMISTS: Dead Zone”!
💬 Tell us which update you liked the most?
Hey, survivors!
I planned to release the update sooner, but I ended up adding some truly major changes — so it took about twice as long as usual. The highlight is a full‑fledged dungeon, plus a lot of improvements across the game, including many based on player feedback. Almost three days were spent on testing and final tweaks. In my opinion, the result is solid — I hope you’ll enjoy it too!
The developer standing in the city bar will stay with you until the end of the month so you can get exclusive weapons in exchange for cards.
⚠️ Please note: because this update includes a lot of new content and mechanics, there might be some new bugs. Please be sure to report any issues you find — your feedback is absolutely critical.
CHEMISTS: Dead Zone now features a dungeon system, and the first implemented dungeon is “Bandits’ Warehouse”. This is a serious test of your skills, where you’ll have to rely only on yourself.
Core rules for running the dungeon:
Saves are disabled while you’re inside the dungeon — mistakes will have to be corrected in combat.
The dungeon can be completed again every 30 minutes after killing the boss.
Crates and loot:
A new crate type, unique to the dungeon, has been added. These crates have an increased chance to drop event cards — even if there’s no active card‑collection event.
Dungeon difficulty directly affects the drop chance of rare items: the higher the difficulty, the more valuable the loot.
Difficulty and balance: Difficulty changes enemy stats:
weapon fire rate, strength, health, and damage;
presence of shields and bullet resistance.
Additionally, difficulty adjusts key mechanics:
boss movement speed (lower on higher difficulties to make the fight more tactical);
enemy spawn rate (slower on higher difficulties so you have time to clear waves).
Rewards: From the “Bandits’ Warehouse” boss:
scopes, grenades, a key, and clothing mods (MOD1).
From the boss’s crate:
key “0707”;
rare components and resources;
artifacts (3 types, 3 rarity tiers);
weapon parts and spare components;
exclusive armor: bulletproof vest, belt, jacket, pants, helmet.
Regular enemies drop new rare loot that’s unique to this dungeon.
Module and artifact system. We’ve added slots for equipment modifications — modules and artifacts can now be placed in various clothing categories. This affects all top‑tier items: purchased, event, and donor gear. We’re actively preparing for the introduction of ways to acquire, buy, and craft armor modifiers.
New point of interest: “The Crossing” near the Bandits’ Warehouses.
Updated NPC markers on the map. Markers now include a trade icon (a coin) and are displayed in the foreground so you can easily see the character’s name.
In‑game time in the fishing UI. Now you can track the best times for fishing.
New items at Nika’s Clinic #14. We’ve added 5.45×39 PS ammo to the shop inventory — available in batches of 1,000 rounds.
A new artifact, “Thorn”, has been added: three variants can be found in the dungeon, and a separate version is available on the open map.
Wolf sounds. Wolves now make distinct sounds when they appear.
Trade window: buy/sell rates. We’ve added current buy and sell rates for each trader so you can instantly see who offers the best prices.
A durability module has been added to equipment — the change applies to all clothing items. As an item wears down, its additional armor is lost and can only be restored after repair. The base armor, however, remains unchanged.
Reduced wear and heat buildup for the AKS‑74U by 50 %.
Reduced heat buildup for the AS‑VAL by 50 %.
To prevent players from being attacked immediately after spawning, enemy (bot) spawners near the player’s spawn point now activate with a delay: if the player is within a 100‑meter radius of a spawner, it will only start working after 2 minutes.
Plant visuals updated. We’ve changed the design and size of plants in the world.
Updated the marker design above enemies.
Food and water indicators are now always visible.
Reputation‑based hostility. Enemies will treat you as a foe if your reputation is below zero.
Increased artifact drop chance from toxic anomalies. Now the chance depends on the Luck stat.
Basic gear available without reputation. All basic items of a single type can now be bought from the equipment vendor without any reputation requirements — this will help new players get geared up faster.
Improved bridge between the Farm and Bandits’ Warehouse.
Minor tweaks to the global map.
Personal storage marker range increased to 30 meters. Now you’ll see the marker earlier and know when you’re close to a place where you can store items.
Map transparency in vehicles. The map is now more visible thanks to a black background.
Shield (additional armor) balance. Damage to shields on equipment has been reduced by 10×. Shields also behave differently at higher difficulties:
difficulty 4 — shield wear rate is 50 %;
difficulty 5 — shield wear rate is 25 %.
This means that on “Chemist” difficulty, shields on clothing will degrade roughly 8× slower than before. You can now tackle tough dungeons without constantly swapping gear.
Fixed a bug causing enemies to respawn near the player after a game load.
Fixed the jittering issue with corpses after a stealth knife kill.
Removed the delay when enemies fall after dying — they now collapse immediately.
Improved English translations for quests and UI elements using AI assistance. Please check the quest descriptions and menu items and let us know if the quality is better; if so, I’ll continue refining translations for other languages.
