Latest Project Zomboid news

The Indie Stone released Build 42.22 for testing and, with it, retired the Unstable branch. Test builds now go to a Pre-Release branch and stay there at least a week before moving to Stable. Stable stays on 42.21 for now.

Ladders. Ladders placed around the map can now be climbed with E or the right-click menu, and zombies cannot follow you up. This is the first stage of ladder support.

Crowbars. A crowbar can force locked doors, windows, garage doors and gates. Strength improves your odds; weak characters struggle and failures can damage the crowbar. Burglars are faster and quieter at it. Security doors and jail cells still cannot be forced.

Also. You can push with both hands full, you cannot sleep while the Bad Smell moodle is active, ammo boxes open while you walk, and several animal bugs are fixed (rabbit kits starving, chickens vanishing from full hutches). In multiplayer, PvP damage is now worked out on the server, cloned characters are fixed and backups are faster.

Should you switch? Only on a copy of your save. Pre-Release builds can still break things; long-term worlds belong on Stable. How to switch branches is on version history.

Gaming sites reported that The Indie Stone says the popular new mods that turn Project Zomboid into a first-person game are not officially supported, so players use them at their own risk. The studio's Java mods note two days earlier had hinted at them, describing mods that offer "a whole new perspective".

Why it matters. Mods like these change the game's own code, so official updates can break them without warning and the studio will not help when they do. If you play in first person, expect to wait for the mod author after each patch.

The studio published a note on Java mods, the new wave of mods that change Project Zomboid at its core. It welcomed the creativity but warned about the risks.

The risk. Java mods run with the same power as the game itself, so a bad one can open a security hole on your computer. Most need manual installs, outside downloads or a special loader.

The advice. Use mods from authors you trust, prefer open-source mods that anyone can rebuild, and be careful with anything from outside the Steam Workshop. Only Lua mods are officially supported.

The first incremental update since Build 42 is out for everyone, after five days of testing on Unstable. It fixes zombies vanishing or duplicating, makes the giant XXL trees less of a nuisance when driving, and brings back two Lua commands that modders and server admins rely on.

From now on every update follows the same path: Unstable first, then Stable. Read our patch notes.

42.21 arrived on the Unstable branch with a long list of quality-of-survival tweaks: Welders start with Welding recipes, washing machines clean rags, fridges warm gradually after a power cut, and explosives finally work in basements. Multiplayer gained more anti-cheat checks and smoother high-ping driving. Full list in our patch notes.

Stable (42.20.4), Unstable (42.19.2) and Legacy (41.78.21) were all patched on the same day to close security holes. As part of the fix two Lua commands were removed, which broke some mods until they returned in 42.21.

Hotfix 42.20.3 raised the bar for big servers: up to 254 players, with admins still able to join a full server. It also fixed several memory leaks behind slowdowns and crashes on long sessions.

The Indie Stone and Makeship launched a Spiffo's restaurant collection: a Chef Spiffo plushie, a set of Spiffo's pins and a plush keychain. All proceeds go to Mary's Meals, a charity that feeds schoolchildren around the world.

The last campaign, Brawler Spiffo, raised more than $180,000 for Médecins Sans Frontières.

Two hotfixes in one day. 42.20.1 cut lag on busy servers, tightened anti-cheat checks and stopped Build 41 worlds being hosted on Build 42 servers. 42.20.2 fixed how percent signs are handled, which matters mostly to mod makers.

After a long run on the Unstable branch, Build 42 became the default version of Project Zomboid with update 42.20.0. It brings the Map Glowup, XL and XXL trees, two new challenges and a reworked anti-cheat, plus a long list of multiplayer fixes. Build 41 stays playable on the legacy41 branch. Our patch notes.

The day before launch, the studio set out what to do. Build 41 saves do not carry over, so Build 41 players and servers should move to the legacy41 branch. Unstable 42.19 games can continue on a separate 42.19 branch, because 42.20 is not save-compatible.

The game's price went up with the launch of Build 42, as it did with Build 41, across all stores and regions.

Build 42.20 overhauls the map far beyond what Unstable players had seen. Riverside, West Point, Rosewood, Fallas Lake, Muldraugh, Ekron and Dixie are all reworked to feel more lived-in, and the studio says the rest of the map will get the same treatment in future versions.

Earlier in Build 42 the west of the map gained three new towns: Brandenburg on the Ohio river, Ekron, and Irvington with its race track. Four new map artists joined the team along the way.

The Indie Stone confirmed the Stable date and released a new Build 42 Steam trailer. After launch hotfixes, the plan is a patch of late-game tweaks based on player feedback, then the release of its mapping tools (WorldZed, TileZed), the AnimZed animation editor and an extensive modding guide.

On July 9, a key date in Project Zomboid lore, the studio named 42.20 as the build that would go Stable, warned that 42.19 saves would not carry over, and laid out its plans for the rest of the year.

Community translation is going strong: over 1.3 million words translated into 29 languages since June.

Controller players can finally remap their buttons, with a new gamepad customization screen and a long list of controller fixes. Survivors also gained extended idle animations when sitting on the floor. Patch notes.

The Indie Stone reversed its plan to move translation to an outside company. Build 42 and beyond will return to the community translation model used up to Build 41, run by coders who worked on a similar setup for Minecraft Java Edition. By July, volunteers had translated over 1.3 million words into 29 languages.

A modding-focused update: support for multiplayer mods hit by earlier security changes, new functions for modders, better sound for distant events in multiplayer, and fixes for vehicles hitting players. It also added a keybind to sit on the ground and tweaked the Park Ranger and Rancher occupations. Patch notes.

Sandbox games can now start in any of the Exclusion Zone towns, including Brandenburg, Echo Creek, Ekron, Fallas Lake, Irvington, March Ridge and Valley Station. Occupation spawns still only work in the four classic starting towns.

The update also added skill VHS tapes for Aiming, Animal Care, Blacksmithing, Electrical, First Aid, Knapping, Pottery, Tailoring and Welding, and an updated in-game Survival Guide. Patch notes.

The community's Brawler Spiffo merch drop raised more than $180,000 for MSF, and partner Makeship added a further 5% of all proceeds.

The Indie Stone confirmed that one Workshop user had uploaded 14 music mods carrying heavily hidden malicious code that created files outside the game folder. They had been installed on between 500 and 2,200 devices. The user was banned and the mods removed, and anyone who installed them was told that uninstalling alone was not enough.

Only Build 42 was affected. The same day, Build 41 got a separate security fix found in an internal audit. It is a big part of why the studio later warned players to install mods only from authors they trust.

A big balance pass. Occupations got new starting skills and costs, so a Carpenter now really starts as a carpenter. Two new traits arrived, Tinkerer (Maintenance) and Target Shooter (Aiming). Echo Creek was removed as a spawn town, and in Extinction mode, sprinters now run in daylight too. Older 42.15 saves do not carry over. Patch notes.

A modder reported a serious security hole on March 3. It was patched the same day on Stable and Unstable, and older versions were briefly pulled until they were fixed too. A second report and an internal audit found more issues, which were fixed in a later round of updates.

Build 42.15 rebuilt the game modes. Apocalypse is now the "lore canon" mode with no zombie respawn and more firearms in the world. Outbreak is for players with less time, Rising is a cozier mode for building, and Extinction brings sprinters to an official mode for the first time. Custom Sandbox stays.

Six new firearms arrived too, from the JS-14 rifle to the Trapper carbine, with a reworked loot table for guns. Which mode should you pick?

Christian "Serellan" Allen introduced himself as Project Zomboid's new Design Director. He joined in autumn 2025, part of a wider shake-up that also brought new leads for art, production and code.