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Full Steam announcements and update articles for this title.
Dear community,
Today brings the final update to Prologue: Go Wayback! that our studio's game team has been working on. We announced recently that we unfortunately have had to make some hard decisions for the studio's future, and this included halting development on the game.
The studio will continue in a smaller size to keep developing its core technology, Melba. Our work on Melba has helped us with how we generate realistic terrain in Go Wayback! but it has always been a separate project from the game. You can continue to follow our progress on developing Melba in our tech demo Preface: Undiscovered World.
We are proud of the work our team did on Go Wayback!, and we are immensely grateful to the players who helped playtest the game through our betas and offered feedback during Early Access. We were not always able to be as visibly present everywhere as much as we would have liked, but we read all your feedback, comments, and requests across Steam, social media, and Discord.
Go Wayback! is now available for free for any player to claim and own.
We also just released the game out of Early Access, because it felt inappropriate to leave it in Early Access when we are not able to continue developing it. This wasn't the plan we had for a full release when we started with Early Access, but we felt this would be the best way to leave the game available on Steam without setting the wrong expectations from future store page visitors and players.
You can now also access our developer build via the Game Versions menu in the Steam Library.
(Right click on Prologue: Go Wayback! in your Library -> Properties -> Game Versions & Betas).
This developer build is similar to the live build of the game, but has a developer menu that you can pull up by pressing the "=" key. With these dev options you can spawn items, change the time of day and the weather, fly across the map or teleport to a location, and much more.
Go Wayback! is made in Unreal Engine 5, and we have left it unencrypted which means you should be able to open its files and mod the game if you want to. We had plans for official mods and documentation but unfortunately did not have the time or resources to complete those plans.
We have been working with Steam to find the best way to offer refunds to any player who has purchased the game since the launch of Early Access, while respecting player choice.
We will be offering self-refunds, without restrictions on playtime or how long ago you bought the game, for a period of 60 days until August 17, 2026.
This means you can choose to refund the game or not during this period of time.
If you refund the game, it will be removed from your Library. If you want to keep playing but also want to request a refund, you are able to add it to your Library again at no cost now that it is available for free.
How to request a refund:
While logged into Steam, go to Help -> Steam Support
Go to Purchases, and find the game on that page or in your full Purchase History list available via "View complete purchasing history" at the bottom
Select the game
Select I would like a refund
You can leave a reason that the game has discontinued development
Steam support is informed and should be granting a refund without any questions
If the self-refund system does not work or gives you an error, you can also contact Steam Support directly and inform them you would like to request a refund but the system is not letting you.
You can do this by selecting "I have a question about this purchase" in the Purchase History and then write a short message, for example:
"The developer has announced they have had to stop development of this game and are offering refunds via Steam, but the refund process gives me an error. See this announcement post: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2943740/view/672871581268051572"
Following our last major update in March, we’ve been working on new world and environment changes alongside plenty of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements.
By default, trails connect cabins and shelters that are very close, and those groups can be connected to other cabin groups. They can lead to meadows and cliffs, with only a small chance of encountering a dead end.
Additionally, we’ve added two alternative trail settings. These options feature medium and long-distance trail networks that connect cabins and shelters across the map. However, with greater connectivity comes a higher chance of running into dead ends.A small disclaimer: since paths and trails didn’t exist in previous versions, you may find your surroundings slightly changed when loading a run from a save game from a previous version.You can now find two new items in Go Wayback! that should be quite helpful during your journey.
A Handheld Weather Monitor has made its way into Go Wayback! to help you make more informed decisions while planning your next move. It displays current and upcoming weather conditions and comes in different tiers, with some versions also providing additional information such as humidity and temperature.
Another item we introduced is the Waterproof Spray. You’ll now be able to protect not only your clothing from getting soaked, but also items such as matches, paper, and more.
New Features
Paths and trails added to the forest
Gameplay & Items
New Handheld Weather Monitor
New Waterproof Spray
Improved cooking system, liquid handling, and cooked food visuals
Reduced alarm clock power consumption
Improved persistence for flashlights, batteries, lighters, and other utility items
Added more item descriptions and localization support
Upgrades & Improvements
Major improvements to lighting, clouds, fog, sun/moon visuals, and overall atmosphere
Improved indoor/outdoor audio consistency through windows and doors
Quality of Life
Added reset buttons for Video, Sound, and Gameplay Settings
Improved controller and keyboard input support
Improved loading flow with reduced loading screen delays
Improved inventory swapping and item interactions
Expanded tutorial signage and onboarding improvements
Terrain is now generated by the GPU by default for improved performance on most systems. A CPU generation option (the previous method) is still available in Settings
Note: As a result of the terrain generation refactor, when loading runs from previous patches, trees and rocks may appear in different locations, while the terrain itself should remain unchanged.
Fixes & Stability
Fixed numerous crashes, save/load issues, and serialization bugs
Fixed wetness, collision, lighting, and animation problems
Fixed recipe detection and cooking inconsistencies
Fixed missing localization and UI bugs
Improved terrain generation stability and performance
Fixed multiple controller, audio, and inventory edge cases
Thank you for exploring the wilderness with us.
Hey everyone. We have some sad news to share.
Unfortunately we have had to make a hard decision to restructure our studio to a smaller team. As a result, we will be halting further development of Prologue: Go Wayback.
Our main priority at the moment is to support our employees during this difficult transition.
While we hope the studio can return to Go Wayback at a future point in time, right now it means we will be unable to complete our Early Access plans for the game.
