Something is amiss in the underground laboratory, and it doesn’t seem to be as scary as aliens raiding your base. This time, holiday cheer can be seen, heard, and felt in the confines of this troubled research facility with the Abiotic Factor XMAS Update, which is also called Update 1.2: Holiday Cryosphere. So, keep reading to learn what this patch has in store for you and your colleagues.

What’s in the Abiotic Factor XMAS Update?

Deck the laboratory’s halls with boughs of holly in the Abiotic Factor XMAS Update. However, despite this apparent festive cheer, something stranger than the usual is brewing in the facility. For starters, travel to the Dirac Containment Wing to find holiday-themed décor that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. With the release of Update 1.2, a new world is waiting beyond one of the doors of this wing: the Holiday Cryosphere. Enter, and experience a silent and snowy expanse. Explore this region and uncover the secrets behind the new Immurement Subjects. Unlock the narrative told in frost and footprints. Nonetheless, don’t forget to take part in snowy festivities. For instance, let off some steam by playing a round (or two) of snowball fights with your teammates within the same Abiotic Factor server. Press forward and complete the journey in this snowy land to unlock a new and cozy home world. Inside, you’ll find a secluded Winter Cabin and a roaring hearth surrounded by rustic furniture. Additionally, you can use the nearby soil to plant crops, especially the new plantable Carrot. Harvest your fully-matured Carrots, and use them with other ingredients with the reworked food buffs from many baked goods. So, it’s time to prepare those Cooked Pestatoes and Cooked Stuffed Roast Peccaries to tickle your digital taste buds and the extra effects. Also, don’t forget to check out the trailer for the Abiotic Factor XMAS Update: Holiday Cryosphere below to glimpse at its new content and features:

Abiotic Factor XMAS Update Full Patch Notes – December 15, 2025

Below are the full patch notes for the Abiotic Factor XMAS Update:

Facility & Portal World Changes:

• New Location: IS-0188, accessed by [REDACTED] in [REDACTED] Containment Block. Access requires the Scientist to have progressed past Helmholtz and reached the Cascade Labs Control Center.
• New (FREE) Home World: Winter Cabin, unlocked by completing IS-0188.
• Drastically optimized certain types of sunlight/moonlight shadow casting, which should help performance at sunrise/sunset in Home Worlds and some other portal worlds.
• [STEAM ONLY] There is a new Weather setting in Graphics Settings. Low will be the original appearance/distance you’re used to, the new High setting will allow you to see weather a bit further away but could cause performance issues.
• Minor visual updates to Anteverse 23
• There is now a findable Soil Bag on the Train.
• Fixed some texture issues in Shadowgate.
• Fixed some water zones in the Garden Home World not being interactable and not having proper water physics.

General Gameplay Changes:

• Bench Press XP has been rebalanced for more consistent and less ridiculous values.
• Exercise Bike XP has been rebalanced as well.
• Other scientists can now see you cranking the Energy Pistol.
• Changed the way vehicles behave when flipped, relying more on actual physics than teleportation.
• Added an error message when a vehicle fails to flip upright due to some insurmountable obstacle.
• Fixed various cases where SUVs and other vehicles were not properly flipping upright when asked politely to do so.
• Fixed an issue where vehicles that were recalled would maintain their momentum, causing them to disappearing again if moving at too high of speed.
• Vehicles no longer suggest they can be flipped if they have a driver. (It wouldn’t work previously anyway, now the interaction is hidden.)
• Client scientists now unload levels slightly faster.
• Shields now auto unholster after existing exercise equipment.

Sandbox and Difficulty Changes:

• Sandbox Setting: Enemy Damage to Deployables can now be set to 0.
• Fixed setting Hardcore Mode from the Sandbox Options menu still allowing Scientists to change difficulty mode. The bug was cosmetic only, so Scientist couldn't actually play Hardcore Mode on Normal.
• Invisible Radiation is now properly categorized on the Sandbox Settings menu

Entity Changes:

• Please remember to keep IS-0127 contained and away from IS-0188.
• Traveling Traders are no longer immune to IS-0018.