Removed the “squelching” sound when driving a vehicle on wet surfaces.
After an enemy dies from a knife attack, their collision no longer blocks the player.
Thanks for playing and helping us make CHEMISTS: Dead Zone better! If you spot any new bugs, odd behaviors, or have ideas for improvements, please share them in the discussions. Together we’ll make the game even greater!
If you want to express something to me personally, don’t be shy – come to Discord.
Thank you to all players for your feedback — it’s thanks to you that the game is becoming more convenient and engaging. Over the past two days, I’ve been collecting and analyzing your comments to make targeted improvements to the early-game experience. Special thanks to the two players who shared video reviews: they gave a great “outside-in” view of the gameplay, which is incredibly valuable. When you work on a project for a long time, some things become routine, and it’s not always obvious where the interface could be made more intuitive. I’ve tried to listen to every suggestion, and here are the changes we’ve implemented in this patch.
Added a button in the quests window (below the task list) to display the selected quest on the main screen. A tooltip explaining this function has also been added.
Updated the visual design of the filter buttons in the inventory: inactive filters now appear on a dark background, active ones on a light background.
Improved the filter reset function: clicking the cross icon below the filters now disables all filters (including button filters), not just the rarity filter.
Added an in-world marker for storage containers: it appears when the player gets within 10 meters.
Added an option to change the sky type in the graphics settings. The “Static” sky type is available for lower-end PCs.
Added the slot number (where the weapon equips) to the weapon description.
Added a tooltip in the repair station window: “To repair an item, you must remove it from the slots — this will make it available in the repair menu.”
Added tooltips under weapon slots indicating the weapon type: Light, Medium, and Heavy.
The quest code is now displayed separately and includes a tooltip: “If you’re having issues with this quest or found a bug, please let the developer know the quest name and a description of the problem.”
Reduced the weight of quest items.
Fixed issues related to shooting near clay and sand.
Reduced negative effects for speed-series artifacts (including “Heart of the Storm” and similar items).
Updated the item-selling system in Valera’s dialogue.
Renamed the “Satiety” and “Saturation” parameters to “Food” and “Water” for better clarity.
Revised the quest description for repairing the hunter’s generator — the directions have been clarified.
Improved the display of the quest type at the bottom of the quest description (e.g., “Quest Type: Story”).
The weather no longer starts with a thunderstorm.
Improved the reliability of checkboxes in the settings.
Adjusted the balance for SCS rifles across different series:
Increased critical hit chance.
Increased fire rate.
Reduced spread.
Increased magazine capacity.
Adjusted the balance for SVD rifles from the “New Year” and “Summer Marathon” series:
Adjusted critical hit chance.
Reduced recoil.
Reduced spread.
Adjusted magazine capacity.
Thank you for playing and helping to make CHEMISTS: Dead Zone better! If you notice any new issues or have ideas for improvements, please share them with us.
🔥 Update 0.4.31 F2: Interface Stabilization and Improvements 🔥
We've released a new patch focused on fixing critical issues, interface performance, and early-game comfort.
✅ What's fixed and improved:
The reward now displays the correct amount of experience when trading.
Tutorials are disabled by default to avoid disrupting experienced players.
The carry weight value in the interface has been fixed—it no longer goes negative.
Background areas have been disabled and are being worked on.
Backpack overload indicator has been redesigned:
Green — Can run.
Yellow — Can run, but it will soon become difficult.
Orange — Light overload (light running).
Red — Heavy overload (walking only).
Thank you for helping us make the game better: your reports in the discussions really speed up the fixes. If you see any new bugs, please post screenshots and a description, and we'll look into them.
More to come. Stay in touch!
Sincerely, the RPAX GAMING team
The event will run from July 10 to July 17 (inclusive).
What’s available during the event:
Event cards will now drop in-game.
The NPC “Developer” has appeared in the city bar:
you can chat with them (Q&A format);
unique anniversary weapons are available for trade — you can get AKS‑74U, AS‑VAL, VSS, SKS in exchange for red and purple cards;
ingots are also available for purple cards;
you can now turn in goods for the following factions: Civilians, Scientists, Bandits, Marauders, Wanderers.
Each calibre now has a faction-specific variant (PSF).
All weapons have been updated to support these ammo types.
Compared to PSM ammo, PSF stats are 10–20 % lower — the difference is minor.
PSF ammo is sold by the Gunsmith’s Assistant; you need 2,000 reputation points with the corresponding faction to purchase it.
NPC Ronnie has appeared in a ward at Clinic #14 — he’ll help new players and answer basic questions.
Vehicles have been added to the Clinic grounds — this will help players get familiar with the car system.
A workbench and a repair station have been added to the workshop at Clinic #14.
A new detour route has been added from the city along the railway tracks to “Ural’skaya” Station.