We are currently working on an update that we plan to release soon, which will add new items as well as paths and trails to the game for enhanced exploration.
With that update, we also intend to release the game out of Early Access and make it free for any players who want to check it out in the future. We are also investigating offering refunds to players who have purchased the game.
Please stand by for more information on this over the coming weeks, which we will communicate here on Steam and on our Discord.
We have just released a small update for Prologue: Go Wayback! with the following fixes:
Renamed Tetris Master Achievement to Puzzle Master and fixed the unlock criteria.
Fixed storms that occur during sleep not counting toward Thor Hates Me Achievement completion.
Fixed cases where the northeast corner of the map was counted incorrectly for the Long Way Round Achievement.
Removed hiking backpack from the list of allowed backpacks for The Swiss Commute Achievement.
Fixed the Share button not working properly in some instances.
Fixed two rare crashes.
Increased the spawn rate of kibbles and added a new type.
Hi all, We’ve just released a small update for Prologue: Go Wayback! with the following fixes and balance changes:
Reduced alarm clock power consumption
Fixed batteries having the same capacity
Fixed a crash when dragging and dropping items in the inventory
Fixed rice and pasta losing their cooked status when added to a cooking pot
Hey everyone!
Since the Early Access launch of Prologue: Go Wayback! in November we’ve been working on adding more depth to the survival gameplay, while also providing clearer in-game feedback on game mechanics for players.
Watch the new trailer below to see what we've added over the last months!
We’ve also updated the Demo with the latest gameplay features, in case you first want to try out a few runs across a limited set of predefined seeds.
Cooking has been improved in a couple of ways.
A new system for managing liquids now allows you to collect rainwater in any container that can contain water, such as a bottle or a cooking pot, and also lets you move liquids between containers. Together with other improvements to the inventory UI, it is now easier to move food items and specific amounts of water into the cooking pot.
The cooking process itself is now clearer. Calories show a percentage increase when hovering over food that is being cooked, and steam from the pot will change color depending on the stage of cooking.
The March update adds four new food types to forage in the wild::
Reed Shoots - provides hydration water but no calories
Burdock Root - poisonous when raw
Wild Parsnip - increase calories when cooking
Cattail - increase calories when cooking
Potatoes, onions, pasta, and rice have been added to food types you can find in cabins. Make sure to add water to cook pasta and rice!
Want to take a short nap? A new Alarm Clock item can be found in some cabins, letting you configure how long you want to sleep. Set an in-game time, turn on the alarm, and hold down the Z key to sleep until the intended time.
Holding down Z without an alarm will let you sleep for up to 8 hours of in-game time.
We've added new icons to better track your overall state. These will indicate if you are slowed by mud, in a state of hypothermia, running a fever, poisoned, affected by wind chill, and more.
Weather has seen a number of improvements over the last months to make them feel more realistic and more impactful for players. Dynamic weather front systems were added to show moving cloud walls and shifting atmospheric effects to indicate storms are inbound.
We have now added birds to the sky, which indicate the weather is about to change.
Storms now also have more visual effects to better convey their intensity. So keep an eye on the skies to prevent getting stuck in a storm!
In our previous February update we made weather impact the surface of the environment, with blizzards freezing over mud and creating ice. We've refined this effect to be more impactful. Mud which is frozen over now creates ice that is more slippery, while mud which becomes wetter due to rain or meltwater will now slow you down more than normal.
Go Wayback! is meant to be a hard game, but we have not always offered enough ways to explain how our gameplay systems work and how you can use the tools available to survive. A new Tutorial option in the main menu now offers a little more guidance on how to build a fire, how to cook, how to use electricity systems, and how to remove and place boards on cabins.
Another highly requested feature: you can now view the last played runs and play them again!
The History menu shows your last played seed and game mode, and we have added multiple save slots to offer more freedom in how you want to manage different parallel runs.
Sharing has also been improved across the board, letting you generate a unique code or a deeplink URL to share with other players, including for custom settings and custom maps.
Cooking system improvements with better ingredient handling and cooking process feedback
New liquid system: liquids now behave more consistently across items and inventories New forageables and food types added
New forageables and food types added
History page added to the menu (first iteration)
Freezing mud changes that affect traversal and movement
Cooking reworked: better calorie calculations, ingredient handling, and cooking visualisation
Foraging expanded with four plants (wild parsnip, cattail, burdock root, reed shoots) and updated spawn rates
Potatoes and onions added to cabin food types
Pasta and rice have also been added as cabin food items, make sure to add water!
Liquids now exist inside container inventories and interact better with cooking and items
Cooking pots can refill in rain and liquids can evaporate when cooking
Improved sliding and traversal on surfaces like mud, ice, and slopes
Updated stamina behaviour
Added alarm clock
Added History page in the main menu; view your last-played runs to replay or share
Added save slots to better manage separate runs
Sliders now work with keyboard and gamepad
New status bar icons and debuff notifications
Improved input rebinding and control settings
Cassette player fast-forward key changed to Middle Mouse Button (now user-mappable)
Various UI fixes and text corrections
New tutorial option in main menu
In-game map updates including biomes and legend improvements
Lighting and visual consistency improved across quality settings
Updated weather values and improved visuals for all extreme weather
Birds added, indicating weather changes
Adjusted food calories and cooking values
Tweaked flashlight brightness and oil lamp duration
Adjusted spawn rates for forageables near shelters
Updated weather values for hail, snow, and fog
Fixed multiple issues with liquids, cooking, and inventory interactions
Fixed items falling through the ground after loading
Fixed several animation issues (soda cans, bottles, drinking, etc.)
