Enshrouded leaves Early Access on Steam on 15 October 2026. Keen Games announced the date in a Steam post at 13:04 UTC on 25 June 2026 — "Enshrouded releases out of Early Access on Steam on October 15th!" — and has restated it since. For players, Keen has promised a performance pass and warned of a skill-tree reset, with the full list to come in the release changelog. For anyone running a dedicated server the list is shorter and mostly about what Keen has not said. Here is what is confirmed, what to do on the day, and where the gaps are. Everything quoted is from Keen's Steam news posts, dated by the posts' own timestamps in UTC.
The date, and the price
15 October 2026, on Steam. Keen's 25 June reveal names Steam and no other platform. The 27 August post restates the date, and the 23 September combat post closes on it again.
The price went up on 8 September. Keen announced on 31 August that the game's price was rising by €10 to €39.99 on 8 September. The dedicated server tool is a separate free app; the price change is for the game.
What Keen has said is in 1.0
From the 27 August post: the team's stated 1.0 focus is improving what is already in the game and "making Enshrouded's performance better" — aimed particularly at lower-end systems. The release changelog will carry the full list.
From the 23 September combat post, the change every host should tell their group about before the 15th: alongside 1.0's combat and skill changes, skill trees are reset. Have everyone plan to reinvest their points on day one; the post's full combat list is worth reading to the group too.
What that means on a dedicated server
Skill reset. Keen's FAQ says character progress — including skills — is stored on each player's own machine, not in the world. The reset happens client-side when each player's game updates; there is nothing to do on the server, and nothing the server can do to prevent it.
Performance. Keen's wording is about the game's performance and specifically about lower-end systems. Keen has not said whether the server process changes. Our memory guidance stays at Keen's FAQ figures (4.4 GB idle, 100 MB per player, under 6 GB) until we have measured the 1.0 build — see how much RAM an Enshrouded server needs.
The world. Keen has said nothing about wipes, world conversion or a new save format. The 1.0 changelog is the place that would say so. Take a copy of savegame before you update the server on the 15th regardless — moving and backing up a world covers the folder.
The update itself
Every server on the Early Access build stops being joinable the moment its players update. This is the normal Enshrouded pattern: Keen's Hotfix #12 (6 June 2024) said "Dedicated server hosts will need to update the version as well", and only the occasional patch is client-only (Hotfix #37, 21 April 2026: "this hotfix updates clients only"). 1.0 is the largest version step the game has had, so assume it is not one of the exceptions.
Two things worth knowing about the server depot. Steam's data for app 2278520 shows a single public branch and, as of this writing, a build dated 11 May 2026. There is no 1.0 branch to opt into early; the 1.0 server build will simply replace what is on public when Keen pushes it. And Keen's Zendesk article on the server still says "only Windows is supported. Linux support is planned for later", which has not changed in the run-up to 1.0.
On the day:
- Wait for Keen's 1.0 changelog and check whether it mentions the dedicated server.
- Stop the server cleanly; copy
savegame.
- Re-run
steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 2278520 +quit (or restart, on a host that updates on boot).
- Start, wait for
[Session] 'HostOnline' (up)!, and have one player join before you tell the group.
If the server updates and players still cannot join, re-read the changelog and run the update again later; the causes list is in server not showing or can't join.
What Keen has not said
This section is the reason to read this post rather than a host's launch page.
- Other platforms. Keen's 1.0 announcements name Steam, its FAQ has no crossplay entry, and its dedicated-server pages describe the Steam game. We will not describe a join flow for any platform other than Steam until Keen does.
- A Linux server. Still "planned for later", per Keen's article. Our servers run the official dedicated server on our Linux fleet; that is our arrangement, not a Keen release.
- Mods. Keen's FAQ says it "cannot make promises that the game will be moddable". Anything beyond that is not from Keen.
- Server-side changes. No networking changes, no config key changes, no wipe, no new server branch have been announced. If the 1.0 changelog adds a key to
enshrouded_server.json — the setup guide lists the current ones — we will update the guide and the dashboard.
- Roles. The user-group system from Update 2 (June 2024) and its Wake of the Water extension (November 2025) is the current model, documented in roles and user groups explained. Nothing in the 1.0 posts changes it.
We will update this post when the release changelog is out, with the post's timestamp and a quote for anything that touches servers.
On a Connect server
Enshrouded server hosting at Connect pulls the current build from Steam on every restart, so on 15 October the update is a restart from the dashboard, with a backup taken from the Backups tab first. The roles, slots and preset stay on the Server Settings tab across the update. The first-run walkthrough is getting started.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Enshrouded 1.0 release?
15 October 2026, on Steam, per Keen's Steam post of 25 June 2026 and two later posts restating it.
Did the price change?
Yes. Keen's post of 31 August 2026 said the game's price would rise by €10 to €39.99 on 8 September 2026. The dedicated server tool remains a separate free app.
Will my server world be wiped at 1.0?
Keen has not said either way. Back up savegame before updating on the 15th.
Will players lose their skills?
Keen's 23 September post announces a skill-tree reset at 1.0. Skills are stored client-side, so this happens when each player's game updates and is not affected by the server.
Do I need to update my server for 1.0?
Assume yes. Most Enshrouded patches require a server update, per Keen's changelogs, and 1.0 is the largest version step yet. On Connect, restart.
Can console players join a dedicated server after 1.0?
Keen has not announced any way for that to happen: its 1.0 posts name Steam, and its dedicated-server pages describe the Steam game and no other platform. We will update this post if that changes.