The Lab Assistant now exchanges 50‑denomination banknotes for a new artifact.
In the modification screen:
slots now show the rarity of the item currently placed in them;
slot size has been increased for better visibility.
Clothing stats are now displayed with all equipped modifications taken into account.
The price and weight of the “Strong Heart” and “Hedgehog” artifacts have been adjusted.
Minor UI tweaks have been made (repair workbench, modification screen).
Small adjustments have been applied to the open-world map.
Additional work has been done at the Recluse Base.
Fixed a bug related to modifying belt equipment: you can now modify and immediately equip clothing into slots. Previously, modules could be lost after equipping (the issue wasn’t visible if you refreshed the inventory).
Fixed the muzzle flash position when using suppressors and flash hiders — it now appears in the correct location.
Removed an incorrect blue tint that appeared during sunsets.
Marauders have reinstalled the ladder to the hangars on the hill.
An area with elevated radiation background has appeared near the wolves on the path to the Fisher.
The Red Hedgehog has been removed from the tower near the village.
All new content has been translated.
This update was developed in 4 days and has been tested. If you encounter any issues, please report them in the comments. Your feedback helps us fix bugs and balance the game faster: some situations may not occur in test builds, and we might not be aware of them without your input.
How to get started
After making your first save in the game, you’ll need to reload the game — that’s when the event will begin.
The event runs automatically. You can check your progress and view the level details in the Pause Menu by clicking the Event button.
The only requirement is to gain Experience Points. The more XP you already have, the faster you’ll level up in the Marathon.
Total levels: 100.
Completion condition: Earn the required amount of XP for each level.
Level rewards: Available at every one of the 100 levels.
Progression: The higher the level, the more XP is needed — and the better the rewards become.
What the rewards include:
Common items — these can also be found or purchased in the game.
Exclusive items — available only during this event.
Once you successfully complete a level, the reward is automatically added to your inventory.
The event features 8 weapon types from the “Summer Marathon” collection. All of them outperform their base variants.
💰 Cash reward: 755,000
⭐ Reputation points (for various factions): 2,500
🔫 Exclusive weapons: 8
💣 Powerful grenades: 160
🧪 Alloy ingots: 80
📦 Total items (excluding the above): 1,000+
📦 Total weight of items: 404 kg
💡 Why you should participate
The event is free and requires no in‑game purchases.
Rewards scale with your effort.
You’ll get unique weapons that can’t be obtained anywhere else.
It’s a great way to boost your reputation and gather crafting resources.
The more you play, the faster you’ll advance through the levels and unlock even better rewards!
I might run events like this every season, with new rewards and conditions.
🎉 “CHEMISTS: Dead Zone” — Early Access Release: July 10, 2026! 🎉
Yes, the game is now live on Steam — you can buy it and start playing right away. We’re being upfront: this is an Early Access title. The project will keep evolving, with new zones, mechanics, and bug fixes coming down the line. But we’ve packed the launch with plenty of content so you’ll have lots to do from the very first minutes.
From day one, the game will feature the major update 0.4.31 plus a lineup of special events:
“Chemists’ Birthday” Event — celebrating the 7th anniversary of the project.
“Summer Marathon” — a free Battle Pass with 100 levels and rewards at every stage.
Faction Ammo (PSF) — a dedicated ammo variant for each calibre, opening up new tactical options.
Reputation and XP Boosts — tripled reputation gains (x3) and a +50 % XP bonus to speed up progression.
Event Card Hunt — active collection of event cards throughout the summer.
Exclusive Weapons and Event Cards — available only during the event and nowhere else.
To make the launch even sweeter, the game will be 40 % off for the first two weeks.
We’ve hit 1,000 Wishlist entries — this is your support, and we’re truly grateful for it. Thank you for being with us on this journey! ❤️
Get ready for the Zone — we’ll meet you on July 10! 💥
Update 0.4.30 Update 0.4.30 is out, bringing new features, balance changes, and fixes.
New:
The Military Boss now has new weapons: XM8 L1 machine gun, SCAR-H rifle, M4, and M16.
The item turn-in system has been improved: you can now instantly see how much loot is required and how much you already have; if you’re missing items, the selection button is disabled.
The event icons for Card Collection (gold card) and Summer Marathon (star) now appear on the main screen; the star indicates that the battle pass is active.
Clay and sand have been added to the quarry.
An Engineer has appeared in the Chemists’ yard, selling the same goods as Tony.
A bear has been added to the plateau — a new dangerous threat.
A save zone has been added at the cave exit leading to the plateau.
The artifacts Strong Heart and Hedgehog now have fixed world spawn locations and 3 rarity tiers with different stats.
The slot weight indicator now changes color dynamically: green (light), yellow (~5 kg), red (10+ kg); the dumbbell icon size also reacts to weight.
Changes:
The rarity color for speed artifacts has been changed for better visibility when modded and worn on the belt.