Fixed problems with wetness, windchill, and temperature icons
Numerous localisation fixes
Various stability fixes, crash fixes, and performance improvements
We have released a small fix for a bug in the stamina system where, after 30 minutes of playtime, players could enter a slowed state that made running difficult or impossible.
We have just released a small update for Prologue: Go Wayback! with the following fixes:
Soaked burnable items now don’t cause FPS drops after being placed on heat source and picked up
Sleep key is updated on the help screen
Fixed a crash when dying after falling from the Glider
Items in inventory can now be rotated by the key “R”
Sliders in the weather section now apply when using the “Apply Mode Settings” button
The Early Access launch last year generated a lot of new feedback, which we have been taking to heart to plan for improving on the core survival experience of Go Wayback!
We are currently working on improving some of the core systems that are at the foundation of the game, and this first update of 2026 focuses on those foundations, alongside some early iterations of a few highly requested features.Nights can be long and cold in Go Wayback! especially if the weather brings a thunderstorm or a blizzard. It’s totally fair if you don’t feel like spending that time watching the crackling fire or listening to tunes on your cassette player. Now, you can sleep.
This is still a very early version of the feature. At the moment, the game decides how long you’ll be able to sleep based on your vitals (just to make sure you don’t die in your sleep), with a maximum duration of 8 hours of game time. In the future, we’ll introduce tools that allow you to decide how long you’d like to sleep.Can’t sleep? It’s probably because you’re too hungry, dehydrated, or about to freeze to death.Before the holidays we encouraged our teams to think out of the box with creative ideas. The Glider is one of the ideas we came up with, and it’s now available to test and experiment with in Free Roam mode. Find a good spot and spawn it with the K key on your keyboard. We’re eager to hear what you think of this new way to traverse the world!
Landscapes have also received an update to surfaces, with more rewarding (or punishing, depending on the situation) effects on gameplay. Different types of terrain surfaces now have a direct impact on how you traverse the world. Frozen icy snow = delayed directional changes.
The UI also received a visual pass over the past month. Setting sliders now offer more precise control, missing key prompts in the inventory and help screens are no longer missing, and we’ve added confirmation pop-ups when overwriting save files.
Another change we made affects how clothing behaves when it comes into contact with fire: it now burns! Well, unless you’re wearing it. For now. So maybe pay attention to where you drop your clothes next time if you’re trying to dry them.With this update, we’ve taken a step closer to improving certain in-game systems, including looting. This means fewer meme opportunities for us (no more screenshots of radios spawning in the fridge), but a much better chance for you to find items in more natural and consistent places.
We’ve also reworked forest traversal. Stepping over small obstacles should now be much smoother, with less blocking on rocks, branches, and uneven terrain.Last but not least, you can now experience all of this in three newly added languages: Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Russian.
We hope you enjoy the new changes, and as always, we’d be thrilled to hear your thoughts on Discord!Mud can now freeze and has different states in-between, affecting traversal and movement
Added first implementation of Sleep system (hold Z key to start sleeping while not at risk of death)
Clocks can now be found in the world to track time
Glider added to Free Roam mode
Weather visuals upgraded with improved atmosphere, clouds, fog, and lighting balance
Improved cabin looting logic, making item placement feel more natural and consistent
Forest traversal improvements:
Smoother stepping over small obstacles
Improved mantling and vaulting
Reduced blocking on rocks, branches, and uneven terrain
New languages:
Korean, Russian and Traditional Chinese
Traversal & Movement
Fixed cases where vaulting over logs or obstacles could fail
Improved mantling animations and camera transitions to reduce snapping
Added missing height checks for vaulting and ladders
Removed forced get-up animation after sliding
Improved dangerous traversal feedback with FOV bloom and vignette effects
Items, Inventory & Interaction
Fixed items ignoring gravity when dropped (map, clocks, etc.)
Fixed step counter counting steps while standing still or not registering correctly
Fixed thermometer and pedometer display issues
All dropped clothing items are now burnable
Improved battery usage consistency for flashlights, radio, and cassette player
UI & Menus
General UI visual pass and alignment fixes
Fixed stretched images and misaligned text in menus
Improved sliders for more precise control
Fixed incorrect or missing key prompts in inventory and help screens
Added confirmation popups when overwriting save files
Pause menu navigation and layout improvements
Added increase / decrease indicators on vitals
Custom Settings page now merges Custom Settings, Seed and Edit Map
The Display Prompt UI is now located in Settings
World, Environment & Visuals
Improved tree, foliage, and rock collisions to prevent snagging or clipping
Fixed snow, wetness, and overcast lighting inconsistencies
Improved river depth handling to prevent unintended soaking
Rocks and buildings now cover the ground from snow and rain building up
Audio
Fixed crashes and inconsistencies related to audio shutdown
Resolved issues with custom audio settings reverting on launch
Fixed a bug where it sometimes sounded like the player was outside when they were inside
Game Logic & Progression
Fixed achievements unlocking incorrectly or not tracking properly
Fixed poison, wetness, temperature, stamina, and hunger edge cases
Fixed scenarios and custom games incorrectly disabling achievements
Fixed save/load issues affecting shelters, poison state, and player stats
Custom Games & Settings
Fixed custom maps and seeds not loading correctly
Added missing custom game settings (day duration, weather change speed)
Prevented incompatible settings from being selected simultaneously
Improved custom seed input validation and UI behavior
Stability & Performance
Fixed multiple crashes related to traversal, audio, UI, and world loading
Improved memory cleanup and asset handling
General stability improvements across gameplay and menus
Liquids & Fuel system
Improved foraging and cooking
Additional updates to landscape surfaces
Previously played Seeds history
Improved sharing options for Custom Settings, Maps, and Game Modes
We have just released a small update for Prologue: Go Wayback! with the following fixes:
Fixed an issue where custom audio settings reverted to default on launch until the Settings menu was opened.
