Soulmask just left early access. CampFire Studio pushed the 1.0 update live today — April 10, 2026 — and alongside it dropped a massive free DLC called Shifting Sands that you can claim until May 10 and keep permanently. After that it goes to $19.99, so don't sleep on it.
I've been following Soulmask since early access and the 1.0 build is a different game from what launched back then. There's a lot to unpack so let me hit the highlights.
The Deal — Act Before April 24
If you've been waiting for the right time to buy, this is it.
The base game is 10% off at $26.99 until April 24, and the Shifting Sands DLC is completely free to claim until May 10. That's a $19.99 DLC for nothing — effectively 46% off the combined value. Buy the game on sale, claim the DLC, and you've got both permanently for under $27.
Even if you already own Soulmask, make sure you claim Shifting Sands before May 10. It should appear in your Steam library automatically, but double-check — once the free window closes, it's $19.99.
Three Game Modes
The biggest structural change is three distinct ways to play:
Tribe Mode is the full Soulmask experience. Recruit tribesmen — each with their own spread from over 871 unique Talents, Masteries, and Likes — and build them into an automated workforce. Production lines, role specialisation, settlement growth. It's basically running a small company inside a survival game.
Survival Mode strips things back to traditional survival. Personal skill, resource management, and exploration without the NPC logistics overhead.
Warrior Mode is for combat addicts. More enemies, tougher challenges, less downtime. If you want to fight first and build second, this is your mode.
One caveat worth knowing: only Survival Mode currently works on dedicated servers. CampFire says Tribe and Warrior modes for private servers are coming in a future update. For now those two are single-player and co-op only.
Shifting Sands DLC — Free Until May 10
This isn't a small content drop. Shifting Sands adds:
- An entire new Egypt-themed open-world map roughly the same size as the base game's map
- 4 Egyptian masks — Horus, Anubis, Sobek, and Amun-Ra
- 6 new bosses (3 story bosses, 3 mechanical)
- 10+ ruins and dungeons to explore
- Sky base construction — yes, you can build in the sky now
- Airships — a Falcon-Class airship with over 100 customisable parts, 6 ship weapons, anti-gravity engines, and ballistics. Your tribesmen can even board them.
- A new wooden boat for water travel
Cross-Map Character Transfer
This is a big one for server communities. You can now transfer your character and progression between maps and servers in PvE mode. No level requirements, full progression carries over, and tech tree nodes transfer universally (though DLC-exclusive nodes stay locked to their respective maps). If you're running multiple servers with different maps, your players don't have to start from scratch.
Tribesmen Overhaul
The tribe system got a serious upgrade beyond just the new modes:
Training Ground — a new building that lets you pass down talents from one tribesman to another. Not masteries or proficiency (those are still earned through work), but the innate talent configurations. Find a tribesman with a perfect talent spread, then propagate those traits across your workforce.
Smarter AI and Assignments — the new Tribesman Assignments system eliminates idle workers. If their primary task is done, they'll automatically look for other useful work. No more tribesmen standing around doing nothing while your production line stalls.
Auto-Equipping — tribesmen now automatically grab gear from Weapon Racks when threats appear. You set up the racks, stock them, and your guards arm themselves.
Dispatch System — send workers out to retrieve resources autonomously. Point them at what you need and they'll handle the logistics.
Mimicry Ascension
A new combat system that grants four abilities tied to your mask:
- Abundance — summons a spectral avatar for ranged attacks
- Torch of Eternity — shields allies while dealing damage
- Shadow Walker — stealth and teleportation
- Tactical Guidance — revive fallen companions
These add meaningful variety to combat encounters, especially on Warrior Mode servers.
Other Notable Changes
- Building overhaul with free rotation and auto-alignment — building finally feels less clunky
- New game encyclopedia with an integrated guide covering every material, recipe, and creature. You can highlight resources directly on the terrain with a single click.
- Exploration companions now mirror your gathering actions for efficiency
Launch Event — Ends April 13
CampFire is running boosted official PvE servers until April 13 (UTC) with 5x experience and gathering yield, 3x taming and growth speed, and 2x inventory capacity. Worth jumping on if you want a fast start on an official server to try the new content.
Hosting a Server
If you're setting up a dedicated server for the 1.0 launch — the server process needs around 11-12 GB RAM to start and grows as the world develops. The game supports up to 70 players per server, though most communities land somewhere between 10-30.
Soulmask's config files use Chinese pinyin key names (in a file called GameXishu.json), which is unusual but there's also a GM Menu in-game for adjusting settings without touching files.
We'll be publishing detailed setup guides, configuration references with all the real setting names translated, and troubleshooting walkthroughs over the coming weeks. For now, if you want to get a server running, check out our Soulmask hosting plans and you'll be playing in minutes.