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Stars Reach Patch Notes: What Changed, and When

By SukieUpdated October 11, 202615 min read

These Stars Reach patch notes cover every Early Access release from 8.4.0, the build that went live on 18 August 2026, to 8.7.2, the Crafted in Color hotfix of 2 October 2026. That is still the current build on 11 October. Nothing newer has appeared on starsreach.com or the Steam news feed.

Playable Worlds publishes one long post per update, so finding out when something changed means reading all of them. This page sorts them two ways. There is one row per release, then one table per game system, so a question like "when did homestead prices double?" has a one-line answer (8.4.0, the launch build).

Every row comes from the official build notes or a developer post, with the numbers copied as published. Anything announced but not yet shipped sits in its own section and is marked planned.

Everything in this section

Every Early Access release, in order

The table lists every update with public notes, plus the two unnumbered launch-week patches described in Raph Koster's 20 August post. Version numbers 8.4.1, 8.4.2 and 8.4.4 have no published notes. The studio said on 4 September that it had "published nine updates in the last two weeks", so some small patches were never written up.

Dates are when the notes were posted. Where the post said the update was still to come, the column also gives the first date an official post confirmed it was live.

VersionDateNameHeadline changesOfficial post
Day-one patch18 Aug 2026(unnamed)Fixed stick bugs and headless avatars, and players stuck indefinitely in queues; resized Haven instancesstarsreach.com/hotfix-news-a-thank-you-from-raph
Day-two patch19 Aug 2026(unnamed)Rescued players stranded behind collapsed wild wormholes; CPU-load optimisations; fewer players spawning under terrainstarsreach.com/hotfix-news-a-thank-you-from-raph
8.4.0Live 18 Aug; notes 20 AugEarly Access UpdateThe Corruption; new Haven map; alien puzzles; homestead skill gate removed and homestead/zoning-lot cost doubled; Tailoring made its own profession; skill chits removed; recipe-book limits; GeForce Now support; framerate capstarsreach.com/early-access-update-8-4-0
8.4.321 Aug 2026Early Access HotFixServer memory-leak fix for rubberbanding (rolling release); status page launched; Healing XP outside combat; crafting-progression data fixes; starter repair kits fixed; GovBots removed from adventure zonesstarsreach.com/early-access-hotfix-8-4-3
8.4.526 Aug 2026Early Access HotFixA major source of server crashes fixed; Merge All; faster movement and longer sprint; vendor kiosks craftable; market around 100x faster with search and sort; homestead placement confirmation; crates hold 10 or 25; lost recipes reimbursed; missions renamed near/mid/farstarsreach.com/early-access-hotfix-8-4-5
8.4.628 Aug 2026Early Access HotFixCold-planet flora performance; missing market listings restored; safeguards against losing a homestead during placement; half-tile offset fixedstarsreach.com/early-access-hotfix-8-4-6
8.5.03 Sep 2026 (notes 2 Sep)Ground ControlCharacter-save fixes; another server memory leak fixed; space map; free one-time Homesteader; free Fabricators; recipe system redesign; fewer but more useful loot caches; climbing deaths reducedstarsreach.com/ground-control-update
8.5.111 Sep 2026Ground Control HotfixCrafting-tier normalisation; Wood-to-Oil refining back; homestead vendor and storage counts fixed; Blackhart and King Prowler back in Public Events; recipes can be bankedstarsreach.com/ground-control-hotfix-8-5-1
8.6.0Notes 15 Sep; live by 18 SepBetter TogetherParty system and /party commands; Recipe Activation removed; first Galactic Map; stack shortcuts, fractional moves, durability iconsstarsreach.com/better-together-update-v8-6-0
8.7.0Notes 24 Sep; live by 26–27 SepCrafted in ColorFinishes and painting; Carpentry profession; paints and dyes at the Tool Shop; close to 100 new building pieces; multi-step and branching missions; creature melee back; F9 performance monitor; party roster; homestead terrain shieldstarsreach.com/crafted-in-color-update-8-7-0
8.7.22 Oct 2026Crafted in Color HotfixBulk-crafting lag fixed; finish recipes use the previous step's output; terrain shields on by default; creature spawn-size capstarsreach.com/crafted-in-color-hotfix-8-7-2
Compiled from the official build notes and Starside posts on starsreach.com, read 11 October 2026. Each row's post is listed under Sources.

