Update History

Tears of Metal entered Early Access on July 22, 2026 and Paper Cult began patching immediately. Six builds shipped in the first eleven days, covering a day-one cross-play hotfix, two rounds of patch notes, two hotfixes and a larger balancing patch. Three more builds followed over the next fortnight, including the first update since launch to add new content, and a large bug-fixing patch arrived on September 8, 2026 after a quieter stretch. This page tracks what each one changed.

A recurring note runs through every entry from July 24 onward: cross-play is temporarily disabled on the default Steam branch after each patch, because Steam approves updates faster than the Microsoft Store and Game Pass builds. A Steam beta branch named crossplay stays matched to the Game Pass version for players who need it. See Co-Op for how that works.

Build Timeline

Version 0.8.57278, July 24, 2026

The first substantial post-launch patch. On balance, Ruadh Stonecrusher became unlockable by defeating the Banshee, Wallace's Flamberge sword dropped from nine Dragonstones to three, and his Celtic Longsword became purchasable for 500 triskelle. Bosses' block-breaking attacks became parryable. The Distant Cloaks event began reducing Threat by two, and A Distraction switched from Dragonstones to coins.

Major fixes covered an Act 3 Giant that could stay invincible, an invisible Banshee boss, gates that could block progress during Brienne's unlock quest, a Treasure and Dice event that charged players even when they won, and several problems with the ranged enemy The Dreadshot. Gilles the Hog stopped ignoring players who had been attacking him for a long stretch, and Bombers were reworked to hold position until approached and to spread their targeting.

Kill Streak was renamed Chain Streak to better describe the mechanic, and a new Common Charm, Cutthroat's Blade, added 10% critical hit chance on Finishers. Several achievements and unlocks that were impossible to earn were repaired, including one requiring a 20-second Combo Chain and another tracking Act completions without opening a chest. Optional anonymous gameplay data collection arrived as an opt-in setting, the default maximum framerate dropped from 120 to 60, and Wallace's Committed Charge description was corrected from -35% to 35% damage resistance.

Version 0.9.57408, July 28, 2026

A systems patch. Castle Records was reworked so that unlocked-item tracking is accurate, locked items are easier to identify, and items that cannot currently be obtained are marked as such. A save recovery system was added to prevent corrupted save files. Fixes covered the health bar, Charm stack counts, placeholder text in event tooltips, Iseult the Banshee jumping away and not returning or floating in place, Harold occasionally becoming invincible, and enemies spawning far outside the arena. Texture sizes were reduced, and the second Swamp biome and the Birchtrees level were rebuilt.

Version 0.10.57598, July 31, 2026

An optimisation hotfix. Texture resolutions changed again and Acts 1 and 2 received performance and stability work. Fixes covered Drift Correction locking player controls when set to 1, army units not being dismissed properly, commanders disappearing after reaching level 6 or maximum if the game closed before another level was played, and Castle Records not displaying unlocked Charms correctly after the previous patch.

Version 0.11.57863, August 1, 2026

The largest post-launch patch so far, released alongside the final weekend of the launch discount. Meta-progression was reworked after feedback that it felt too grindy: Region Currency rewards became guaranteed in every Act, increased in Acts 2 and 3, and Scroll rewards were added to Acts 2 and 3 once Act 2 has been cleared. The coin economy was rebalanced across shops, fountains and chests, with Grey Fountains restoring five more health and Dragonstone treasure chests now costing one Dragonstone and guaranteeing a high-tier Charm.

Charms were reclassified between rarity tiers and rebalanced, with the stated goal of making the tiers meaningfully different and preparing for stronger Charms in later updates. Act 2's difficulty curve was smoothed, several Act 2 Captains had their health and block health adjusted, and the Norsemen encounter was rebalanced. Beacons now arrive in clearer waves, and Emblem selection favours families that have not appeared yet rather than drawing at random.

Optimisation continued across Acts 1 and 2 with Act 3 still outstanding. Allies became more survivable at level 1, stopped taking more damage than intended during boss fights, and can no longer be hurt by Bombers or Elites.

Version 0.11.57874.1, August 9, 2026

A single-issue hotfix. Players had begun reporting sudden mouse stutter a few days earlier, and Paper Cult traced the cause to the Epic Online Services overlay initialising alongside the game. The hotfix prevents that overlay from initialising at all.

Version 0.12.58540, August 13, 2026

The first post-launch update to add new content, and the one that closed out two of the four areas the studio had listed as in progress at the start of the month. Paper Cult described networking as drastically improved, with multiplayer feeling smoother and desync far less common, while cautioning that players on poor connections may still see brief stutters. A separate pass on optimisation and crashes was aimed in part at handheld stability, and a crash affecting the Quarry and the third boss level was fixed.

Reviving a downed teammate in co-op changed from a coin cost to a health cost. A reviving player now gives up 50% of their current health, the revived player returns with health proportional to the share of maximum health that was actually surrendered, and a player needs more than 10% of their maximum health before they can revive anyone. The window for reviving shortens by five seconds after every revive in a run. Paper Cult explained the change as untangling two systems that had been working against each other: because revives were paid for in coins and the price rose with each one, players hoarded coins rather than spending them on Charms, and a late run could reach a point where a revive was simply unaffordable. Healing fountain prices still climb, but now only from one Act to the next. See Co-Op for the full mechanic.