Fixed a bug where custom maps reset to a regular map after loading a saved game.
Resolved an issue preventing achievements from being unlocked in Objective: Survive and Free Roam modes.
Improved rolling weather transitions. You can now see weather changes approaching on the horizon over time.
After a few hotfixes, the very first Early Access update for Prologue: Go Wayback! is now live. This update brings a couple of new items and new mechanics that deepen the survival experience.
Gameplay & Survival
In our Early Access Roadmap, we mentioned that electrical systems were one of the key improvements we wanted to bring to the gameplay and survival systems. This update introduces an early version of that with the addition of batteries. Some items now require specific types of batteries to function at full capacity and have an inventory that can be opened to fit batteries of different sizes. Batteries deliver power based on their size, so go experiment with them!
Items
Many of you have been asking for a way to measure distances in-game, and some of you had pretty great suggestions, so we said “sure, let’s do it” and added a step counter item.The Step Counter tracks steps as long as you carry it with you and has with two modes: total steps and current steps. Reset the counter to track specific distances via current steps, and check your total steps to see the full distance taken.We also saw a lot of people curious about the surrounding temperature, since the UI only displays body temperature. You can now use the thermometer to check the temperature around you and prepare more effectively.Seed Sharing via DeepLink URLsAnother update we made was aimed at making sharing generated worlds easier for everyone. Now, whenever you come across a spot worth sharing or simply want to settle a matchup with a friend about who is the quickest explorer, you can share the Seed you’re playing via DeepLinks.With one click on a URL, they will start in an exact copy of the world you are playing in. The weather is also tied to the Seed, and you can even use DeepLinks to load a custom map design plus a specific Seed number. Important note: starting a new game via a DeepLink will overwrite your existing save.Check out our Github for more information on how to create and use DeepLinks: We hope you enjoy the changes, and as always: join us on Discord to share your thoughts, feedback, and cute animal photos.Rolling Weather:
A new dynamic weather front system adds moving cloud walls and shifting atmospheric effects, letting you see storms coming before they arrive.
Track your steps and monitor the external temperature with two new survival tools.
Flashlights, the radio, and the music player now run on batteries (small/medium/large). Items spawn with swappable batteries by default.
You can now share your world seed and/or custom map directly through DeepLinks.
Forest Traversal Overhaul
Walking over rocks in spruce and beech forests is now much smoother.
Reduced cases of getting stuck or snagged on uneven terrain.
River audio now varies depending on river width.
Improved cloud, light, and atmosphere effects across multiple weather types (Thunderstorm, Overcast, Clear Sky, Wet Haze).
Updated tree canopies, forest tiles, and ground materials.
Improved moss, foliage collision, and rock sinking to prevent getting caught on surfaces.
Weather randomization is now based on seed and similar for all playing that map.
Added Ukrainian, Spanish (Latin American), and updates to several other languages.
General localization pass and updated credits.
Better feedback when generating custom maps or river schematics.
Fixed calories, water, and temperature values not saving/loading correctly.
Fixed cooked food ignoring ingredient calories.
Fixed several inventory and UI issues.
Updated first-person mesh shadows and item handling.
Fixed several shelter-related item spawn issues.
Improved vaulting logic for smoother traversal.
Fixed various visual glitches on snow, billboards, doors, shutters, and furniture.
Added feature to switch to Fahrenheit instead of Celsius for temperature in settings.
Fixed a bug that caused the character to collide with hanging lights.
Fixed teddy bear and other items not spawning correctly in starter cabin.
Fixed a bug where custom settings could be lost when loading the game.
Added crash location data and stability fixes throughout.
New audio settings volume sliders for:
Environment
Character's movement
Character's Voice (for misophonia)
SFX
UI
Hi everyone,
We’ve just added a new demo for Prologue: Go Wayback! created from the latest Early Access build.This demo contains the fully playable game with our three current Game Modes, and four Seeds from different worlds that our players and PLAYERUNKNOWN found and shared with the community on our Discord. A random Seed is selected every time you start the demo.
Saving and the DEV menu with Custom Game Settings, the Map Editor, and Custom Seed loading are not available in this demo.
If you haven’t tried our game yet, give the demo a try! Download it via the green Demo button on the store page.We plan to update this demo a few times in the coming year alongside bigger feature updates, but our primary focus during Early Access is on continuously updating the main game.
If you like what you see, and what we have planned for Early Access at the moment, give us a Wishlist or jump in with Early Access!
1799413402 - 5qu34k: A mountain range bisects the entire map with a river and nice big grasslands
309561664 - FupDuk: Central river with cliff outcrops on either side and a spread of mud and bogs
973556540 - Migozzi: Climb down and up; prepare for a long trek to the Weather Tower
824864249 - PLAYERUNKNOWN: Unique map with a huge mountain range and a double river
As always, we welcome and read all the feedback here on Steam or on our Discord.
We have just released a Hotfix for Prologue: Go Wayback!