Minor map tweaks.
Valera’s trade interface has been improved with a faster return to the goods list.
The AKS-74U has been visually improved.
Weapon info on the main screen is now visible even when entering the optical sight.
Some of the new weapons (from version 0.4.29) now require a certain reputation level to buy.
The number of marauders in the hangars near their base and at Warehouse No. 4 has been reduced; the remaining ones have been strengthened by level.
Rewards for handing in goods to NPCs have been adjusted, and some items have been removed from sale.
Ammo hand-ins have been removed from Gleb.
All crafting windows now show an image of the item being crafted.
Fixes:
Charcoal crafting has been fixed — it is now crafted at the workbench.
Nicholas and the Barman dialogue/trade issues have been fixed.
Fire rate exploit fixed: click-spamming has been removed — you can no longer fire before the weapon is ready; the fire rate shown in the stats is now a hard minimum, the weapon won’t fire by itself, but it also won’t let you shoot too early.
Incorrect prices on the guide board have been fixed.
Painkillers now work correctly — the effect is instant.
Added a description to the quest “Clouded Conscience.”
Walking on the tent is now forbidden.
Miscellaneous:
You can now get into a car from the passenger seat as well.
The translation warning has been removed in the settings for Russian; it remains for other languages.
Some garage sizes have been increased for easier vehicle use.
Great news! Steam has approved the game — the release date is now confirmed as July 10, and we’re just a couple of weeks away from launch. The project is getting better every day, and we’re polishing everything for a strong debut!
We’d be incredibly grateful if you’d support the game by adding it to your wishlist. It really helps us get a solid start and fuels our motivation to keep expanding the world of Chemists.
Here’s what’s new in this update:
New weapons added to the Military Boss’s inventory in the city:
OTs‑27 “Berdysh” (standard version, 9×18 caliber).
OTs‑27‑7 “Berdysh” (7.62×25 caliber).
Glock 18 (automatic pistol, 9×19 caliber).
Micro Uzi (submachine gun, 9×19 caliber).
MP7A1 (submachine gun, 4.6×30 caliber; this ammo type is also available from the Gunsmith’s assistant).
FN PR90 (submachine gun, 5.7×28 caliber).
M416 (assault rifle, 5.56×45 caliber).
Magazine size has been added to each weapon’s stats.
Balance adjustments made to the M16, M4, and M416 assault rifles.
New knives added to the Gunsmith’s inventory.
Removed camera shake in first‑person mode.
Disabled voice lines for Svetlana at the clinic.
All embedded VK shop links removed to comply with Steam requirements; key‑based items still work as usual.
Increased the detection range for animals noticing the player.
Screen red tint from damage now activates only when HP is at 300 or below.
Fixed several map areas where players could get stuck.
Expanded the slider in the item quantity selection window for more precise adjustments.
Wolves now move faster; white wolves have increased HP.
Bear model size increased.
Raider damage output increased by 10 %.
Additional optimizations applied to the Scientists’ base.
Mouse cursor now centers automatically when interacting with ore.
Applied a tone‑modification filter to the sound effects for picking up grass and wolf death — adds more variety to the audio.
Flashlight duration doubled.
Added hover and click feedback for dialogue buttons.
Adjusted the suppressor mounting position on the AKSU‑74 (Gold).
Reduced the exchange reward from Valera.
Fixed collisions and LODs on several environment objects.
Resolved a bug where bots would get up again after being concussed; death state is now checked correctly.
Fixed bots firing while in a concussed state.
Completed fix for the quest “Personal Favor” from the Mercenary near the settlement.
Removed the trunk button from appearing when the trunk is empty.
Thank you for your feedback — it’s a huge motivation for us to keep adding more content to the world of Chemists! 🚀
Reputation Multiplier x3 for the entire summer. The multiplier icon is now displayed directly on the screen.
Now, navigating the world requires greater caution—some areas pose a direct threat.
A global background system has been activated in points of interest. If the Chemist skill level is insufficient, the background will cause damage and accumulate negative effects (radiation and toxicity).
The most dangerous area (currently) is the crater (maximum background level).
A safer alternative is traveling on roads. However, be careful: if you find yourself near a farming point or enemies, the background radiation will immediately kick in.
Comfort threshold: If you've leveled up your Chemist skill to 45+, you have nothing to worry about—even at the northernmost point, the background radiation value is around 44.
Scale: There are approximately 100 zones with background radiation distributed across the map.
A function for recalculating reputation for already completed quests has been implemented:
When you log in, a quest to connect to the quest database will start after 20 seconds. The system will automatically recalculate and award reputation for all completed quests (once per quest).
Activation requirement: You must have more than 10 quests in your list.
Important limitation: Reputation spent on exchanges cannot be returned—it is not recorded in the databases.
PSM Ammo Blueprints (various factions): 400-1000 reputation required.
