SCUM‘s next Into the Wild update will arrive on Monday, July 20, 2026, adding a new tutorial area, tougher hunting quests, mutant animals, menu changes, and a possible increase to the official-server player count.
The preview also confirms that Into the Wild will continue through August and September. The season was originally planned to run from May through July, but the extra time will give the team room to keep working on hunting, cooking, food systems, and fishing.
The update builds on the return of free-roaming wildlife covered in the June Into the Wild update. This time, the Island is adding stranger targets and more demanding ways to hunt them.
A new tutorial inside the TEC1 Conditioning Facility
The TEC1 Conditioning Facility will serve as a dedicated survival-training area for players who want to learn the basics before heading to the Island. Existing players can enter it as well, so it is not limited to first-time prisoners.
The facility presents survival lessons as a controlled spectacle under TEC1’s watch. Players will get hands-on practice in an environment that trades open wilderness for concrete floors, studio lighting, and plenty of surveillance.
The broader tutorial system is also being reorganized around an in-game library. Instead of following one fixed sequence, players can select individual lessons and complete them at their own pace. The library covers Survival, Crafting, Metabolism, Economy, Base Building, and Hunting, while also tracking completed tutorials.
Mutant animals turn hunts into bigger risks
Mutant boars, wolves, and deer are appearing across the Island. These variants are tougher than their regular counterparts, and tracking them down will require more care than a routine hunting trip.
Mutant boars and wolves deal more damage and can withstand more punishment. Mutant deer are more prone to fleeing, which makes getting close enough for a clean kill harder. Successful hunters can receive unique loot in addition to the usual animal materials.
In other words, spotting a familiar animal no longer guarantees a familiar fight. Bring the right weapon and be ready for the animal to have the upper hand.
Master Hunter quests add new rewards
The Master Hunter will appear at Hunter’s Grotto with three tiers of more difficult quests. These missions bring together several of the season’s hunting systems, including tracking, bait, free-roaming animals, kill quality, and the revised quest flow.
The Regular Hunter will continue to provide general hunting jobs and gear. The Master Hunter, meanwhile, will focus on mutant animal hunts and better unlocks. Quest progression can award Fame, cash, gear, discounts, weapon charms, and furniture recipes.
Those exclusive items are tied to the Master Hunter tiers, giving players a reason to work through the more demanding assignments rather than stopping after a single hunt.
Menu updates and a faster way to clear inventory
Crafting, Cooking, and Base Building are receiving visual redesigns that bring them closer to the current Inventory UI. The refreshed layouts are intended to make the menus easier to read and provide a base for future additions to each system.
The update will also add Drop All, a new option for clearing items from a container or bag more quickly. It should be especially useful when a player is overloaded and needs to make room while something hostile is closing in.
Official servers are testing 80-player sessions
Official servers are currently testing a player-count increase from 64 to 80 prisoners. Recent optimization work made the test possible, but the final decision will depend on performance and stability.
If the servers hold up, 80 players will become the new default with the July update. If performance problems appear, official servers will return to 64 players.
The preview also mentions additional animal-behavior work, balance changes, bug fixes, and quality-of-life improvements. The official July update preview says full patch notes will be published when the update goes live on July 20.
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Scum
Developed by Gamepires
