Forest Doesn’t Care patch notes & updates

Environment & Atmosphere Added grass and bush reactions to animals and other players. Improved the transition from day to night, making nightfall smoother and more natural. Optimized time-of-day transitions to reduce potential freezes and stuttering.

We're continuing to work through your feedback, fixing bugs and improving the little things that make Forest Doesn't Care more comfortable and enjoyable to play. But don't let these smaller hotfixes fool you. There's a lot more happening behind the scenes.

Added native PlayStation controller support on Windows via USB and Bluetooth · Steam Input is no longer required. Added controller vibration feedback for shooting, sliding, landing rolls, hitting enemies, and other actions.

PATCHNOTE 01/10/2026

Bow Improved third-person aiming visibility when using the bow. Rebalanced the archer's damage. More Clothing Variations Added more clothing variations for tribal enemies. Vegetation Sounds We made another pass on the sounds triggered when moving through tall grass and bushes.

PATCHNOTE 9/27/2026

Reworked Third-Person Camera We’ve updated the third-person camera, character movement, and shooting. Movement now feels smoother, character reactions are more expressive, and aiming provides a clearer view of your surroundings.

Major Gameplay & Controller Update

Hi! We’ve been working on this update for around 24 days. A significant part of that time went into things that aren’t always easy to show in a single screenshot: full controller support, navigation across dozens of different menus, third-person combat, AI, stability, loading…

Dynamic Encounter Pacing Update - Added dynamic per-player pacing for hostile encounters. - Hostile spawn weights now react to recent combat pressure, alternating action with recovery periods. - New characters receive an initial action boost to make the opening more engaging.

Fixed enemies continuing to attack dead targets. Fixed AI getting stuck after killing another creature. Restored reliable player detection and combat reactions. Fixed severe combat shaking and unstable rotation for ranged enemies.

Campfire Rework, Rainwater Collector & Survival Improvements | PATCH 8/28/2026

Complete Campfire Rework The campfire is now significantly more immersive and features a fully redesigned cooking system: Food and water containers are now physically placed around the fire. Three cooking slots are available by default.

⚙️ Settings & Interface Completely reworked the game's settings system. Added a dedicated FOV Slider , allowing you to adjust the field of view to your preference. Added UI Scale , allowing you to adjust the size of the interface. Reworked display settings.

Gameplay & AI Fixed sleep duration. Time now passes faster, and the day is brighter after waking up. Reduced and stabilized the movement speed of all humanoid and tribal enemies.

Save System Improved compatibility with older save files. Fixed an issue where exiting a vehicle could teleport the player back to their previous logout location.

Performance & Rendering Significantly optimized dense vegetation and shadow rendering. Reduced FPS drops in forest environments, especially during sunny weather. Lowered the performance cost of foliage animation and shadow updates.

This update brings one of the biggest overhauls to Forest Doesn't Care so far. We've completely reworked melee combat, added a large collection of new weapons, introduced new survival tools, expanded the barter system, and improved dozens of gameplay systems based on your