Equipment from the Town Merchant (various factions): 100-1000 reputation required.
A new optimization system has been implemented in the game, designed to reduce the load on video memory and RAM.
The system operates in two optimization layers: "Small" and "Medium" objects in the world.
How it works:
If you have a low-end PC or are looking to improve FPS, use this setting in the "Game" menu.
There is a logical sequence: you cannot enable the display of "Small" objects if "Medium" objects are disabled (and vice versa). This prevents visual artifacts where small objects appear to be floating in the air due to a lack of underlying medium-sized objects.
Future: As the map develops, more terrain objects will be added and included in these optimized layers.
Fixed issues with key assignments for the joystick controller.
Removed unnecessary buttons in the joystick settings.
The basic joystick control scheme has been reworked, allowing full character control in combat.
Fixed an issue where changing joystick sensitivity affected mouse speed.
A "3x star" icon has been added to the screen—an indicator of the summer reputation multiplier.
Added light to the gunsmith location.
Updated the loading icon in the lower right corner of the screen.
Reworked the save logic—this may resolve previously encountered save issues.
The enemy spawn algorithm has been changed: enemies now spawn one at a time, rather than all at once. This should reduce the load on your PC.
The 30-60 PSM blueprint has been fixed - it now provides the same crafting.
The character's despawn distance near the camera has been adjusted.
Fixed an issue where weapons would disappear while running.
Localization conflicts have been fixed.
English translation has been added.
New intro video with the RPAX GAMING logo
The emission has been disabled and sent back for revision.
Minor user interface improvements have been made:
Translation errors have been identified and corrected.
Some objects have been added to the translation database.
Some UI objects have been changed/hidden.
The design of small sections in various windows has been changed.
Shotgun shells can now be crafted on a workbench.
Fixed the issue with level 100 rewards being awarded twice in the Summer Marathon.
The reward for the "Stimpack Herb" quest is now displayed.
Translation of all content into 7 languages.
Weather effect: radioactive-chemical rain.
A Trader has appeared in the city bar on the 1st floor. He will help you with paper money.
A fishing spot has been added to the city reservoir.
Crafting equipment has been installed in the Chemists' Yard.
A flashlight has been added to the Hunter’s shop.
"Military conscription" event — completed.
Petrenko’s storage in the city moved to the Chemists' Yard.
The Guide’s sign now shows the names of transit points.
Removed the FPS value field.
Tweaks to lighting, fog, atmosphere, etc.
Changed vehicle behavior on game start.
Added smooth distance-based fade for toxic fumes.
Added smooth distance-based fade for smoke and fire at campfires.
Quest markers now appear in correct locations; player-placed markers snap to ground or building roofs when placed on a house.
Replaced base class for Calendula.
NPCs were moved to a closer draw distance.
Optimized some toxic fumes and other VFX.
Ticks were disabled across the time anomaly (collection test).
Optimized idle vehicle behavior.
Optimized campfire smoke and fire effects.
Optimized campfire logic.
Reduced shadow distances for performance.
Optimized the scientists' base in the City.
Most NPC ticks were forcibly disabled for testing: Agafon, Farmer, Valera, Matt — test of overall NPC behavior. If this works well, I'll disable unnecessary ticks on other NPCs too.
Animations for Farmer, Guide, and Valera updated.
Fixed UI display of the safe zone when exiting it.
The event runs automatically. See level information in the pause menu by pressing the event button.
The only requirement is experience gain. The more XP you already have, the faster you level in the marathon.
Total levels: 100
Requirement: reach the required XP for each level
Level reward: each of the 100 levels has a reward
Progression: higher levels require more XP and give better rewards
Included in rewards:
Regular items — can be found or bought in-game.
Exclusive items — available only from this event.
When you complete a level, its reward is automatically placed into your inventory.
The event features 8 weapons from the “Summer Marathon” collection. All are superior to their basic counterparts.
Money reward: 755,000
Reputation points (various factions): 2,500
Exclusive weapons: 8
Powerful grenades: 160
Alloy ingots: 80
Other items (not listed above): 1,000+
Total item weight: 404 kg
The event is free — no purchases required.
Rewards scale with effort.
Unique weapons unobtainable elsewhere.
Great way to level reputation and gather crafting resources.
The more you play, the faster you progress and earn better rewards.
The city bar is now a safe zone.
Emissions now deal more damage and build debuffs faster.
When you finish a level in the Summer Marathon, a notification (subtitle) appears for the completed level.
Added Auto Collect in settings — this lets you pick up everything at once when interacting with containers/enemies/mobs.
Plastic scraps can now be made into ingots (blanks). The crafting recipe can be purchased from Tony in the village and from the Gunsmith in the city.
An assistant near the Gunsmith sells ammo and recipes for craftable ammo of all PSM-type samples; access depends on your reputation with certain factions.
