We are excited to launch Fear the Wolves into Steam Early Access today!

The game introduces intense player-versus-environment elements to the Battle Royale formula, including deadly radiation hazards, roaming mutants, dynamic weather and a unique endgame extraction system, all within the atmospheric environments of a decaying Chernobyl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHAKwgWmyT4
To secure the top spot out of 100, you must worry about more than just survival. While it’s possible to win a game through simply being the last alive, the helicopter extraction adds a whole new dimension to endgame strategy. In the final stages, all remaining players will be alerted to the arrival of the helicopter, which will hover over a fixed area before dropping a rope – and there’s only room for one. Will you rush to be the first to attempt an escape in the hope no one else is there yet?

How will you deal with the oncoming assault of not only players, but mutant wolves, anomalies and radiation? How will your squad ensure a teammate survives the intense haul up to the chopper? We’ve seen an incredible range of creative strategies for this endgame, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with over the coming months.



Fear the Wolves has already seen tens of thousands of players battling across Chernobyl during the beta period, which has allowed us to roll out multiple updates and improvements in preparation for the Early Access launch.

We're incredibly grateful to all of you who parachuted into Chernobyl in the last weeks to help us iron out the game as much as possible. We know it's been a bumpy road and that some of you encountered technical issues and the focus for the last few weeks has been on ironing out the performance and bug fixes. It's only a first step and we'll keep improving and tuning the performance of the game and servers based on your feedback.

To thank you for your support throughout the Beta phase, we worked on in-game t-shirts for Alpha and Beta testers! Just launch the game and pick the t-shirt in the brand new customization menu. Here is a quick look at the models:





We're happy to unveil today a first content roadmap to give insight on the exciting (and game-changing) new features still to come!




Right after Early Access Release

We plan to add localization for more languages as we head towards release. This is currently aimed at 16 languages, including French, German, Russian and Chinese.

Update #1 - First additional content
3rd week of September

• New landmarks: We will add new landmark buildings, oddities, and other unique elements to the map.
  
• A new 2 seater vehicle.
  
• Weapon Customization: a brand-new customization system to make every weapon your own.
  
• The ability to auto-matchmake after death or defeat.
  
• Nvidia Highlights: Learn from your mistakes or relive your finest kills and your smoothest extractions.

Update #2 - Improved BR mechanics
End of October

• More Movement Options: Vault over obstacles to quickly navigate the environment.
  
• New Melee Mechanics: Break open locked doors, backstab enemies, and throw weapons.
  
• An in-game event system.
  
• A spectator mode UI update.
  
• Customization: even more customization sets!

You may have noticed some differences compared to the initial list of planned features and it's because we reorganized our priorities based on your feedback from the Beta. We're commited to open communication with you throughout this Early Access period and it also means being flexible and attentive to your requests.

Note that additionally to these major updates, we'll release regularly smaller updates and hotfixes for hot fixes and balancing.



We have a lot more content and ideas for the future, but we're not ready to give you all the details about them. We will release a new roadmap this fall for the next updates, but here are some of the ideas we’re exploring for future updates:

• Anomalous Storm: A new weather type that unleashes hell across the battlefield.
  
• Dedicated wounded player animations.
  
• More customization items: Cosmetics will continue to be added, letting you create your perfect character, including a progression system with unlockable items.
  
• Night gameplay: Currently in a prototype stage, we intend to bring the terrors of the pitch black to Fear The Wolves. Don’t forget, wolves are nocturnal hunters.
  
• Additional mutants: Wolves aren’t the only creatures to be affected by the radiation still present in The Zone.
  
• Additional mutant mechanics. The Zone is ever evolving, and with it, the creatures within.
  
• Additional anomaly mechanics. Anomalies are dangerous, but brave them, and you may uncover something worth the risk.
  
• Livestream integration: The spectator weather-voting system will be available to Twitch and Mixer viewers.
  
• A better Chernobyl: The map will be polished to add additional biomes and village diversity.
  
• More weapons and items: New guns, melee weapons, attachments.

We hope to see you in Chernobyl very soon to hear your feedback about the current version of the game and shape Fear The Wolves together!

See you in-game,
Fear The Wolves team