Keen Games has announced that Enshrouded leaves Early Access on Steam on 15 October 2026. This guide covers what that means for a server you rent from PlayNHost, what is known so far, and the short list of things to do so your world is safe either way.
What is known
- The date. Keen Games announced 15 October 2026 for the 1.0 release on Steam, ending Early Access.
- A long changelog is coming at launch. Keen Games says the full list of changes will come with the release notes, so the details below can change on the day.
- Combat and skills. In its 1.0 combat post on 23 September, Keen Games describes new mage spells, reworked wands and changed skill placement, and says players' skill trees have been reset because of it. Character progress is stored on each player's own computer, not on your server, so this is not something a server backup holds.
- Servers. Keen Games states in its patch notes whether dedicated servers need an update. Several recent hotfixes said they did not, so read the 1.0 notes for that line when they appear.
What Keen Games has not said
Keen Games has not published whether existing worlds carry over unchanged to 1.0, and it has not announced a world wipe. Treat both as open until the release notes say otherwise. That is why the backup step below matters more this time than usual.
Before 15 October
- Make a backup. Stop the server, then open your server in the panel, click Backups and start a backup with Files selected. Follow How to back up and restore your Enshrouded world for the full steps.
- Download a copy. From the backup's ... menu choose Download, so a copy sits on your own computer as well.
- Check Auto Update. On Settings, Game Settings, Auto Update should be on, which is the default. With it on, your server checks Steam for a game update every time it starts. See Enshrouded server settings: every option explained.
- Write down your roles. Your admin and friend passwords live in enshrouded_server.json in Files. Keep a note of them, and of any gameplay settings you changed, in case you ever need to set them again.
- Tell your players. Ask everyone to let the game finish updating on their own computer on launch day, so the whole group is on the same version.
On launch day
- Wait for the release notes and look for the line about dedicated servers.
- Restart the server from the panel. With Auto Update on, the restart picks up the new server files from Steam. See How to start, stop, restart and force-stop your server.
- Watch the Console while it starts. A first start after a big update can take longer than usual.
- Join and check that your world, bases and role passwords are as you left them.
If something does not look right
- The server stops during the update or crashes right after it. Turn on Validate for one start. It re-checks every server file against Steam and is slower. See Enshrouded server problems and fixes.
- Your settings look wrong after the update. Keen Games notes that an older config file can sometimes be updated incorrectly by a new version. Stop the server, download enshrouded_server.json and compare it with your backup.
- Your world will not load. Do not delete anything. Restore your backup with Restore to server and ask support with the Console text and the time it happened.
A restore replaces the current files with the backup. If you may want the current state back, take one more backup first.
