Inferno Protocol Patch Notes

This page is a reading copy of Tektonic Interactive’s Steam announcements from the demo year through Early Access. It is not a legal changelog and it does not replace the in-game news. When a new post lands, we fold it in. Until then, these are the patches that explain why melee feels heavy, why a rat can grab you, and why your fire barrel dies in rain.

Use this with combat, crafting, co-op, and settings. The roadmap covers what is still promised rather than what already shipped.

28 August 2026 — Early Access, demo removed

Steam news: the demo was taken down around the Early Access window with a thank-you to players who reported bugs. The adventure continues in Early Access. If a friend is still looking for a free Prologue on the store, it is gone. Buy the Early Access build or wait.

19 August 2026 — date lock and demo sunset

Tektonic confirmed the 28 August date, thanked demo testers for implemented feedback, previewed an Early Access roadmap image, and said the demo would come down on 27 August (with a possible delay if demand existed). A launch trailer was described as in progress. Treat the image on Steam as the visual plan; our roadmap page translates it into text without pretending we have a pixel-perfect internal Gantt chart.

July 2026 — Demo Fix Update (comms and menus)

• Microphone selection for proximity chat.
• Proximity chat fixes.
• Walkie-talkie fixes.
• Quest list fixes.
• Screen type changeable from graphics settings.
• Emote key no longer moves you while organizing inventory.

If your co-op still sounds wrong, this is the patch that admitted voice was a bug surface. Re-select the mic. See settings.

July 2026 — Better Building

• Build usability: placed objects show facing direction; placement effects updated.
• Trash eater explodes if fed dynamite, grenades, etc.
• Brass knuckle effects and recipe errors corrected.
• Other players’ names visible again.
• Physics, ladder-exit stand-up, interior fall-through, stun stand-up, first-entry quests, Prologue ambient sound, localization.

Fall-through reports at Early Access suggest this class of bug can return. If you lose a stash through a floor, check Steam discussions and your last bed.

Combat Update — Better Hit Feedback

Melee overhaul: impact camera punch, heavier heavies, hitstop synced in multiplayer, swing trails, impact shockwaves. Zombies get locational and directional reactions, also synced. Staggering mid-swing cancels damage. Directional deaths. This is the patch that made combat worth a page instead of “left click until dead.”

4 June → 1 July 2026 — Major Demo Content Update

New weapons and items: brass knuckle, wrist watch (functional UI), leather flask empty/filled, wall torch, small scrap rack. New clothing: cowboy hat, loin cloth, leather shoes, round glasses, belt bag, Snatcher backpack. New enemy: Giant Rat with chase, attack, grab, roam. New interiors including sewers and trade rooms; some interiors occupied by day, empty at night.

New systems: cooking rebuilt for netcode (campfire and table; burnt/raw consequences); notebook with live sharing and synced notes (hidden in Prologue); NPC trade UI; quest hints; audio black boxes for story.

Gameplay: craft from chests/stashes; quick item use; quick merging by double-click; fire barrels lit by torch, extinguished by rain; teleport traps carry explosives; night vision visuals improved; bed / gamepad cancel; random ammo in looted guns; bear trap hold time down, no trigger while riding/climbing.

Multiplayer: item draw replication, hand IK, static-event leaks, subscriber exceptions, NPC pooling, notebook race conditions.

UI: ultrawide, scroll sensitivity, auto GPU detect, auto-exposure fix, localized QTE gamepad icons, welcome UI, text chat system messages, notification pass, crafting/building name filter.

Performance: pooling, torch rendering, tree LODs, shader preload, save-system leak, main-menu crash, network transform safety, grass, 100+ bug fixes. Prologue flow improved. Climbing and ladder sounds added. A preview note also named katana and shotgun among incoming weapons.

June 2026 — Next Fest demo live

Demo and Prologue during Steam Next Fest: 6-player co-op, syringe survival, shifting maze. Official line: memory is your map, marks are your guide. The getting started page is written for the Early Access continuation of that demo, not as a museum label.

January 2026 — teaser

Announcement teaser posted (YouTube ID IXuyd5UsfDc on the home page). Q1 2026 language in that post was later overtaken by the actual Early Access date in August. Believe the later Steam news.

How to read this during the next patch

If Tektonic posts “melee” or “stagger,” we update combat and weapons. If they post a new layer, we update navigation and the roadmap. If they post voice, we update co-op and settings. Do not assume a demo-era fix still holds if a new post contradicts it. Early Access is allowed to regress; the job of this page is to notice.