The Indie Stone adds ladders and crowbars to Project Zomboid pre-release branch

The Indie Stone released Project Zomboid update 42.22 on the pre-release branch on October 28, 2026. Steam users find it in the properties menu under game versions and betas. The studio promises to move it to the live game once testing satisfies the developers. Players should back up saves before switching to the testing build.

Update 42.22 adds functional ladders, which The Indie Stone describes as the first rung of ladder implementation. Knox Country contains many ladders, and the studio asks pre-release players to test every one to confirm each rung is sturdy. The studio labels this initial implementation the first rung of the ladder feature. The patch also lets players use crowbars to open locked windows and doors, along with gates and garage doors.

Strength determines how fast the crowbar action completes, and the Burglar trait grants an additional bonus. Jail cells and other high-security areas remain too tough to open with crowbars. The feature lets players force open locked entry points while leaving high-security zones inaccessible.

Other gameplay adjustments ship alongside ladders and crowbars. Players can push objects while holding items in both hands, removing the old rule that required both hands to be free. They can also open ammo boxes while walking, and they can no longer sleep when standing close to a bad smell. Large trees should be less likely to impede player visibility.

Update 42.22 fixes unintended issues behind untimely animal deaths, curbs duplicate characters in multiplayer, and corrects miscalculated PvP damage as part of its balance changes. The Indie Stone includes these among the balance changes in update 42.22.

The studio is replacing the old unstable branch with a renamed pre-release branch. The studio says the name change means future updates will not sit in testing for long before reaching the stable branch, except for urgent hotfixes. This replaces the earlier pattern of long waits between stable releases. The Indie Stone said, “The old ‘unstable’ branch is going away in favor of the renamed ‘pre-release’ branch.”

Future builds will spend at least one week in testing before reaching the stable branch. The Indie Stone will release builds into pre-release before stable, apart from urgent hotfixes.

The studio will promote 42.22 from pre-release to live once it confirms the testing results are acceptable. In the meantime, The Indie Stone warns players to back up saves before moving to the testing build. The build exists only on the pre-release branch and has not yet reached the live game.

Build 42 has been in development since December 2024. Multiplayer became available for testing on its unstable branch on December 11, 2025. The full build was expected to arrive in 2026 after multiplayer testing began. Many months remained before the build would hit the live version.

Build 42 multiplayer supports up to 20 co-op players. The player cap sits far below live server sizes, and the developers are working to increase how many people can join multiplayer games. They recommend Steam co-op servers or allow-listed servers.

As of December 2025, a full 2026 release of Build 42 was anticipated. Build 42 added a motion sickness trait, retuned guns and traits, and included changes to the user interface, user experience, and balance.

Players access Build 42 multiplayer by right-clicking Project Zomboid in Steam, selecting Properties, opening the Betas tab, and choosing unstable. The Indie Stone advises removing all mods and backing up saves before testing Build 42 multiplayer. The studio encourages mod makers to consult conversion guides for Build 42 mods.

The Indie Stone officially supports Lua-based modding for Project Zomboid. The policy post originally appeared on October 21, 2026, and distinguishes officially supported Lua mods from unsupported Java-based modifications. The post is a Japanese translation of an article on The Indie Stone News forum.

Java-based mods, including loaders and frameworks, are not officially supported by The Indie Stone. Java-based mods will be fundamentally broken by game updates without warning, and the studio only investigates bug reports found in un-modded game saves. The studio explains that Java mods depend on internal code that changes with every update, so they break without warning and receive no technical support.

Java mods usually require manual installation, external downloads, or special loaders. They can alter game code directly. Players must reproduce bugs without any mods installed before submitting reports, and even then a fix is not guaranteed.