How often updates land

The table below counts the days between releases with numbered notes, using the dates in the table above. The pace was fastest in launch week and settled at roughly one release a week after that. By 11 October it had been 9 days since 8.7.2, with no new build notes.

That cadence is the plainest answer to whether the game is still being worked on. Nine numbered releases shipped between 18 August and 2 October, new roadmap cards went up between 5 and 10 October, and the studio publicly rejected sunset rumours on 3 September (Massively Overpowered). No shutdown has been announced. The population is small, though: SteamCharts' 30-day average was 23.12 concurrent players on 11 October.

DAYS SINCE THE PREVIOUS NUMBERED RELEASE8.4.33days8.4.55days8.4.62days8.5.06days8.5.18days8.6.04days8.7.09days8.7.28daysSince 8.7.29 and countingdays
Our chart, from sourced figures. Our calculation from the dates in the release table above (official build notes, starsreach.com), counting from the 18 August 2026 launch and using 3 September, the go-live day, for 8.5.0. The last bar runs from 8.7.2 to the day this page was checked (11 October 2026).

Homesteads and building

A homestead is much easier to get now than at launch. The skill gate went in the launch build. The free Homesteader came with 8.5.0. Placement losses were fixed in 8.4.5 and 8.4.6. Two points still catch people out: the launch build doubled homestead and lot prices, and 8.7.2 turned terrain shields back on for everyone.

ChangeVersionDate
Homesteads no longer need any skill to place; homestead and zoning-lot cost doubled8.4.018 Aug
Building tiles save the moment they are moved or rotated, so a crash no longer rolls them back8.4.526 Aug
Placement asks you to confirm; answering No returns the homestead or lot to inventory. Both can be placed in the air with the bottom edge on the ground8.4.526 Aug
Storage crates: Tier 2 crates now hold 10 and are placeable; Tier 3 crates hold 258.4.526 Aug
Safeguards against losing a homestead during placement; boundaries shown automatically; not consumed until placement is final; half-tile offset fixed (homesteads already placed are not shifted)8.4.628 Aug
One-time Homesteader for all players, new and old, on next entering a Space zone, even with a full inventory8.5.03 Sep
Unlimited free Fabricators from the Homestead Console and Tool Shop; no durability; can no longer be sold on the market8.5.03 Sep
Instaformer and Paver become T2 recipes on Circuit Bench II, also sold at the Item Shop8.5.03 Sep
Removing a vendor or storage now lowers the homestead count correctly8.5.111 Sep
Fabricator Style controls (Design, Copy, Paste, Reset, Grid); grid stays inside the homestead; window moved to the right8.7.024 Sep
Close to 100 new generic building pieces that accept finishes, built from the Construction skill tree8.7.024 Sep
Homestead terrain shield added, toggled at the Homestead control unit8.7.024 Sep
Terrain shields on by default on all homesteads and zoning lots (turn yours off again if you had); extra shield around planetary starter portals8.7.22 Oct

Crafting, recipes and resources

Recipe handling changed more often than anything else. The launch build capped the recipe book. 8.5.0 moved recipes into collections, and 8.6.0 removed activation entirely. If a guide or video mentions "active recipe slots", it was made before 15 September.

