- [Update] Hydroneer Mega-Optimization - 8 May 2026
A Huge Optimization Update Has Landed!This update includes optimizations across the board - these touch on multiple elements of the game. From improvements to performance in specific areas of the world, to upgrades with large mining setups. You should see a significant increase in performance with certain scenarios. We've also reworked a lot of errors with localization across all languages. As some of you may know after we finished Hydroneer in April 2024 we've been hard at work on our next game, Die Trying. Since we're a tiny team, even whilst working on Hydroneer we didn't have enough man-power to simultaneously work on the console port ourselves, and with how busy we are on the next game, we definitely don't have time right now! This has led us to partnering up with PlayEveryWare, console development pros that have worked with the teams behind "Among Us", "Fall Guys", "Valorant for C…
- Hydroneer is coming to Consoles! - 1 March 2026
TL;DR at the bottom! As some of you may know after we finished Hydroneer in April 2024 we've been hard at work on our next game, Die Trying. Since we're a tiny team, even whilst working on Hydroneer we didn't have enough man-power to simultaneously work on the console port ourselves, and with how busy we are on the next game, we definitely don't have time right now! This has led us to partnering up with PlayEveryWare, console development pros that have worked with the teams behind "Among Us", "Fall Guys", "Valorant for Consoles", "Dispatch", and many other successful quality games on consoles. We chose them because they're the best of the best. Whilst the console version (Xbox Series X|S + PlayStation 5) is going to be an almost exact copy of what PC players enjoy, their expert engineers have revealed some opportunities for more optimisation on Hydroneer. We've decided it would be a rea…
- We're helping to bring 'Backseat Drivers' to the finish line! - 14 August 2025
We've always been interested in helping indie games, giving up-and-coming titles advice and support throughout their development, so when we learnt about GhostJam Games (Creators of 'Backseat Drivers') were looking for funding to help them over the finish line, it was a no-brainer for us to start up.... In short, we're aiming to help developers avoid predatory publishers and give indies incredibly fair deals to help them over the finish line. We do this by: - Giving developers a big chunk of money, and only requesting money back in return; so no predatory revenue-sharing models! - Only offering money and advice; to keep us focused on our current developments, and so these indies can develop their games their way. Read more about our developer fund here: https://www.foulballhangover.com/developer-fund.html If you haven't already got this incredibly fun game on your wishlist yet (or playe…
- ONE MILLION HYDRONEERS - 18 June 2025
Thank you for ONE MILLION HYDRONEERS!From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! When I started developing Hydroneer as a solo developer back in 2019, I never imagined this project would grow to such a wide audience. I could never imagine five years later I'd be sat here looking at our player numbers hit 1,000,000, let alone grow my one-man-band into a team of developers I'm lucky enough to also call friends, or be apart of an incredible community that has come together over the enjoyment of digging virtual holes and selling virtual shiny rocks. And it's all because of you, the players! Cheers! MaxOh, and we recently announced our next title!Die Trying is a light-hearted co-op multiplayer sandbox shooter set in a fictional 90s/00s America. It's packed with lots of progression, interesting enemies, a huge and very detailed world, and unique game mechanics. It…
- Announcing our next game: Die Trying - 8 May 2025
In April 2024, we released 'Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus' DLC to mark us finishing Hydroneer. We spent four years since it's 2020 launch updating it with free major updates, a complete rewrite of the entire codebase of the game, as well as a big DLC. Since finishing the game, we've been working on our new title: 'Die Trying'! Die Trying is a light-hearted co-op multiplayer extraction shooter set in a fictional 90s/00s America. It's packed with lots of progression, interesting enemies, a huge and very detailed world, and unique game mechanics. If you're interested to find out more, here's some handy links: Add Die Trying to your Steam wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2898770 Watch our announcement video here https://youtu.be/-9VEuOKg0f8
- [3.0.9] - Save corruption fix! - 10 March 2025
We've been facing a problem for a long time now where in extremely rare circumstances some players have their save file corrupted. This has been a very hard bug to fix as it is impossible to reproduce the issue, and with no correlation between affected players, we could not see how to approach the issue. It seems like some anti-virus programs would prevent Hydroneer from saving, amongst other things. Despite our efforts, that bug has defeated us time and time again. until today! We are deploying this new patch to fix this issue! Instead of corrupting the save file, the game will crash to desktop and give you an error telling you the save file was about to be corrupted. Now you'll be able to use the previous auto-save to load your game back up. We hope you're enjoying Hydroneer :)
- 3.08 Patch - 3 June 2024
--- Changes - Logic Content Reader now reads the quantity of uses the Logic Spanner Hurling Unit contains. - Logic Content Reader now reads the total weight of shard bar(s) in a pressure tank. - Sickle can now be used by holding down left mouse button. - The save file browser now lists the date of when each file was saved. - Diamond / Diamond jewelry is added to villager requests pool in Volcalidus. - Removed an exploit with cooking boots. - Mod uploader QoL addition. When updating a mod, it'll now auto-fill the details. - Russian / Spanish localisation improvements.