A new companion, Aodh the Vigil, became unlockable; see Companions. Balancing fixed a ranged Ally Command interacting incorrectly with the Gambling Clan ally Emblem, which could produce hugely inflated damage, limited Giant Fortunes spawned from synergy Emblems to one, cut the vortex created by the Crusader ally Emblem from 8 to 5, and gave Beacons a 90 second self-destruct. Marathon scenarios were made more consistent, with more objectives available and more of them counting toward progression. Charms and Emblems that check a health threshold now evaluate the condition at the start of a level rather than only after damage is taken, the Old Meister event stopped handing out the wrong Emblems, and the Codex was fixed so that it flags newly discovered content on a fresh save. Lobbies also stopped displaying as Public when they had been set to Friends or Invite Only.

Version 0.14.58630, August 14, 2026

A multiplayer cleanup released the next day, which also folded in a hotfix from August 13. It stopped Elite and boss health and Threat levels from drifting apart between clients, corrected triskeles flying away, addressed bosses briefly spawning in mid-air on other players' screens, and fixed the campaign map appearing differently to different players in the same session. Timed player effects and buffs that never expired were fixed, as were archer arrows and other damage sources blocking enemies from moving during their attacks, and mobs dying in place instead of moving. Cross-play is disabled on this build, with the crossplay beta branch holding the previous version.

Big Bug-Fixing Pass, September 8, 2026

More than three weeks after the previous build, Paper Cult released a patch made up almost entirely of fixes, many of them reported by players. The post carried no version number. It shipped while work continued on the build crafting, Emblem and meta-progression rework announced in August, and cross-play is disabled on this version: the crossplay beta branch stays on the previous build for players who need it.

On the multiplayer side, Epic Online Services connection handling was improved, including for stale connections, and several common multiplayer problems now produce clearer error messages. A bug that could mix host and client save data together on a client was fixed. Players can no longer Revive or Give Up by accident while typing in chat, and a dead player now has to wait one second before Give Up becomes available. The Seraphic Blade now unlocks as soon as all of its pieces are collected, without the level having to be completed, and certain pieces can no longer be picked up in multiplayer before a player has finished the game once with Wallace. Hero Trials stopped unlocking in multiplayer before the selected hero could attempt them, and Harold the Dragon could no longer become unkillable for some clients.

Gameplay changes were mostly corrective. Enemy status damage multipliers no longer scale steeply between Acts and now use one multiplier across all three. Elite enemies reconsider their targets more often and are more likely to go after whoever is dealing them heavy damage. The Black Shield had its attack-variation odds and counter frequency adjusted, the landing of Giant II's jump-back counter no longer deals damage, and the Poison Trail Captain modifier stopped hurting allies. A reward is no longer lost if a reward screen is still open when a level ends. The Companion x3 Barracks upgrade now needs only Companion x2 rather than also requiring an upgrade from the previous row, and the item buyer interactable, H.W. in a barrel, now asks for a completely random item and offers an amount based on its rarity and the current Act. Ally Emblem rewards gained a fallback, so another eligible unit can receive the Emblem when no unit from the intended family can.

Other fixes covered Brienne's third combo with the Bladed Vambrace failing to trigger Emblem Finisher effects, Healing Fountains ignoring Healing Power gained in the same battle, Oak Barrels granting the wrong number of Emblem rerolls, shops stocking items that had become impossible to buy, and wrong discount values at the Travelling Merchant. Castle Records stopped showing some unlocked Charms as locked, boss projectiles now count as Ranged Damage for unlocks and achievements, objective placement was corrected across all three Acts and in Glenfinnan Castle, and a batch of translation, interface and audio problems was cleaned up, including a controller rebinding Reset button that restored the wrong defaults.

What Paper Cult Said Was Next

Two of the four areas the studio listed at the start of August shipped on August 13, 2026: the revive rework and the networking optimisation. As of that patch the outstanding work was:

• Mid-run saves: described as progressing well, but considerably more complicated than the studio originally expected, and still actively in development

• Further optimisation and crash fixes: continuing, with the studio asking players to keep reporting crashes

Paper Cult said on August 13, 2026 that it would share a broader overview the following week. That overview arrived on August 21, 2026, a month after launch, and is covered below.

Direction After the First Month

The August 21, 2026 devlog is the first substantial statement of where the game goes next, and it answers the roadmap the studio promised on launch day. Paper Cult said it had run into more problems at launch than it expected, and that the work since then had gone into networking, crashes and performance.

That work continues, but the studio now frames it as the first of three phases. The next patch is described as a big push for stability, and the second phase starts once that is done.

For the second phase Paper Cult named three areas it wants to change.

The aim the studio gave for all three is that runs stop feeling repetitive once build crafting opens up. Paper Cult also named the Plague Doctor as an example of a major addition due later, without saying at the time what it is.

Separately, the studio said it was considering a new beta branch on Steam for in-progress content patches, including the system reworks above. Testing there first would leave the default branch in a more stable state and give the studio room to experiment, and joining it would be optional. That would be a different thing from the crossplay branch already in use, which holds the previous build rather than a newer one.

September 2026 Progress Update

On September 18, 2026 Paper Cult published a progress note on the work lined up after the bug-fixing patch. Most of it belongs to the second phase described above. The studio said it expected these changes to launch soon, but gave a target date only for the meta-progression rebalance.

The same post confirmed that the Plague Doctor is a playable hero. The name is the community's nickname for the character rather than an official one, and Paper Cult said it is actively working on the hero, sharing only a short animated teaser. No release date has been given. See Playable Heroes.

The beta branch for in-progress content, which the studio was still only considering in August, was described as upcoming in the September 8, 2026 patch notes. No post through September 18, 2026 said it had opened.