The Gunsmith now sells blueprints for ammo components: powder, casings, primers, and bullets.
Knives can now be dismantled into scrap metal.
Pause menu design reworked.
Repair bench window UI updated.
The city fishing spot now works.
Lead ingot crafting changed: you must now break lead ore into lead pieces; players already have these pieces from dismantling batteries. To use both ore and batteries for smelting ingots, an intermediate step (lead pieces) was added.
Rebalanced stats for 10ga and 8ga ammunition types.
Reputation costs and quantities for PSM ammo blueprints were adjusted because they will now be available for sale. In the future, all blueprints will be available as story progression rewards.
Plastic scrap weight reduced fivefold.
Updated the Easy Multi Save plugin.
Worked on fixing save/load issues when using save slots. Internal testing shows stable save/load after multiple times without data loss.
When exiting the game, the last 100 saves remain in the slots; older saves are removed automatically. This is a forced measure because many slots may strain the system.
Other minor world bug fixes.
Warning: due to save work, reputation values were reset. Apologies for the inconvenience. During active development, such problems can happen. To address this during the summer, the following will be implemented in upcoming updates:
A x3 reputation multiplier will be active for the whole summer.
Reputation requirements for top-tier items will be lowered. As an alternative/secondary restriction, their prices will be increased.
When trading with factions, faction tokens (items) will be added for each faction; these tokens will be used for top-tier trades of unique items.
✅ Added a link to the VKontakte group in the "About the Game" window.
✅ A marker for the gunsmith has been added.
✅ All pickaxes have been added for sale to the Outcast.
✅🔥 The tunnel near the city bridge to the village river has been upgraded to a through passage.
✅🔥 A new anomaly with a new component and artifact has been added to the game.
✅ Harvesting wood from individual fallen trees — harvested with an axe. Over 100 harvesting locations.
✅ At the Hermits' Base 2 — Bandit spawn time has been increased by 6 times.
✅ Clay and Sand Harvesting — The number of spawn locations has been increased.
✅ Calendula now appears in the world.
✅🔥 VSS Vintorez Rifle Upgrades:
— Power increased to 2.25.
— Rate of Fire increased to 720.
✅ AS-VAL Rate of Fire increased to 800 rounds per minute.
✅ Removed excessive yellowing of the sky and surrounding area.
✅🔥 Trade rate at Outcast has been changed from 500% to 200%.
✅ Increased prices for coal and wood.
✅ The red weapon sight in the user interface has been modified (refined).
✅ Dialogue at "Goulash" has been corrected.
✅ The "Time in Smoke" anomaly no longer allows interaction with the item after it's activated.
✅ Military Training has been announced in the city's military yard.
✅ A small event with trading rare items and quests.
✅ If you haven't completed the "Military Training" event, this is another chance to complete it and stock up on rare goods.
✅ Dog food has been added to food crates.
✅ Stunning enemies (Bots) with grenades.
✅ New quests at the Gunsmith - 4 pcs.
✅ Grenade balancing. The characteristics and prices of all grenades have been revised - each is now better suited for its intended purpose. ✅ New powerful grenades with modifications. Enhanced versions of grenades with three modification levels are now available: M1, M2, and M3.
✅ The Gunsmith in town now has all grenades, both basic and modified. To gain access to advanced modifications, you need to increase your reputation with the military.
✅ Dismantle regular (unmodified) grenades for parts and gunpowder.
✅ Homemade grenades are now available; the blueprint can be purchased from the Gunsmith (Access: 1000 reputation with the military).
✅ The distance for collecting items and interacting with objects has been changed to 2 meters.
✅ Any interaction will no longer work if the player is aiming. ✅ Changed character collision radius from 30 to 35 cm. (Tests for penetration into buildings and other tight spaces are important.)
✅ Increased grenade effectiveness: The epicenter of the damage zone was 30% of the radius and now it's 65%. Be careful.
✅ Reduced propellant weight from 20g per piece to 5g.
✅ Changed sky and lighting color.
✅ Fixed — It was possible to enter closed garages (at the Marauder location) through the substation: from the second floor — through a hole.
✅ Fixed — It was impossible to escape from closed garages after penetration.
✅ Fixed — It was possible to return to the car through the sight.
✅ Fixed — Ability to collect loot while aiming down sights is disabled
✅ Fixed — Ability to kill enemies behind fences
✅ Fixed — Some tools had stacks. Stacks have been removed.
✅ Minor optimizations were performed for the Rich Settlement.
✅ A link to the VK store was added to the "About the Game" window.
✅ Save zones have been added to the Uralskaya Station, the Tower, and the Marauder Base.
✅ Donation items have been added to the game: Helmet, Belt, Boots, Pants, and Jacket. This item will be available immediately after it appears in the store. Tested in-game.
Quest rewards are now displayed in the list of current quests.