- 3.0.7 Patch - 22 April 2024
--- Fixes - Drop Target now appears under the item you're "freeplacing"/"precision placing". - Fixed issue where drills with speed buffs would actually output less than their slower counterparts. - Boosted output of Heavy Drills. - Adjusted animations of Heavy Drills to sync up with speed buffs applied to them. - Left Ctrl can now be bound in the keybind menu. - Fixed issue with Hand Sorters keeping their split item preferences sometimes. - Fixed issue with items being locked as they enter the storage zone of the Quad / Bike. - Logic Mini Nukes now work in Icehelm dig site. - Adjusted New Glade vehicle recall point. - Improved readability when continuing a save, if that save will be marked as 'dirty' for Steam Achievements. - Removed issue where sometimes coins would duplicate while purchasing vehicles. - Removed issue with Forge Marks not being saved while inserted into the masterwork…
- 3.0.6 Patch - 15 April 2024
--- Fixes - Removed issue where sometimes the DLC will fail to install correctly. - Improved reliability with hand sorters while sorting items. - Fixed issue where NPCs no longer walk around. - Fixed issue where NPCs could no longer be victims of vehicular collisions. - Fixed issue with Lava Hauler not storing small items. - Improved collision in Lava Hauler. - Heavy Drill now has collision on its upper portion when placed. - Heavy harvesters now correctly spawn water when placed, no longer requiring a re-load. - Hydrobike no longer pulls left while going straight. - Fixed issue where the bucket could sometimes spawn an Ice chunk in Bastion. - Fixed some localisation issues. - Construction crates in New Glade now show their contents correctly when game is loaded if already has contents. - Lever sound now correctly applies to its sound slider. - Updated Shard/Shard Bar description when i…
- 3.0.5 [Bug Fixes] - 10 April 2024
--- Fixes - 'Save Raw Resources' toggle in gameplay settings no longer affects Hardstone Blocks. - Removed issue with steam cloud not saving correctly for DLC save files. - Crafting a T1 Ice Shovel no longer creates a T1 Dirt Shovel. - Added keybind for "Vehicle Mode" in vehicles. (Default 'F') - Removed issue with Hand Sorters forgetting what they're splitting when they're lifted and placed down whilst having an item on the pedestal. - Limited the amount of sounds effects to occur with the gem compressor. - Removed ability to spam-click drills to produce more resources. - Improved graphical performance of trees in Volcalidus. - Removed issue with bones not having a particle effect on LOW settings. - Resized the Construction Store / Ore Miner requirement text so it doesn't clip through the board. - Fixed issue with delivery crate drop sound. - Lowered the lava at Shattered Breach slight…
- 3.0.4 [Mini Patch] - 7 April 2024
We're continuing our mission to put out smaller patches effecting the most common/problematic issues. - Ore Mines and Construction Stores no longer have a rounding error causing them not to be built even if the board appears to have all their required materials. - Infinite Filter (a creative mode item) now hooks onto lava pipes in all orientations. - Fixed issue where items stored in a truck that would pass by the scrapyard burn zone would not be removed from the list of items from the scrapyard to burn when the truck moved out of the burn zone. - 'Clear all Dirt Chunks' in the ESC menu now reads 'Clear all Ice / Frost Rock' while on Volcalidus. - 'Toggle Save Dirt Chunk's in the gameplay settings menu now reads 'Toggle Save Ice / Frost Rock / Dirt' while on Volcalidus.
- Mining and base-building sandbox Hydroneer has a sprawling new expansion of volcanos and glaciers - 7 April 2024
Released in 2020, crafting, base-building, and mining sandbox Hydroneer has been an indie success story that sold upwards of 500,000 copies as of 2022. Now it has a full expansion, Journey to Volcalidus, that dumps a huge new environment to mine and profit from: The island of Volcalidus, which is "over 6 times the size of the original island" and comes complete with a town to rebuild... Read more.
- 3.0.3 Micro Patch - 6 April 2024
- Coins no longer get stuck inside carts if they're a single coin mesh. - Added icons to store construction boards to aid in readability and prevent mis-communication to languages that use non-english characters. We're currently focusing on applying frequent small patches to address the biggest issues in the release!
