7 Days to Die roadmap 2026: 1.0 through V3.1 shipped, Storm's Brewing and Dead Hot Summer explained, plus what's coming — bandits, story mode, Workshop.
7 Days to Die Roadmap 2026: What's Next After V3.1
7 Days to Die's official roadmap — laid out at the 1.0 launch in July 2024 — promised Storm's Brewing (weather), a bandit update, story mode and Steam Workshop. Three of those items are now reality: Storm's Brewing shipped as V2.0, the sandbox and biome work landed in V3.0 "Dead Hot Summer", and the current stable V3.1 "Henpocalypse" (July 27, 2026) added chicken farming. Still officially pending: bandits, story mode and Steam Workshop. This guide maps the roadmap against what actually shipped, explains the headline updates, and tells you what the community is (and isn't) waiting for.
Official resources: Steam store page · Official V2.0 release schedule · Official V3.1 release notes · Official wiki: Version history
The Roadmap vs Reality: What Shipped
| Roadmap item (announced 2024) | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|
| 1.0 launch (July 25, 2024) | ✅ Shipped — PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S simultaneously |
| Storm's Brewing — weather + wardrobe | ✅ Shipped as V2.0 (June 30, 2025) |
| "A New Threat" — bandits + UI overhaul | ⏳ Bandits still not shipped as of V3.1; UI overhaul partially delivered via the V2.0/V3.0 reworks |
| Story mode | ⏳ Not shipped; no firm date |
| Steam Workshop support | ⏳ Not shipped; still listed as planned |
| Trader changes | ✅ Partially delivered across V2.0–V3.x (trader hours, sandbox toggles) |
The version line since 1.0, per the official Version history and release announcements:
- V1.0 — July 25, 2024. Out of Early Access after 12 years; HD character system, new armor system, 75+ new POIs, 120+ challenges.
- V1.1 / V1.2 — October/December 2024. V1.2 was the Crossplay Patch (PC↔PS5↔Xbox, peer-to-peer) — details on the crossplay guide.
- V1.3 — February 2025. Stability line.
- V2.0 "Storm's Brewing" — June 30, 2025. The big weather overhaul (details below) plus dedicated-server crossplay.
- V2.1–V2.6 — July 2025 – April 2026. Stability; V2.6 (April 1, 2026) shipped simultaneously on all platforms for the first time.
- V3.0 "Dead Hot Summer" — June 29, 2026. Biome-based difficulty, ~150 sandbox options, 60+ new POIs, the item Magnitude system, item-stat inspection and repair-by-combining.
- V3.1 "Henpocalypse" — July 27, 2026 (current stable). Chicken farming, the Chicken Coop workstation, four chicken recipes, ten new sandbox options, and day/night split for enemy density/respawn.
Per the official V3.1 release notes: "3.1 Stable is officially live on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. The coop's built, chickens are ready to collect, and feathers are ready to craft. BOK."
Storm's Brewing (V2.0): The Headline Weather Overhaul
The roadmap's first big post-1.0 promise was Storm's Brewing, and it changed survival more than anything since 1.0:
- Dynamic storms per biome — thunderstorms everywhere, ember storms in the Burnt Forest, sand storms in the Desert, snow storms in the Snow biome, radiation storms in the Wasteland. Each demands gear and shelter planning.
- Biome progression — the game now gated progression through biome difficulty (with an optional off-switch, but turning it off locks the Biome Badges).
- Four new zombie types — the Plague Spitter, the yeti-like Frost Claw, the fast Charged zombies and the tanky Infernal zombies.
- 50 new POIs, cosmetic clothing equipment slots, rebalanced perks, and improvements to random world generation (see the map guide).
The official V2.0 release schedule page still documents the launch window — dev stream, streamer weekend, experimental, then stable on June 30, 2025.
V3.0 and V3.1: The Sandbox and Survival Eras
V3.0 "Dead Hot Summer" (June 29, 2026) was the roadmap's "control your game" update: roughly 150 sandbox options across eight categories (player stats, zombie speed/health day-night-Blood Moon, enemy density, Blood Moon frequency, airdrops, trader hours, even silly toggles like tiny zombies), shareable via preset codes, plus item-stat inspection, repair-by-combining and the Magnitude item system. V3.1 added the chickens: catch a feral fowl, defend it on the walk home, feed it Rekt's Chicken Feed (Corn + Rotting Flesh), and harvest eggs and feathers from the Chicken Coop.
For servers, the sandbox options map into serverconfig.xml and preset codes — the servers guide covers the config side of the new options.
What's Still Coming (the Honest List)
- Bandits. The "A New Threat" update — human enemies with AI, weapons and factions — remains the community's longest-running want. As of the V3.0 coverage in mid-2026, The Fun Pimps hadn't shown bandits in any build; the sandbox work took priority. Until then, bandit-ish behavior lives in mods like Darkness Falls' harder AI and the overhaul scene.
- Story mode. Announced in the original roadmap for late 2025, then folded into the longer term. No release date as of V3.1.
- Steam Workshop. Still the most requested PC feature for mod distribution — the mod launcher guide is the current workaround, and it's likely to stay the standard until Workshop ships.
- Post-acquisition pacing. The Fun Pimps joined Behaviour Interactive on March 24, 2026, with faster updates explicitly cited as a goal of the deal. The V3.0 → V3.1 cadence (four weeks between stables) suggests the pipeline has sped up, but the roadmap beyond V3.1 hasn't been formally republished.
The best version of 7 Days to Die in 2026 is the current stable (V3.1) plus the overhaul of your choice. Bandits, story and Workshop will arrive when they arrive — the Darkness Falls guide and modpack guide cover what fills the gap right now.
FAQ
Is there still a 7 Days to Die roadmap?
Yes, but the 2024-published roadmap items are partly delivered (Storm's Brewing = V2.0, sandbox/POI work = V3.0/V3.1) and partly still pending (bandits, story mode, Steam Workshop). The Fun Pimps haven't formally republished a new roadmap since the Behaviour acquisition.
What was in the Storm's Brewing update?
V2.0 (June 30, 2025): biome-specific dynamic storms, biome progression, four new zombie types, 50 new POIs, cosmetic slots, RWG improvements and dedicated-server crossplay.
When are bandits coming to 7 Days to Die?
Unknown. The bandit update ("A New Threat") was on the original roadmap but hadn't shipped as of V3.1 (July 2026) — V3.0 shipped without them, and no date has been announced.
Will 7 Days to Die get Steam Workshop support?
It's still officially planned but not shipped. Mods currently come from Nexus Mods, 7daystodiemods.com, GitHub and the 7D2D Mod Launcher — see the mod launcher guide.
Is there a story mode coming to 7 Days to Die?
It was announced in the post-1.0 roadmap and hasn't shipped or been dated. Navezgane's quest system remains the closest thing to story content; overhauls like Darkness Falls add their own quest lines.
Related guides: 7 Days to Die Crossplay — PC, PS5 & Xbox · 7 Days to Die Modpacks — best overhauls · 7 Days to Die Darkness Falls — classes and install · 7 Days to Die Map — Navezgane, RWG and Pregen · 7 Days to Die on PS4 & Xbox One — update status
Last updated: August 13, 2026.
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