At the Uralskaya station, located north of the Settlement, you can now use the storage, workbench, repair table, and bed.
The item counter in quests is updated in real time: if you move or remove an item, it is immediately visible in the quest panel.
Military Gunsmith Gogi - Arrived at the military yard - Settling in.
A marker has been added to the main map for the auto mechanic.
Cigarettes have been added to the list of items dropped by enemies of the Marauder and Bandit factions, as well as to trash boxes.
Old Book.
Notebook.
Old Journal.
A clean slate.
An old, clean slate.
A page from an old book.
Lex in the city — 1 pc.
Nick in the city — 1 pc.
Svetlana in the city — 1 pc.
Bartender in the city — 2 pcs.
Mercenary in the village — 1 pc.
✅ Weather conditions have been changed.
✅ Decreased the overheating buildup of the AKSU-74 by 20%.
✅ Changed the reward for turning in goods to Valera — now you can turn in both broken PDAs and Workers. However, the conditions have changed.
✅ The sizes of the garages at Gas Stations 1 and 2 have been adjusted to allow for easier access.
✅ Removed the "hide weapons" option from the controls — this feature is unnecessary. ✅ Speed series artifacts — reduced the effect of carrying weight reduction by 20%
✅ Changed the day/night cycle. — Morning from 6:00 AM to Night from 10:00 PM.
✅ Increased damage against faction enemies (tests).
✅ Class T and E protective wire now drops in top-tier component boxes.
✅ Fixed an issue with trading with Lex.
✅ Changed fishing logic to prevent a rare bug (tests).
✅ Added exit from the Workbench, Campfire, Forge, and Trade windows using Tab or ESC.
✅ Pickaxes no longer have a stack, as they are tools. You can no longer have two or more pickaxes in one inventory slot.
*"Some points were pointed out to me by players; without them, I wouldn't have known about them. Even as a game developer, I can't see everything at once and in real-time. Therefore, I would like to emphasize once again the importance of reporting any issues, even minor ones. This allowed me to quickly improve the game and make the gameplay even more enjoyable."
Ore deposits have been added to the Outcast's personal cave.
Even more deposits have been added to the large cave.
The metal yields of several deposits have been adjusted.
The flashlight now functions like a device.
The flashlight must be charged with AAA batteries.
It can be purchased from Nikolai in the village, along with batteries.
Equipment information includes the battery type, the number of batteries required for a full charge, the current charge, and the device's operating time when fully charged.
Descending the stairs in the cave - The interaction zone has been changed - you now need to visit the stairs instead of the pipe above.
The crafting now displays the number of items created in a single run.
Gena has a new quest.
You can now sleep with Petrenko in the city and Svetlana in the medical bay.
Removed the exit to the main menu from the pause menu.
Fixed an anomaly bug.
Bloom's glow has been reduced.
A minor fix has been released for version 0.4.20.
This update will be available to testers.
✅ Portuguese language support added.
✅ The check mark design in the inventory category has been changed.
✅ The Time Anomaly has been fixed; artifacts of rank 2 and higher can now be picked up there again. The artifact spawn distance in the Time Anomaly has also been increased.
✅ Improved ore handling mechanics: You can interrupt the process and continue from the same point. The likelihood of errors has been reduced.
✅ You can now leave the Red Swamp through the teleporter anomaly.
✅ The steps on the tower without the house at the top have been fixed.
✅ The game now starts in the Clinic again.
✅ The sun position, sky graphics, and lighting have been adjusted.
✅ Control descent with the crouch button when flying in low-gravity areas.
Hello everyone, another milestone has been reached. The game version is now 0.4.20.
Wishlists are accumulating very slowly, I'm afraid that June will be another quiet launch...
I'm continuing to improve the game. The main focus is on gameplay aspects that affect the player, rather than the game's subsystems, which allows the player to "see the impact" of updates.
Time flies, of course, and there are about two months left until the Steam release. That's about 4-5 updates. I want to speed things up sometimes, but that takes a toll on my health. So I do it when I can and when I'm healthy.
I dedicate every day to improving the game.
✅ Ore ledges have appeared in the maze on the floating rocks.
✅ STEAM CLOUD is connected.
✅ Portuguese language has been added to the game.
✅ Doni (Hermit) +1 quest..
✅ Agathon +2 quest..
✅ Don (Bandit) +1 quest..
✅ Petrenko (Village) +1 quest..
✅ Valera (Village) +1 quest..
✅ Guide +2 quest..
✅ Some quests have been changed from side quests to story quests - as they weren't originally intended as such, but rather told the game's story and related to lore, they have been converted to story quests.
✅ Changed the location of buttons in the pause menu.
✅ The accuracy of player marker positions in 3D and 2D and player display on the 2D map has been improved to the maximum. Player markers are now located near the ground, rather than at the same level as before.
✅ The Bloom (Glow) effect has been reduced. Cloud and atmosphere changes.