- 3.0.2 [Day one patch, part 2] - 5 April 2024
--- Fixes - Purchasing the Lava Bike will now trigger the Steam achievement. - Completing the lap time on Mots island in under 1:11 will now trigger the Steam achievement. - Removed issue where multiple drills could be purchased from the limited drill store in New Glade. - Fixed localisation issue. - Fixed broken bucket textures in Ironil and Icehelm exit store.
- 3.0.1 [Hour one patch] - 5 April 2024
We've created a quick patch in the first hour to remove some issues: --- Fixes - Removed issue where out-dated mods were causing the game to not launch. - Removed issue where players were unable to pick up carts after dropping them. - Removed issue where vegetable basket could not be dropped.
- Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus DLC (OUT NOW!) - 5 April 2024
Purchase the DLC here! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2659380/Hydroneer_Journey_to_Volcalidus/ Tip: To get to Volcalidus, take the ship from Bridgepour harbor. You can either start a new game or use an existing save file! Due to the DLC having a whole heap of new mechanics, you won't be able to take items or vehicles to Volcalidus. A quick recap on a few of the many new features in the DLC The Patch Notes With the launch of the DLC, we're applying a huge patch that'll apply to the base game and DLC. Tip: If you're using mods, make sure you disable them! They'll cause the game to crash as they'll be outdated until the mod developers update them. You do not need to own the DLC to get these changes! --- Changes - New build-snapping while placing build items. - Lighting is reworked. Shadows are now brighter, making it easier to see in the dark. - Magnets now do not effect items in pans/…
- Hydroneer's MEGA PATCH! - 5 April 2024
To celebrate the launch of the DLC, we're putting out a mega patch for the base game! It's full of commonly requested quality of life improvements, as well as some bug fixes and changes we feel will improve the game! Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus DLC is also out now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2659380/Hydroneer_Journey_to_Volcalidus/ The Patch Notes These changes apply to both the base game and DLC. You do not need to purchase the DLC for these changes! Tip: If you're using mods, make sure you disable them! They'll cause the game to crash as they'll be outdated until the mod developers update them. --- Changes - New build-snapping while placing build items. - Lighting is reworked. Shadows are now brighter, making it easier to see in the dark. - Magnets now do not effect items in pans/buckets etc. - Water Pipe and Logic Cable optimizations. - Skip Save and Return to Menu butto…
- [Dev Vlog] More QoL fixes coming to the base game + DLC additions! - 24 March 2024
More quality of life additions to come! Since its clear from our last Steam news post that players are really interested in some quality of life additions coming to the base game with our launch of the DLC, Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus, I wanted to feature some more of them in today's vlog. There are many many quality of life changes and fixes coming to the base game on April 5th, but I've listed some more of our favorite things that we've been working on. Below is the dev vlog, with a full write up of everything I mention in the video below. Enjoy! Before I get into the content of the video, I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone who messaged with their support in the last news post here, we're a small team and making video games is hard. Seeing players excited about our work is a great feeling and something we really love to see. Video Contents Contains video spoilers -…
- A Message From Max, Creator of Hydroneer. - 11 January 2024
This post is in response to the feedback from our previous announcement post for ‘Hydroneer - Journey to Volcalidus’ found here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1106840/view/3976182006219913327 Clarification on our recent announcement So it looks like I’ve missed the mark with expectations here. Hydroneer development started five years ago, with the goal of making an exciting sandbox experience that was unique, and different from other games on the market. I always prided myself on wanting to become a developer that wasn’t seen as “scummy”, and would do well to listen to the community surrounding Hydroneer. I have previously turned down offers from large publishers to take control over Hydroneer too, for the sake of keeping Hydroneer, Hydroneer. Shortly after the 2.2 Prospecting Update release, I decided the next best route forward is to create a DLC - This was for a few reasons…
- 'Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus' DLC Announcement! - 10 January 2024
Watch the Announcement Trailer / Dev Vlog here: Wishlist Now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2659380 Video Summary This contains spoilers for the video - New DLC coming to Hydroneer - Video covers a few features coming in the DLC - 6x the map size - $10 - Releasing April 5th - Separate island with its own progression: Cannot take items/vehicles from main game island. Lava Powered Machines - Water has to be produced from Ice - Ice appears towards the top of a claim, so strategy is involved to keep belts moving - No more tiered drills, tiered stores instead New Glade - Large new town covered by a blue dome - Assist the museum - Rebuild stores to buy better tools - Stores act as the main progression Vehicles - Vehicles are purchased from Mots Island - Requires a ticket from the player-built ticket store to access - Huge Hauler vehicle with a crane - Picks up heavy items that players ca…
