Why a timeline rather than a patch list
Patch notes are written for people who were already playing. They list fixes in the order the developers worked through them, which means the one thing a returning player wants to know — how much of the game is different now — is spread across dozens of bullets and impossible to answer by reading.
So this page lists milestones instead. Each entry is a release that changed what the game is, with the smaller patches folded into whichever milestone they belong to. The most recent release recorded here is 1.21, dated 2026-10-08, and its full detail lives on the patch page.
Every milestone
| Date | Release | What it means for a returning player |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-03-28 | Early access launch | The first public build, on Steam. The roster was a fraction of its current size and every later release was built on this one. |
| 2020-08-11 | Version 1.0 | Leaving early access at the list price of $24.99. This is the build most people mean when they say the base game. |
| 2022-03-01 | Survivors of the VoidArrived with a free patch that changed the base game for every player. | The one that changed the item pool permanently, by converting normal items into their void counterparts. |
| 2024-08-27 | Seekers of the StormArrived with a free patch that changed the base game for every player. | The one that moved development to a new studio and added a vertical ascent instead of another flat stage run. |
| 2025-11-18 | Alloyed CollectiveArrived with a free patch that changed the base game for every player. | The one that added a full drone roster and two survivors built around moving other actors rather than damaging them. |
Confirmed by official sources — dates come from the store listings and the developer's own patch notes. The “what it means” column is our framing rather than a developer statement.
Working out which version you have
Build numbers are the obvious answer and the least reliable one, because a version string tells you nothing about which expansions are switched on. A better method is to look for named content, since each release left a marker that is easy to check in a menu.
- On or past 1.21. Check the six original survivors who gained a skill in the free half of this release. They are Commando (Sabotage (Special)), Huntress (Laser Cyclone (Secondary)), Engineer (Laser Cutter (Primary)), Artificer (Tectonic Blast (Utility)), REX (Proliferation (Utility)), Acrid (Cloying Breath (Special)). If those skills are available in the loadout screen, you are on this patch or later.
- Which expansions are actually on. Character select is the honest indicator, because survivors are the one part of an expansion a lobby cannot share. If the newest characters are missing from the select screen, that expansion is not enabled for you even if a friend in the lobby owns it.
- Whether the item pool changed. The clearest single marker is a void item appearing where a normal item used to be. That conversion only happens when Survivors of the Void is enabled, and it is visible in the first few minutes of a run.
- When in doubt, check the patch-numbered page. The 1.21 notes list what that specific release added, including the fixes, which is the fastest way to spot whether something you are seeing was introduced recently.
What each era feels like
The game has moved through three broad phases. Before 1.0 it was an early-access build whose content was still being rewritten underneath the players. From 1.0 through the first two expansions it settled into a rhythm of one large release a year, each adding characters and stages to an otherwise stable structure.
The most recent phase is the one that changes the maths of a run rather than the contents of a stage. Void Items convert what you already own instead of adding to it, Hexes hand you a penalty in exchange for something stronger later, and the N'Tormat Curio adds an ability set outside your equipment slot. None of those is a new room to walk into; they are new rules for the rooms you already know.
If you last played before that shift, the practical advice is to treat the newest content as a separate game to learn rather than an extension of the old one. The beginner guide covers the loop as it currently stands, and the expansions overview covers what each release actually adds.
What is still being collected
- Full changelogs for the releases before 1.21. Only the most recent patch has been transcribed in full, so the earlier entries here are milestone summaries rather than complete notes.
- The minor hotfixes between the milestones, which currently are not tracked at all.
- Console release dates, which are recorded only where the store listings state them.
Frequently asked
- What is the current version of Risk of Rain 2?
- The most recent release recorded here is 1.21, which shipped on 2026-10-08 alongside the Hallowed Concepts expansion.
- How can I tell which version I am running?
- The dependable method is to check for named content rather than a build number. If the six original survivors gained their new skill, you are on or past 1.21; if the character select shows the two newest survivors, that expansion is enabled.
- How often does the game get updated?
- The pattern recorded here is one large release per year, each pairing a paid expansion with a free patch that changes the base game for everyone.
- Do the updates cost anything?
- The patch always arrives free. Buying the expansion that ships beside it is what unlocks the survivors, stages, enemies and items from that release.