ChangeVersionDate
Tailoring becomes its own advanced profession; skill chits removed; starter clothing loses stat mods8.4.018 Aug
Lower base recipe-book size that grows with recipe-granting skills; looted recipes go to inventory first; recipe tree view and "what can I use this for?" added8.4.018 Aug
Critical-path ingredients removed from loot and made available as skill unlocks8.4.018 Aug
Large crafting-progression data fix: tier inversions removed, Loom handles material conversion, early Armorer and Pressure Forge recipes use more accessible resources8.4.321 Aug
Merge All on right-click (averages stats); fractional amounts mergeable; recipes stackable8.4.526 Aug
Fresh Water and Salt Water extractable with the Terraformer; "Fire" ingredients accept Any Reactive Gas and existing Fire converts to Methane8.4.526 Aug
Recipes lost in the previous crafting update reimbursed8.4.526 Aug
Recipe redesign: granted recipes go straight into Collections and raise your recipe cap; looted recipes learned by right-click or Learn All8.5.03 Sep
Stations that needed a high-tier Machine Shop moved entirely into the Machinist tree8.5.03 Sep
Normalisation pass, e.g. Hexalamps Lathe III to VI, coloured rugs Lathe III to V; Wood-to-Oil refining returns; recipes can go in the bank or storage8.5.111 Sep
Recipe Activation removed. Every recipe has a qualifying skill; Collections show White (learned, qualified), Red (learned, not qualified), Gray (not learned)8.6.015 Sep
Carpentry becomes a profession; Basic, Detail and Advanced Painting skills; craftable metal, stone, wood, plastic and rubber finishes8.7.024 Sep
Paints and dyes at the starbase Tool Shop: 12 colours, 50 uses for 1,000 klaatu. They cannot be crafted yet8.7.024 Sep
Finish recipes use what the previous step produced (100 stone gives 90 rough stone, and the next step now asks for 90)8.7.22 Oct
Bulk crafting no longer lags the zone8.7.22 Oct

Combat, creatures and healing

Combat has had fixes but no redesign yet. The largest shipped changes are the Corruption at launch and creature melee returning in 8.7.0. The rework players keep asking for is announced but has not shipped (see the planned section below).

ChangeVersionDate
The Corruption added: spores, turret tentaclevines, puffball stalks and Motherplants; Haven kill mission replaced by a defence of Haven8.4.018 Aug
Creatures avoid player and NPC structures; creature difficulty capped on Haven8.4.018 Aug
Taming needs the Pets skill; creature food preferences restored; bioscanning gives Xenobiology XP instead of Ranger XP8.4.018 Aug
Healing XP can be earned outside combat, with a bonus when you are on an enemy's threat list8.4.321 Aug
Sprint more often and for longer; Exhausted stamina wounds build up more slowly8.4.526 Aug
Fewer deaths from clipping while climbing, mantling or grappling; creatures check line of sight and circle around walls8.5.03 Sep
Blackhart and King Prowler restored to Public Events; bosses no longer spawn heavily damaged8.5.111 Sep
Basic creature melee attacks back; creatures jump out of holes and fall off cliffs less often8.7.024 Sep
Grav Mesh durability fix: a broken Grav Mesh now stops working, so repair it8.7.024 Sep
Maximum creature spawn size capped to prevent performance problems8.7.22 Oct

Missions, markets and Klaatus

Mission difficulty names were always about distance, which is why 8.4.5 renamed them. 8.7.0 rebuilt the Mission Board. On the market side, the 8.4.5 overhaul and the 8.5.0 listing limits matter most to sellers.

ChangeVersionDate
Loot caches can contain Klaatus; trading Klaatus fixed8.4.018 Aug
Business XP earned from trades with other players; Business skill required to place vendors8.4.018 Aug
Mission labels easy/moderate/challenging renamed near/mid/far, because they measure travel distance8.4.526 Aug
Vendor kiosks craftable with Business; market around 100x faster, with name search, type filter and column sorting, for public markets and player vendors8.4.526 Aug
Market shows your total Klaatus; listing limits 100 on private vendors and 25 on the public market8.5.03 Sep
Haven missions: fewer Mayor Bob pop-ups, progress counter on mining missions, simpler Survey mission8.5.03 Sep
Buying from a Tool Kiosk with no inventory space no longer completes without delivering the item8.5.111 Sep
Multi-step and branching missions; Kill Missions use the new creatures and can require several kills; boards restock randomly8.7.024 Sep
Mission carry limit changed from one of each type to 3 Mission Board missions of any type; bug limiting selection to 4 planets fixed8.7.024 Sep