Fixed saves not working as intended in some Game Modes
Added more debug information to crashes to help with investigation
Fixed an issue that caused fuses and other electrical components to stop working after loading
Fixed an issue with Teddy Bear not spawning as cuddly or visible as intended. Teddy Bear now appears in the starter cabin
Cabins no longer spawn empty in some instances
Updated the credits
Fixed common crash after loading a saved game
Game now saves when using alt-f4 to quit game
No saving upon death or escape
Updated game mode selection screen
Note: we are investigating an issue with saving for the Objective: Survive game mode and hope to have a fix for this soon.
After a busy year of playtests and an Open Beta, Prologue: Go Wayback! is now available in Early Access!
A huge thank you to our community for helping us test, break, refine, comment, suggest, and sometimes just hang out with us on Discord.We strongly believe developing games can’t be done in a vacuum without player feedback, and your support has meant more than you know. We truly couldn’t have gotten here without you, and we look forward to your input as we develop the game further throughout Early Access. Watch the new Early Access Launch Trailer:Tweak settings like weather types, time of day, survival modifiers, and other dev options to shape your experience.
Game Modes are a different way to play. At Early Access launch, you can choose from:
Go Wayback! - get to the Weather Tower in the default survival mode.
Objective: Survive - a hardcore mode where the goal is simple: last as long as you can.
Free Roam - explore the wilderness at your own pace without the stress of survival.
We plan to continue working with the community to add more game modes!
Draw your own rivers and generate unique maps using the in-game map editor, or import a PNG and turn it into a playable map.
To load images in the Map Editor, click on Import Path and type the path where you are storing the image you want to import, for example: c:\\gowayback\\
Click Browse File, select the image you want, click Load to load it into the Map Editor, and click Generate to create the Map. You can then choose Game Modes and other Custom Game Settings for this generated map in the main menu.You can now suspend your run and return to it later.
We plan for Prologue: Go Wayback! to remain in Early Access for about a year. During this time, we aim to add:
More depth to gameplay: climbing, improved cooking and foraging, fuel and electrical power systems, and new tools and clothing items for survival and exploration.
More environmental variety: paths and trails, cabin variety, improved biomes and enhanced dynamic weather.
More creative tools: new game modes and dev settings, more ways to create and share your own combination of maps, modes, and settings.
We are doing Early Access because community feedback is essential to shaping the game as we continue development. Your feedback during Open Beta has helped us create a better game with new Game Modes and new ways to customize how you can play. Your feedback during Early Access will help us deepen the gameplay systems and improve the variety of the worlds you play in, while your suggestions and ideas will help shape what other Game Modes or new ways to play we can add to the game.
We’re the most active on Discord and invite you all to share your feedback with us there!We’re also working on a new demo that uses the latest updates to the game.
We’d love to have your support on our journey to further develop the game and its features during Early Access. Prologue: Go Wayback will have 10% launch discount until November 30th!
See you out there, and stay warm!Achievements – A full achievement set is now available.
Custom Game Settings – Shape your own survival experience.
Controller Support – In-game controller support (menus coming later).
Saving – You can now stop and continue your game at any time.
Note: Saves from the latest Open Beta Playtest build are not compatible with the Early Access release build
Added “New Day” notification in Objective: Survive mode
Added improved day/night transitions
Sprint: moved from maintained input to toggle.
Added Streamer Mode (audio-safe).
Enabled NVIDIA Reflex and DLSS Frame Generation.
Added edge-of-world warning text.
Added graphics Revert Settings auto-restore popup.
Note: Rangefinders from the Open Beta are undergoing fixes with finding range.
Compass blur and map compass bezel issues fixed.
Added map + player data to death and end screens.
Fixed items getting wet indoors after loading.
Corrected key hints for Tab/Inventory.
Fixed custom weather stopping unexpectedly.
Fixed small items falling through the floor.
Improved snow billboard visuals and ground readability.
Weather distance, fog, and lighting updated for consistency.
Cardboard boxes in the Weather Tower now provide tinder.
Updated inventory UI, input prompts, tooltips, and popups.
Improved vital signs display, and death screen visuals.
Improved flashlight lighting and fog interaction.
Improved hotbar visibility and item behavior.
Correct calorie/water content added to all drinks.
Fixed cooked food ignoring ingredient calories.
Hi Everyone,
From our very first playtest, your feedback has been crucial to our progress, and we truly want to create a game that feels like it belongs to you. With the Early Access release right around the corner, we want to give you a look at what we are currently planning for development during Early Access.
Please keep in mind things may change, and if they do, the most likely reason would be your input.
Updates that add realism, scale, and cohesion to the world.
Paths, trails, and infrastructure that make navigation clearer and the world feel more coherent.
Enhanced river systems with source, tributaries, rapids, and deltas, bringing new movement and life to the world.
Biomes that become deeper and more varied, creating richer atmosphere and discovery.
Dynamic weather systems that shift how each journey feels.
More varied settlements that make inhabited places feel alive and distinct.
Water that freezes and thaws with weather and seasons, changing how you move and survive.
Some of the new cabin types we are experimenting with.
Updates to enrich your experience, expand creative freedom, and deepen survival and exploration.
Creative building that uses found materials with full freedom of expression.
New ingredients and recipes that make food and fire a deeper part of survival.
Full climbing gear and systems that allow you to scale cliffs and explore vertical spaces.
Batteries and repairable power systems that bring energy management into survival.
Fuel for lamps, generators, and devices that adds management, maintenance, and discovery to how energy powers the world.
Containers that can hold water, fuel, and other liquids for more flexible storage and interaction, creating deeper realism.
Clothing that degrades and can be repaired, adding wear, character, and deepening survival through maintenance and resourcefulness.
