Scrap Mechanic 1.0 & Drilling Thunder Update
On July 24, 2026, Axolot Games released Scrap Mechanic 1.0, ending nearly a decade of Early Access. Codenamed "Drilling Thunder," this is by far the game's biggest update, adding a full story campaign, an underground world, mining mechanics, dozens of new building parts, new enemy bots, and a complete visual overhaul.
Good news for existing players: All Drilling Thunder content is free for anyone who already owns Scrap Mechanic. No paid DLC required.
Release Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Release Date | July 24, 2026 |
| Version | 1.0 (Drilling Thunder) |
| Price | $19.99 (Steam) |
| Platform | Windows PC (Steam) |
| Early Access Start | January 20, 2016 |
| Peak Concurrent Players | 46,643 (May 2020, Survival launch) |
| Steam Reviews | ~91% Positive ("Overwhelmingly Positive") |
Story Campaign
For the first time in Scrap Mechanic history, Survival Mode comes with a complete, fully voice-acted story campaign. After your ship crashes on the farming planet, you uncover why the robots have gone rogue and must find a way back home.
- Full story from beginning to end — No more cliffhangers or unfinished plotlines
- Voice-acted NPCs — Meet characters like the caged farmer who begs for rescue
- Quest log system — Track main quests and side quests with waypoints and distance markers
- Dialogue records — Review past conversations as reference material
- Random NPC encounters — Find stranded characters in ruins who need your help
Underground World (Abandoned Mine)
Drilling Thunder's biggest new feature is the fully explorable underground world. Descend into the Abandoned Mine to discover new resources, enemy types, and story content.
- Abandoned Mine — Vast underground network of tunnels and caverns
- Miner Island — New surface area serving as the entry point to the underground
- Mining mechanics — Use handheld drills or vehicle-mounted drilling rigs to extract ore
- Plasma Drill — Advanced mining tool for deep excavation
- New resources — Underground-exclusive materials for crafting advanced parts
- New enemy bots — Underground-specific robot types with unique behaviors
New Enemy Bots
Early Access had only 5 hostile bot types. Drilling Thunder more than doubles that number, creating richer combat and defense encounters.
| Bot | Location | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Haybot | Surface | Melee, climbs walls |
| Tapebot | Surface | Ranged tape projectiles |
| Farmbot | Surface (raids) | Large heavy melee |
| Seeker Bot | Surface | Fast, jumps at players |
| Red Explosive Totebot | Surface | Explodes on contact — high priority target |
| Seed Bot | Surface | Passive, drops all seed types when destroyed |
| Underground Bots | Abandoned Mine | New types with unique attack patterns (Drilling Thunder exclusive) |
Next-Gen Visual Upgrade
Drilling Thunder brings a massive visual overhaul that brings Scrap Mechanic to life like never before — all without requiring expensive ray-tracing hardware.
Dynamic Lighting System
- 100% dynamic lighting — Up to 512 simultaneous dynamic light sources on screen
- Volumetric sunlight — God rays and atmospheric scattering
- Smooth day-night transitions — Moving sun with realistic lighting changes
- Global illumination — Bounced light for more realistic scenes
Living World
- Volumetric clouds — Dynamic, responsive cloud formations
- Weather system — Rain, storms, and tornadoes in the desert biome
- Realistic water rendering — Reflections, refractions, and underwater effects
- Physical grass — Grass reacts to character and vehicle movement
Material System
- Custom material system — Hyper-detailed rendering for skin, metal, and foliage
- Metal re-rendering — New metallic surfaces with realistic reflections
- Leather and foliage — Improved texture quality for organic materials
World Overhaul
The entire game world has been rebuilt with new terrain generation and biomes:
- New terrain tiles — Completely reworked ground textures and shapes
- Forest roads — New forest biome with drivable paths
- Desert biome — Arid region with tornado weather events
- Reworked ruins — Updated abandoned structures with new layouts and loot
- Improved road generation — More natural, less repetitive road networks
New Building Parts
A massive amount of new building parts have been added, allowing creations that were never possible before. These are available in both Creative and Survival modes.
- New blocks — Dozens of new structural and decorative blocks
- New interactive parts — New mechanisms and logic components
- Wooden pallets — New structural element for large builds
- Dynamic wheels — New wheel type with arch for track building
- Digital signs — Programmable display blocks
- Claygun — New tool that lets you shape and modify terrain (both Creative and Survival)
Note: Some bots can now dig through clay, so you can't simply barricade yourself with terrain anymore.
Flame Physics
Drilling Thunder introduces realistic fire and flame physics. Fire spreads dynamically, can be extinguished with water, and interacts with the environment. You'll encounter burning ships, use fire extinguishers, and need to consider fire safety in base design.
New Features and Systems
Steam Achievements
With the 1.0 release, Scrap Mechanic finally adds Steam Achievements. There are wacky ones alongside challenging goals for completionists.
Character Customization
A bunch of new shirts and outfits to collect. Some are much harder to obtain than others. Find clothing crates in ruins and as bot drops.
Multiplayer Optimization
Massive improvements to network responsiveness for connected players, drastically smoothing out the multiplayer experience.
Portable Craftbot
New portable crafting station that looks like a beat-up suitcase. Place it anywhere for on-the-go crafting — perfect for vehicle mounting.
Schematic Box
New rare item (blue glowing boxes in ruins) that unlocks new crafting recipes. Scan with the Schematic Bot to learn new parts.
Gameplay Balance Changes
- Health-only survival — Hunger and thirst removed, food now heals
- Faster gathering — Tree chopping and resource collection speed improved
- Faster refining — Refining processes quicker, less tedious
- No stamina bar — Mine and sprint without stamina drain
- Cooked food buffs — Meals provide temporary buffs (speed, mining, regen, fall damage)
- Quest-guided progression — Main story guides you through essential milestones