Dungeon Settlers Early Access Roadmap

The September Dungeon Settlers roadmap schedules Update 4 for Q4 2026, followed by Updates 5–6 and an estimated 1.0 milestone. The list below preserves that dated plan. For changes that have shipped since then, start with the October 10 v0.4.29 patch and its gameplay checklist.

Quick rule: a feature is only available when an official patch note says it is live. The roadmap names intentions and approximate milestones, so do not plan a current save around a future race, weapon, region, mod, or quality-of-life change.

What is confirmed today

Dungeon Settlers entered Steam Early Access on September 4, 2026. Steam says the current version already contains the settlement-to-dungeon core loop and lets players finish the first two dungeon regions. Building, recruiting, crafting, research, Rank 2 Expeditions of up to six members, Rank 3 Expeditions of up to eight, and real-time combat with pause are current features; more regions and systems are not required to begin a campaign.

The latest numbered official patch reviewed is v0.4.29, released October 10. It changes pickup weight, barriers, skills, recruitment growth, and dungeon stay handling. See Current Build & Updates for the actions to take in an existing save.

The milestones below come from the September 4 plan reviewed September 12. Their dates are retained as that snapshot; the October 18 review updates this page's patch context without claiming a fresh verification of the roadmap schedule.

Update 4: planned for Q4 2026

Update 4 is the only major roadmap entry with a stated quarter. Its planned scope includes Gloth capture and domestication, training buildings, a compendium, more random events, additional decoration buildings, more sub-skill trees for equipment types, improved idle behavior, a combat log, and an expedition report. The roadmap also names quality-of-life and balance work based on player feedback.

Use these entries to see the direction of development, then check dated release notes for availability. Gloth training, a compendium, a combat log, and an expedition report are planned in this roadmap snapshot.

The roadmap also lists an Abyss trophy building among Update 4 plans. This does not turn Abyss material mentioned in live patch notes into a third story region. Keep the official description of two complete regions separate from other dungeon systems and rewards.

Update 5 and Update 6: later milestones

Update 5 is planned to introduce modding support in beta, Region 3 (Penance Mine), a level-cap increase to 7 with third-tier skills, the Dwarf race, an Axe skill tree, new resources, crafting improvements, research nodes, and more NPC content. Steam Workshop and broader mod support remain future work until the developer publishes their installation and compatibility rules.

Update 6 is planned to add Region 4 (Corrupted Chapel), raise the level cap to 9, introduce a Dagger skill tree, add more research nodes and a new campaign scenario, and bring special dungeons, achievements, weather, and mental-collapse states. The names are useful for setting expectations, but neither an announced region nor an announced weapon tree should appear in a current build guide as if readers can access it now.

If you are deciding which guide to use, prefer pages labelled for the current build. A future Update 5 build guide should only be published after the update launches, its patch notes are available, and the relevant mechanics have been checked in the game.

What the roadmap says about 1.0

The developer estimates the full release for Q3 2028. Planned 1.0 scope includes Regions 5 and 6, a final boss, additional races and skill types, crossbows, another magic type, a level cap of 12 with fourth-tier skills, and Linux support. These are ambitions for the finished game, not a fixed feature contract or a date guarantee.

Steam's Early Access questionnaire separately estimates around two years of development and warns that the timeline can change with progress and feedback. When the roadmap and a store-page estimate appear to differ, avoid choosing one as a promise. The reliable answer is that the game is in active Early Access and the developer can revise both timing and scope.

Known issues and player decisions

The September roadmap review recorded hauling, storage access, targeting, localization, and performance issues. Since then, v0.4.29 has announced fixes for several work, hauling, save, and skill cases. Use the current storage, food, or build checklist before treating the older issue list as unresolved.

When an issue affects a campaign, record the build, platform, scenario, and visible behavior. Then compare the official roadmap and the newest patch notes before rebuilding a settlement or assuming a system has a hidden rule. For a crash or severe save problem, use the developer's official support and community channels rather than treating a fan guide as support documentation.

How this page will be updated

This page tracks announced milestones; Current Build & Updates tracks what actually shipped. When a roadmap item becomes live, this page should move it from “planned” to a dated patch reference and link to a guide that has been checked for that build. If a milestone changes, the previous wording should not be silently treated as current.

For current systems, continue with Research, Room Upgrades, and the Beginner Guide. They address the choices a player can make now, rather than asking them to wait for a future update.

Sources and review boundary

• v0.4.29 official notes — patch context reviewed October 18, 2026; roadmap milestones retain their earlier source-review date below.

• Dungeon Settlers Roadmap — official milestones, known issues, and September 4, 2026 update date; reviewed September 12, 2026.

• Early Access & Roadmap announcement — official publication of the updated roadmap.

• Dungeon Settlers on Steam — current Early Access scope and estimated development period; reviewed September 14, 2026.

• v0.4.23 patch notes and Archer Balance Reverted — current numbered-patch and override relationship; reviewed September 14, 2026.