A growing toolset and more player driven survival gear that enhances exploration and gameplay.
New ways to customize the world, controller support & content sharing.
New game modes for new kinds of play, with freeform exploration, timed survival, and emerging challenges that test how you adapt, endure, and explore.
Opening of the game’s systems for players to create, customize, and share their own worlds, allowing new rules, maps, and experiences to emerge from the community.
Full controller support to make exploration, survival, and creation feel natural and fluid.
Optimisation for Steam Deck, with performance and controls tuned for handheld play so the world can travel with you.
Twitch integration that lets audiences influence the world voting on weather, spawns, and other events to shape each player’s journey.
In-game camera mode for virtual photography.
We hope you are excited about what is in the pipeline, because we definitely are.
Got ideas that could help shape the game? Join our Discord to share them with us!
After two and a half months in Open Beta, we are finally ready to move to the next stage: Prologue: Go Wayback! is coming to Early Access on November 20th! We would like to thank our community for continuously testing our game and sharing their ideas, feedback, and Go Wayback! stories. Nothing gets our team more excited.
Early Access is only the start of the journey for our game, and Game Modes are a way to change how you are exploring the world. At Early Access launch we will have three Game Modes, with more to come as we work with the community:
Go Wayback! - The default mode: survive and make your way to the Weather Tower
Objective: Survive - Challenge yourself and survive for as long as possible with limited resources
Free Roam - Explore at your own pace without worrying about starvation, dehydration or hypothermia
In Early Access you will have access to the a new Custom Game Settings menu, which allows you to further customize your run. Tweak various Dev settings like setting the weather types, adjusting spawn rates for consumables, choosing day or night settings and much more.
We have been testing our Map Editor feature for a while, and we are happy to announce that it will be available to the public with the Early Access release. You will be able to draw your own rivers and water bodies using the in-game Map designer, or you can import any PNG image from your system and turn it into a Map!
We plan to keep improving the Map Editor throughout Early Access.
Suspend your run and resume it another time. Saving has been trickier than you'd think, as our guided generation system means things don't end up at the same place every time. We are doing some final testing on our save system ahead of rolling it out with Early Access launch.
Prologue: Go Wayback! will be available to buy from November 20 for $19.99 USD / 19.99 EUR.
Game Modes
Two of the new Game Modes, Objective: Survive and Free Roam, are already available for testing today in today's update!
New Items
Previously the game featured a single flashlight, the OG. With this update, we are adding three more flashlights. Some require a little extra effort (see the hand-cranked flashlight below), while others offer different illumination distances and beam widths.
Environment
Rivers are also getting an update in this patch. With more variety in river profiles and improved tree, grass, and rock placement, the world around you now feels a notch more realistic.
New Game Modes menu added with two new Game Modes
Added Unstuck button to the pause menu
Players’ fingers now appear dirtier to match the environment
Music player no longer exhibits “haunted” behavior
Generator updated with new diegetic fuel gauge
Added new flashlights with different functionalities
Added a prying tool for destruction
New river banks and more river variations added
Foraging logic updated, mushrooms now spawn more more consistently
Mud patches are now visible on maps; mud color updated
Updated areas around cabins with new set dressing
Fixed floating, misplaced, and clipping objects in several cabins
Animated roof destruction added
Updated translations
Adjusted map visuals and behavior; weather tower now displays its area
Fog reduced under clear and overcast conditions
Fixed compass disappearing and rotation resetting issues
Adjusted ladder and shelter collisions to prevent blocking and clipping
Our latest patch offers new types of binoculars along with gameplay and survival improvements.
Gameplay & SurvivalWe have improved the furniture destruction mechanics, with broken pieces now taking up a different number of slots in your inventory. The mountain top is also now visible on the map; what you do with that information, though, is entirely up to you.Items
Well, Go Wayback! is a hardcore survival game after all, and we thought that our previous binoculars made things a tad too easy for you folks! Therefore, we have introduced five different binocular types. You can find some features such as range finding in one, zoom in another, but almost never together. And the old ones, even though they still remain in the game, now have much more limited functionality. So, good luck, I guess?UI & Visuals
We may have made things a bit harder for you with the Binocular update, but there are things we simplified too. Map icons are updated to help you navigate more easily. World & EnvironmentWith this patch, we have also refined the way clouds move. You'll now see storms sweeping across the horizon, creating a more realistic weather transition.Curious how we build things? Check out our new dev blog!
Patch Notes: 0.20684
Gameplay & Survival
Furniture destruction improved: broken pieces now take up different space in your inventory
Hunger/thirst audio bug during startup has been fixed
Bugs with starter cabin being too cold fixed
The mountain top is added to the map
Items & Inventory
Item tooltips are clearer (e.g., Eat, Drink, Wear)
Fixed issues with carrots dropping whole plants when discarded
Refillable items now correctly show calories tied to remaining liquid
Made it easier to rotate and place items
Binoculars added! Multiple variants available (common, military, kids, rangefinder, etc.), complete with zoom, sound effects, and improved handling
World & Environment
Spruce forest colors refreshed
Cabin interiors improved with destructible props and fixed collisions
Floating or misplaced objects (walkman, shelves, matchbox, etc.) corrected
Fixed cabin roof weather audio for rain and hail
See storms sweep across the horizon with moving cloud fronts
UI & Visuals
Placement preview materials are now easier to see
New clothing icons added (basic hats)
Map icons updated
Fixes
Unstuck button added to pause menu to assist players if stuck
We have also made some tweaks to audio and atmosphere. You can now hear heartbeat signals for dehydration and hunger, tinnitus and gradual world-volume muffling in critical states.