Travel, maps and the galaxy

ChangeVersionDate
Rescue for players trapped on wild wormhole planetsDay-two patch19 Aug
New Haven map; map shows a facing arrow, waypoint tooltips and Haven tutorial missions8.4.018 Aug
Haven and Crucible instances count as one planet for maps and collections8.4.321 Aug
Grass becomes the baseline speed, around 10% faster than before; mud slower, bare ground slightly faster, roads faster still8.4.526 Aug
Kai-III and Kai-IV wild wormhole planets closed while a removal bug was fixed (known issue)8.4.526 Aug
Space map of current space zones with portal and wormhole destinations; Portal Travel screen redesigned; Skiff departure timer on Haven and Crucible8.5.03 Sep
Wild Wormholes easier to enter, behave correctly, and their missions schedule again8.5.111 Sep
First Galactic Map showing which sectors connect; adventure-world portals no longer spawn somewhere too hot to stand8.6.015 Sep
Portal travel now shows Mayor and Servitor edicts for the destination8.7.024 Sep

Friends, parties and governance

Grouping arrived in steps. Launch added a friends GUI, 8.6.0 added real parties, and 8.7.0 added a roster. Governance changes have so far been permission settings. The election system is still in testing.

ChangeVersionDate
Add friends from the context menu or chat (they must be online to accept); block and ignore list on the Profile tab8.4.018 Aug
Canned emotes go out in a local radius instead of zone-wide8.4.526 Aug
Friends button beside chat opens a direct message; friends' planet and coordinates shown on the Profile screen8.5.03 Sep
Party system: invites, leader, party chat tab, colour-coded nameplates, map waypoints for members in the same zone, ten /party commands8.6.015 Sep
Party roster beside chat showing up to 10 members with health and wounds8.7.024 Sep
GovBot farming and xyloslicing get separate permissions once a GovBot reaches level 10; mayors can license individual citizens8.7.024 Sep

Performance and stability

Most launch-month releases were mainly stability work. Raph Koster wrote on 20 August that the studio was not where it wanted to be on server stability. By 4 September the studio said the game "plays much more smoothly now". To check whether a problem is on your side or theirs, use the 8.7.0 performance monitor (F9).

ChangeVersionDate
Physics library upgrade; client memory leaks fixed; GeForce Now support; framerate-cap option8.4.018 Aug
Server-side memory leak behind rubberbanding fixed as a rolling release; incident page at playableworlds.statuspage.io and Discord #server-status8.4.321 Aug
A major source of server crashes fixed; lag on frozen planets fixed; loading timeout extended8.4.526 Aug
Cold-planet flora optimised; ambient water and lava sound system removed for now as a suspected crash cause8.4.628 Aug
Another server memory leak behind lag over time fixed; character saving made more robust so items vanish less8.5.03 Sep
Drone lights no longer block login or zone changes8.5.111 Sep
F9 performance monitor shows ping, packet loss, server load and memory, with colour-blind-friendly status lights8.7.024 Sep
Server optimisations for bulk crafting, large recipe grants and Harvester/Bioscanner scanning8.7.22 Oct

Alien puzzles and loot caches

The build notes have never published puzzle solutions, and they say the puzzles "intentionally lack instructions". The only later change is to what caches contain and how often they appear. Players' own descriptions of the puzzle types are on our puzzle solver page. Those descriptions are player reports, not official rules.

ChangeVersionDate
Alien puzzles added: some artifacts are hidden behind puzzles that by design have no instructions8.4.018 Aug
Loot caches can include Klaatus8.4.018 Aug
Smarter loot: recipes drop less often, more immediately useful items (food and meds at low tiers, tools and clothing at high tiers), high-end puzzle caches made more worthwhile, fewer caches overall8.5.03 Sep
Skill-granted recipes no longer drop in loot8.5.03 Sep

Announced but not shipped

On 10 October (Pacific time) Raph Koster posted to Steam "some of the stuff that we are working on for the next two updates". It linked cards on the official ProductLift roadmap. No item below has a release date. The studio describes its roadmap as "not a list of promises".

