FragPunk launches Farlands PvPvE delivery mode in Early Access

FragPunk’s Farlands PvPvE (player-versus-player-versus-environment) mode launched in Global Early Access on PC and console on November 5, 2026, with Xbox Wire publishing its launch coverage on November 9. Developed by Bad Guitar Studio and published by NetEase Games, Farlands is a permanent multiplayer adventure built around cargo deliveries, resource gathering, combat, and long-term progression. The mode was officially unveiled by Bad Guitar Studio on October 23, 2026, as a new gameplay pillar for the free-to-play title. Unlike the original five-versus-five Shard Clash mode, which remains available, Farlands shifts the focus to objective-driven delivery missions in a shared arena populated by dozens of players.

Bad Guitar Studio’s October 23, 2026, unveiling was accompanied by a trailer showcasing vehicles, equipment, threats, terrain hazards, and a snowy region where walking is challenging, along with new cosmetics. The trailer narrator advised players to deliver well because payment funds bigger operations with better gear, facilities, and strength. Farlands adds a new Lancer named Courier with abilities designed for the adventure, while the game’s signature Shard Cards remain a core mechanic, allowing players to break game rules with unique abilities and equipment that are not locked behind paywalls. GamingBolt reviewed FragPunk at launch with a score of 7 out of 10, praising the art direction and Shard Card concept for adding twists to the typical competitive shooter formula.

Farlands servers operate on a five-day cycle while in-game time continues to pass without stopping. Player actions, including fighting enemies, alter faction levels on a server, which changes how strong, numerous, and spread out hostile forces become. Cleared outposts can become unsafe again as enemies return stronger, and defeating tougher opponents can reward rarer resources. Dynamic weather conditions including heat, cold, and rain accelerate health depletion and affect cargo transportation, and cargo weight combined with player encounters makes delivery success a constant challenge.

The game world changes between journeys as dynamic weather, roaming creatures, shifting faction territories, and moving resource locations alter the landscape, so a safe area on one run can become considerably more dangerous on the next. In this shared arena, players can negotiate temporary alliances to escort cargo, but trust is fleeting and temporary escorts can end in betrayal as partners turn on each other to steal shipments, making every encounter uncertain.

Farlands includes global voice chat and an emote system so players can communicate during combat and deliveries, allowing strangers to form temporary escort agreements and then turn on each other at critical moments to claim loot. Players can invest delivery-earned resources into personal equipment and base development, with base upgrades providing advanced crafting, character skill trees, and more cargo storage capacity. Discovering blueprints while scavenging expands mid-to-late-game options, including vehicles, while equipment pieces directly affect character stats and matching gear sets are recommended for loadouts.

The Early Access test, which FragPunk’s Steam notice warns will wipe test data when it ends, does not yet have a published full-release date, and balance changes are expected during the period, with more playable characters and weapon blueprints promised as development continues. A November 9, 2026, patch fixed multiple issues without requiring downtime, addressing client crashes, vehicle energy behavior, and quest progression. Launch rewards include the Farlands Early Access Pass, the FarLands Challenge running from November 5 to 19, Deck Gear Up, and the Wasteland Rhapsody Battle Pass. FragPunk is free to play on Xbox and Steam, and according to Console & PC Gaming, it is also available through PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate, though platform availability beyond PC and Xbox is not consistently listed across sources.

FragPunk originally launched on March 6, 2025, as a free-to-play 5v5 hero shooter on Steam and the Epic Games Store, featuring Shard Clash as its main mode across seven maps and thirteen launch Lancers. However, the game struggled to maintain a consistent player base, with SteamDB data cited by GamingBolt showing barely over one thousand concurrent players regularly. Farlands shifts the focus from conventional team-based firefights to objective-driven delivery and survival, drawing comparisons to extraction shooters and Death Stranding for its evolving weather, package handling, and carrying-capacity upgrades. The new mode can be accessed directly through the existing FragPunk client on PC or console without a separate download.