UI
The inventory also got a small update this patch: wet items now show a blue background, so they're easier to spot.
In addition to what’s already mentioned, we’ve made some significant changes to the way we design our camera and lighting, read more in our Dev Blog:
https://playerunknownproductions.net/news/dev-blog-open-beta-update-002
Patch Notes: 0.20215Restored foliage-rustle and rain/hail roof impacts
Heartbeat now signals dehydration/hunger; intensity scales with risk
Tinnitus + gradual muffling during critical states
Wet items show blue background in inventory
Compass shows on map when in any quick-slot
Skylight intensity now separates day/night; clearer dusk lighting
Anti-aliasing toggle added to Settings
Diesel-generator gas lid no longer stackable under-arm
Build/destruct range cut to 1.5m (was 3m)
Door boarding improved: doors are locked when you board a door to a wall with a plank
Cooking items update calories in real time again
Medium landing roll slowed 50%; smoother get-up blends
Weather Tower is no longer specifically pinpointed on the map. Explore and find a good vantage point to locate it
Maps can be more easily found in shelters across the world; each map you find features different nearby locations/information
Bed, oil-lamp, flashlight, walkman, radio collision fixes
Paper no longer crumples on inspect; lamp glass lights only when on
Wetness recalculates when moved in hotbar
Reflections switched to screen-space; minor light tuning
Fixes for invisible items spawning in shelters
LOD fixes on coat-hanger; outhouse-door collision updated
Removed floating lamp in cabin; added shelf collisions to jetty & shack
In our latest update we have added three new items alongside various fixes and tweaks.
Find matchbooks with limited matches to create fire. Matches can fail to light, and you can ruin them by getting them wet. Keep them out of the rain, and don't be surprised if they no longer work after a swim in a river.
Lighters are a more reliable fire source and a step up from matches, but require fuel. They also double as a weak light source if you dropped or forgot your flashlight. Which you would never do... right?
Your trusty Ferro Rod from previous builds is now a rare item on every map.
Also new is the Oil Lamp, which is an alternative to the Flashlight. You can use the Oil Lamp to cast light all around you. Perfect for a cozy camp in the woods, or for building a fire.
Last but not least, we have made improvements to indications of impending death due to dehydration or malnutrition. You will still die, but less abruptly than before.
Read more in our Dev Blog: https://playerunknownproductions.net/news/dev-blog-open-beta-update-001
Hunger and thirst no longer cause instant death
Poison now has permanent side effects
Fire effects on the player have been reduced
Escape screen has a timer
Added lighter, matchbook, and oil lamps
Inspecting water containers now shows capacity
Inventory tooltips are now context-specific (Eat, Drink, Open, etc.)
Added audio for rivers
Fixed rocks so players no longer fall through them
Fixed hiking stops having higher temperature than the world
Fixed cabin roofs breaking when first discovered
More randomness in item spawns, cabin durability, and cabin quality outside exploration zones
Hi everyone, we’re excited to open up access to the full version of Prologue: Go Wayback! in the form of an Open Beta Playtest today!
We plan to keep updating the Open Beta with patches and new features over time, until we are ready for an Early Access launch later this year.
Watch PLAYERUNKNOWN's video message to the community here!
Add the Open Beta Playtest to your Library via the green Playtest button on the Store page below, and please Wishlist the game if you like the game! It really helps us.
We are removing the Demo for Go Wayback! for now, as the Open Beta Playtest has no limitation on how many maps you can play and we will be using the Open Beta for public updates going forward.
We'd love to hear from you what you like and what you'd love to see more of! Leave your comments in the Community Hub (here) or join our Discord (here) to chat with the devs and the community and to stay up to date on the latest news from development.
Gameplay: Easier item detection, improved item placement, drink from rivers without entering, new backpack/pot interaction, quickslot map opening, destroyed furniture burns longer.
World: Storms can break boarded windows, new POIs and cliffs, adjusted indoor temperatures, starter pots now collectible.
Items: Spoiled/torn gear possible, torn clothing less effective, clothing spawn balance, reduced burnable items, removed prefab fireplaces, various item sound/icon fixes.
UI/Visuals: New poison icon, blackened fingers in cold, bug fixes for visuals and inspection, corrected labels and player rotation.
Survival: Added fever mechanic from extreme temperatures.
Misc: Translation updates and general UI text polish.
\\\\ PLAYERUNKNOWN Productions
We have updated the demo to our latest build. Play across 10 different maps and try to make it to the weather tower!
A Field-of-View slider is now available in settings.
Refilling water containers now uses right-click (RMB) instead of E.
You can now drink from snowy or, if you're brave, muddy ground.
New input prompts added.
You can switch on on-screen prompts for item actions.
The crosshair now animates when you're unable to carry something underarm.
A circular progress bar appears when holding to interact.
Pressing M opens the map if it is in the hotbar.
Radio and cassette player volume can be changed in game.
Water containers are refillable from snow, but can also store poisonous water.
Cooking now reduces food size in your inventory — without lowering calories.
Wild garlic, wild strawberries, and wild carrots now provide better nutrition.
Tin cans are now treated separately by type — they no longer stack into the same hand.
The flashlight correctly shows whether it's on or off inside shelters.
Waterproof backpacks now protect stored items from rain and help them dry.
Backpack sizes are now displayed accurately when inspecting them.
Clothing insulation has a greater effect on your body temperature.