Players ask most often about storage, and Steam threads describe bank item loss and a cramped inventory (player reports). As of 8.7.2 the bank and storage have not been expanded. What has shipped is smaller: crates that hold 10 or 25 (8.4.5); a bank filter and sort, moving items to any empty bank slot without withdrawing them, and a fix for Take All overstuffing your inventory and losing items (8.5.0); and recipes allowed in the bank or storage (8.5.1). Raph Koster's post only says expanded storage is "on the way in the near term".

FeatureWhat the studio saysSourceStatus
Creature tacticsCreatures can Call for Help and summon minions, Brace to cut incoming damage, have a Vulnerable window after big attacks, and Stun Meters on some actionsProductLift; Raph, 10 OctPlanned
Damage-type resistancesResistances and vulnerabilities generated per species and per world, e.g. fire attackers tend to be weak to coldProductLift, 7 OctPlanned
Healix SanctuaryArea heal over time while held; early ranks require standing stillProductLiftPlanned
Damage float textCombat numbers styled by damage typeProductLift, 5 OctPlanned
Ranger upgradesLocal waypoints, Wall of Fire, Ring of Fire, Cold Snap, Frost Grenades, Wall of Ice, Light SticksProductLift; Raph, 10 OctPlanned
Stealth and CartographyMask Scent, Hide, Sneak and ambush attacks (creatures only, not players); persistent waypoints (20, up to 50) and tradable mapsProductLiftPlanned
LeadershipLeadership (banner, Inspiration, Encouragement) and Strategist (called shots); Tactician laterProductLift; Raph, 10 OctPlanned
Building controlsNew scheme: Move, Lift, Spin, Tilt, Roll modes, with shortcut keysProductLift; Raph, 10 OctPlanned
Expanded storage"On the way in the near term"; no detailsRaph, 10 OctPlanned
GovBot electionsEvery 14 days, one vote per account, one-time cleanout of inactive mayorsRaph, 10 OctIn internal testing
Crafting SpecialtiesWill limit which recipes benefit from experimentation8.6.0 notesIn development
Fabrics, wallpapers, craftable paints and dyesListed as not yet rolled out8.7.0 notesPlanned
Status as of 11 October 2026. "Planned" means announced by the studio and not in any build notes yet.

Still undated after 8.7.2

No patch note or developer post gives a date for the progression wipe, for 1.0 or for the free-to-play model. The standing commitments are on the Steam Early Access disclosure: a wipe before 1.0, free to play at 1.0, and Early Access lasting at least six months from 18 August 2026.

Where the notes are published

  • Build notes on starsreach.com (category: build notes). This is the full text, and the source for every row on this page.
  • The Steam news feed for app 1925650. It carries the same notes, plus sale announcements.
  • Starside posts (weekly-ish) summarise each update in a few bullets and confirm when it is live.
  • playableworlds.statuspage.io and the Discord #server-status channel for downtime and incidents (since 8.4.3).
  • The ProductLift roadmap for planned work. Cards change without a post, so check the card's last-modified date.

Sources for this page

Every factual claim above traces to one of these. Where two sources disagreed, the disagreement is stated in the text rather than resolved silently.