✅ The prologue was disabled at game start.
✅ Changed the design and number of inventory categories.
✅ Changed the pitch of the sound of ore when harvesting.
✅ Clouds are now volumetric only.
✅ Balanced the price and drop rate of loot from crocodiles.
✅ Fixed the flow of time.
✅ Fixed the artifact drop logic in the Blue Misty Anomaly.
✅ Fixed a bug where the backpack would blink when aiming in first-person view.
✅ You can now shoot in the labyrinth.
✅ Removed the mouse cursor's effect on the background in the "Save Slots" window - testing.
✅ Optimized the project's memory. RAM and video memory optimization.
✅ Enhanced ground surface optimization.
Add to your wishlists and share with friends.
Labyrinth
- New gathering spots for Wisteria, Ivan-tea, and Calendula in the new location.
- New crocodile spawns.
- Biomass spawns on the surface.
- Enemy camp.
- Roads around the city have been opened.
- Labyrinth with an anomaly.
- Ore collection in the Labyrinth.
- Checkpoint on the mountain.
- Hangars on the mountain.
- Base warehouses.
- A Bear and Horseflies have appeared on the plateau.
- The Outcast's storage is now shared (GLOBAL).
- While collecting ore, the deposit decreases in size.
- A pickaxe sound and impact effect have also been added.
- The amount of ore dropped from deposits is affected by luck.
- Part of the Marauder town has been closed off.
- Water has been added to some parts of the caves.
- Tony's fence can now be climbed using crates.
- Toxic fog in the swamp (visual).
- New trees in the town.
- World map update in the PDA
- The Outcast sells rank 1 and 2 pickaxes.
- Collision corrections for some crates.
- Weather conditions have been changed.
- Improved 3D clouds.
- John was returned to his place in the village.
- Shadow range up to 1 km.
Home - Outcast's Place.
NPS - Outcast - 5 New Quests. (Map marker - OUTLAW)
The cave in the corner of the swamps has expanded, ore has been added, and a hidden passage has been opened to a new area.
The area surrounding the marauder base to the east, beyond the village, has opened.
Event cards also drop when harvesting ore during the event.
Experience gained from mining ore.
A small amount of experience is gained from crafting (not applicable to all equipment).
A forge has been added: Village \\ Hermit Base \\ Chemists' Yard.
New item — Wood (as a building component) can be found in three types of crates: "garage," "garbage," and "level 3 components." It can be disassembled into Wood (component) and can also be crafted from Wood using an axe.
Tony's inventory has been replenished: new recipes have been added that allow you to create ingots and gunpowder. You can also buy a "Mortar" for grinding components. And 5 types of pickaxes for mining ore. Many useful tools have also been added.
When smelting ingots/alloys in a forge, you also receive Slag and Scrap Metal — waste from metallurgy that can be used for other crafting.
Gunpowder crafting is now available.
VSS "Vintorez" Rate of Fire: Automatic: 700 rpm.
Open-world object loading priorities have been changed.
Content has been translated.
Ore and its diversity in the deposit videos.
Add yourself to our wishlists and subscribe to our news.
Sincerely, Developer Pavel.
CHEMISTS: Dead Zone — May-June 2026 (Q2)
Dear Chemists and friends of the project! I'd like to share our release plans:
Why this specific date?
Over the past 7 years of development, games have become more than just a game for me. Thousands of hours of tweaking the game and writing code, creating locations, fixing bugs, watching your streams and feedback on the game. But now I'm creating a remaster—not just an update, but the best version of the project possible within this timeframe.
What requires additional time:
1. Major update:
✅ Ore system from caves to alloy production.
✅ New NPCs and Quests
✅ New Portuguese language
✅ New achievements
✅ New locations
✅ New vehicles
✅ Optimization for Steam algorithms
✅ Reworking old systems for new mechanics.
2. Remastering = double the work:
- Reworking legacy code
- Implementing new systems
- Testing
✅ What's already ready and working:
- Ore mining
- Furnace for ingots and alloys
- 37 achievements
- Mining other resources
Your role is critical:
👉 WISHLIST = notification + release discount
👉 Repost = + visibility to Steam algorithms
👉 Discord = feedback → fewer bugs.
Help ensure a smooth launch on Steam, and the game will develop even further and better.
Thank you for your patience and trust.
See you in the Dead Zone! ☢️☣️
Sincerely, Pavel
Developer, CHEMISTS: Dead Zone
About
This page aggregates Steam news feeds, patch notes, and developer announcements for CHEMISTS: Dead Zone, sourced from official Steam community posts.
Major updates, balance changes, and seasonal events often correlate with player-count spikes — cross-reference announcements here with the live charts on the main CHEMISTS: Dead Zone statistics page.
Articles link back to Steam for full changelogs. SteamScope refreshes news entries as new posts are published to the game's Steam hub.