More clothes can get damaged.
Added a miniature landscape diorama inside the Weather Tower showing your journey.
Improved liquid rendering when holding containers.
Breakable furniture added — cabin tables and chairs can now be destroyed.
Map start location and Weather Tower location are now accurately marked.
Improved rock formations in European Beech areas.
Balanced items and consumables available from the starting cabin.
Balanced wetness from swimming, its more dangerous now.
Rare waterproof and insulated clothing is even rarer now.
Balanced getting dry to make it harder. It won't happen until certain conditions are met, e.g. the world temperature is above 2C.
All shelters now start at the world temperature, its easier to die at the start.
Fires are harder to maintain in storms, look for rocky outcrops if you are outside.
New audio mix.
Various minor other bug fixes
Come play a special community Playtest with the latest additions to the game!
Join us on Discord to get a key for the Playtest.
Want to create your own maps? Get the latest Playtest and:
Go to your Library and find Prologue: Go Wayback! Playtest
Right-click on the game name and select Properties
In the launch options in the General tab, add "mapeditor" in the textbox
Draw your own map designs, or import an image!
Patch notes for the latest changes:
Refilling water containers now uses right-click (RMB) instead of E.
You can now drink from snowy or, if you're brave, muddy ground.
New input prompts added.
You can switch on on-screen prompts for item actions.
The crosshair now animates when you're unable to carry something underarm.
A circular progress bar appears when holding to interact.
Water containers are refillable from snow, but can also store poisonous water.
Cooking now reduces food size in your inventory — without lowering calories.
Wild garlic, wild strawberries, and wild carrots now provide better nutrition.
Tin cans are now treated separately by type — they no longer stack into the same hand.
The flashlight correctly shows whether it's on or off inside shelters.
Waterproof backpacks now protect stored items from rain and help them dry.
Backpack sizes are now displayed accurately when inspecting them.
Clothing insulation has a greater effect on your body temperature.
More clothes can get damaged.
Added a miniature landscape diorama inside the Weather Tower showing your journey.
Improved liquid rendering when holding containers.
Breakable furniture added — cabin tables and chairs can now be destroyed.
Map start location and Weather Tower location are now accurately marked.
Balanced items and consumables available from the starting cabin.
Balanced wetness from swimming, its more dangerous now.
Rare waterproof and insulated clothing is even rarer now.
Balanced getting dry to make it harder. It won't happen until certain conditions are met, e.g. the world temperature is above 2C.
All shelters now start at the world temperature, its easier to die at the start.
Fires are harder to maintain in storms, look for rocky outcrops if you are outside.
Patch 11/06/25 A small patch rolled out today: Bug fixed: Pot does not start cooking food when placed on a hot stove. Bug fixed: Poison debuff does not update the UI after it is expired. Improved telemetry tracking for items used, and language.
Our latest patch addresses some balancing issues as well as bug fixes:
Hand looks better when holding multiple items.,
Forest log does not turn white when picked up.,
Set maximum items to be held to eight.,
Stove temp increased.,
Start and weather location map offset bug fixed.,
Mouse sensitivity starting value bug fixed.,
Option to opt out of telemetry at start up.,
Localization settings now persists between sessions.,
Localized languages updated.
The demo for Prologue: Go Wayback! is now available. Go Wayback! is a survival roguelike that challenges players to explore and navigate millions of distinct 64km² maps that are different every time you play.
This demo lets you play the game, with all of the available survival gameplay systems, across four handpicked maps that cycle with no time limit per round, or number of deaths per session.
Explore, experiment, and tell us what works, and what doesn't. Download the Demo via the green Download Demo button on the Store page:
In the words of studio founder Brendan “PLAYERUNKNOWN” Greene:
"Today we are putting a demo of Go Wayback! in players’ hands. Sharing our games during early development is a founding principle of our studio and allows the team to iterate on core systems with player input early. We’re looking forward to your stories, feedback, and bug reports allowing us to shape Go Wayback! together over the coming months before early access launch later this summer." Getting early and honest player feedback throughout development is at the core of how we design games at PLAYERUNKNOWN Productions.
Our community Discord offers an open door to our studio and place for our players to see for themselves what we are working on, offer feedback, and have a voice in the future of Go Wayback!
As the game is in active development, please head to our User Support Hub to troubleshoot bugs and other unexpected problems.
Go Wayback! is powered by the studio’s in house guided generation terrain system, that leverages machine-learning to generate unpredictable 64km² maps that change every time you play. While the full game features millions of maps, the demo gives access to four community-nominated locations.
From foraging-focused forests to near-impossible icy expanses, these picks highlight the scale and diversity of what's possible in Go Wayback!
377433344 — suggested by community member lukemars_, who thrives on foraged food.
1113378335 — nominated by community member GameDevZach: “Really tough.”
148705728 — shared by community member sleepyente who called it “maybe impossible.” Community member sanyesz proved otherwise, but be ready to run.
1357488640 — a pick by PLAYERUNKNOWN. Good luck.
The game objective is to reach a distant weather tower but, with no time limit, the game encourages free exploration, learning, and experimentation with survival strategies.
If you enjoy the demo, please give us a Wishlist and a Follow here on Steam!
A special thanks to our Discord community who have helped us develop this build over the past months. We would love your feedback so please do join us on Discord to share your thoughts and talk to the devs and the community.
Thanks for being part of the journey.
About
This page aggregates Steam news feeds, patch notes, and developer announcements for Prologue: Go Wayback!, 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 Prologue: Go Wayback! 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.
FAQ
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