  1. 01Playable Worlds — Hotfix News & A Thank You From Raph (20 Aug 2026) — The day-one and day-two patches, the server-stability statement, and the list of fixes then in testing.
  2. 02Playable Worlds — Early Access Update 8.4.0 — Launch-build changes: Corruption, Haven map, alien puzzles, homestead skill gate removed and prices doubled, recipe-book limits, GeForce Now.
  3. 03Playable Worlds — Early Access HotFix 8.4.3 — Rubberbanding memory-leak fix, status page, Healing XP, crafting-progression fixes (21 Aug 2026).
  4. 04Playable Worlds — Early Access HotFix 8.4.5 — Crash fix, movement and stamina, market speed-up, homestead placement confirmation, crate capacities 10/25, near/mid/far missions (26 Aug 2026).
  5. 05Playable Worlds — Early Access HotFix 8.4.6 — Cold-planet performance, market listing fix, lost-homestead safeguards (28 Aug 2026).
  6. 06Playable Worlds — Ground Control Update 8.5.0 — Free Homesteader and Fabricators, recipe redesign, listing limits 100/25, loot-cache changes, space map (notes 2 Sep, live 3 Sep 2026).
  7. 07Playable Worlds — Ground Control Hotfix 8.5.1 — Crafting normalisation, Wood-to-Oil, homestead counts, Public Event bosses, recipes in the bank (11 Sep 2026).
  8. 08Playable Worlds — Better Together Update 8.6.0 — Party system, Recipe Activation removed, Galactic Map, inventory controls (notes 15 Sep 2026).
  9. 09Playable Worlds — Crafted in Color Update 8.7.0 — Finishes, painting, Carpentry, paints and dyes (12 colours, 50 uses, 1,000 klaatu), mission rework, carry limit 3, party roster, terrain shield, F9 monitor (notes 24 Sep 2026).
  10. 10Playable Worlds — Crafted in Color Hotfix 8.7.2 — Bulk-crafting optimisation, finish-recipe costs, terrain shields on by default, creature spawn-size cap (2 Oct 2026).
  11. 11Playable Worlds — Starside, 4 September 2026 — "Nine updates in the last two weeks" and "plays much more smoothly now".
  12. 12Playable Worlds — Starside, 18 September 2026 — Confirms Better Together 8.6.0 is live.
  13. 13Playable Worlds — Starside, 2 October 2026 — Confirms 8.7.0 ran over the weekend and summarises 8.7.2.
  14. 14Playable Worlds — build notes archive — The index of every official update post; checked 11 October 2026 for anything newer than 8.7.2 (none).
  15. 15Raph Koster [developer] — "Some of the upcoming changes", Steam discussions (10 Oct 2026 Pacific) — Work planned for the next two updates, expanded storage "in the near term", GovBot election rules in internal testing.
  16. 16ProductLift roadmap — Combat playability: creature tactics — Call for Help, Brace, Vulnerable and Stun Meter mechanics (card last modified 10 Oct 2026).
  17. 17ProductLift roadmap — Creature damage type resistance/immunity/vulnerability — Per-species, per-world resistances (posted 7 Oct 2026).
  18. 18ProductLift roadmap — New Healix special: Sanctuary — Area heal-over-time special.
  19. 19ProductLift roadmap — Style float text by damage type — Damage-type float text (posted 5 Oct 2026).
  20. 20ProductLift roadmap — Ranger upgrades — Wall of Fire, Ring of Fire, Cold Snap, Frost Grenades, Wall of Ice, Light Sticks, local waypoints.
  21. 21ProductLift roadmap — Stealth specialty under Ranger — Mask Scent, Hide, Sneak; creature detection only.
  22. 22ProductLift roadmap — Cartography and waypoints — Persistent waypoints (20, expandable to 50), craftable maps.
  23. 23ProductLift roadmap — Leadership skills — Leadership, Strategist and later Tactician professions.
  24. 24ProductLift roadmap — Improved building controls — Move, Lift, Spin, Tilt, Roll building modes.
  25. 25Playable Worlds — Development Roadmap — The official roadmap page; the studio calls it "not a list of promises" and attaches no dates.
  26. 26Stars Reach on Steam — Early Access disclosure: wipe before 1.0, free to play at 1.0, at least six months of Early Access.
  27. 27SteamCharts — Stars Reach (app 1925650) — Last-30-day average of 23.12 concurrent players, read 11 October 2026.
  28. 28Massively Overpowered — Stars Reach brushes off sunset fears (3 Sep 2026) — The studio's public rejection of shutdown rumours.
  29. 29Steam discussions — player thread on bank item loss (player report) — Player complaints about bank and storage space, used only to choose the FAQ question.
Sukie, editor of Stars Reach Hub

Sukie

Editor, Stars Reach Hub

Sukie is the editor of Stars Reach Hub. She has followed sandbox MMOs since the Star Wars Galaxies era and covers Stars Reach through its Early Access period.

Last reviewed October 11, 2026 · How we fact-check

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