HUD, Journal & Wristwatch Changes:

• Fixed Mil-Spec warning stating the incorrect Accuracy level
• Fixed a Scientist’s DBNO icon persisting until another Scientist goes into DBNO when playing on Hardcore mode.
• Fixed POCKETS text in inventory not localizing properly.
• Fixed chat text message stating incorrect information with Trypanophobia mode enabled.

Audio & Effects Changes:

• Added a sound when deploying the Healing Briefcase.

Item & Deployable Changes:

• We’ve observed that ammo bench recipes were a little more punishing than initially intended, so we’ve done a pass on the gunpowder recipe as a means to alleviate that a bit. The basic idea is you’re gaining more gunpowder in general, and spending way less soil for your bullets. Instead, you’ll need a little more antegel to keep your bullet economy going, since it’s plentifully available in Mycofields and there aren’t currently a whole lot of recipes that use it. - TV
• Gunpowder Recipe updated.
• Antegel: 1 -> 5
• Carbon: 1 -> 3
• Soil: 1 (unchanged)
• Produced Items: 3 -> 10
• New Furniture: Rustic Rocking Chair
• New Furniture: Rustic Dining Chair
• New Furniture: Rustic Dining Table
• New Furniture: Creature Rug
• New Furniture: Mounted Alien(?) Head
• Rocking Chairs now animate, including sound.
• New Recipe: Snowman
• New Deployable: Arrival Bell. Rings whenever a Traveling Trader appears nearby.
• New Plantable Food: “Carrot” along with some new recipes related to it
• The Wishing Shelf. … A what? Wishing Shelf. Abe. It’s a Wishing Shelf.
• New Recipe: Wall-Mounted Item Stand
• New Wall-Mounted Deployable: Holiday Sconce
• Hangable Christmas Stockings added
• Our new designer Tom (TV) has just joined the Abiotic Factor team and his first major task was rebalancing Zag’s terrible Bench Press XP gain rates working with Kate to add lots of great buffs for our many baked foods. Most complex baked foods now apply new buffs when eaten to make them more worthwhile.
• Pest Pot Pie now has Hearty Bite buff.
• Pekkie Brekke Hash now has Very Hearty Bite buff.
• Carbuncle Casserole now has Carbun Copy buff.
• Creepy Meat Pie now gives Flesh Ritual buff.
• Carbuncle Pizza now gives Wahoo! buff.
• Pumpkin Cookie now gives Gourd Skin buff.
• Salted Honey Pie now gives Honey Sealed buff.
• Fries, Carrot Fires, and Pumpkin Bread now give Sedentary Lifestyle buff.
• Pestato now gives Don’t Pester Me buff.
• Glowing Gateau Slice now gives Restoring Bite buff.
• Gumdrop Cookie now gives Energy Boost buff.
• Shadowberry Pie Slice now gives Shady Business buff.
• Stuffed Roast Peccary now gives Primal Power buff.
• Removed Souper Satisfied from Hearty Stew because it already has a buff.
• Many food buffs longer than a minute (or so) are now saved and will resume when reloading the world save.
• Various buffs that previously would have no effect when re-applied will now reset their buff duration at that time. (Caffeinated, Toasty Tummy, Brain Freeze, Fish out of Water, Fisherman
• Snack, Scintillating Skin, Glowing Gleaner)
• Weapon muzzle flash particle effects should no longer show when scoped in.
• Updated Phone Booth and Magazine Stand glass texture
• Fixed ammo station being unable to access nearby chests.
• Various new hidden collectibles. (No peeking at your presents!)
• Items dropped in snow will now pop up to the surface after coming to a rest.
• Updated appearance of Glowing Gateau Cake

Customization Changes:

• A new character face customization is available after completing IS-0188.
• Several new holiday-themed clothing is now obtainable in IS-188.

Other Fixes:

• Fixed Jackson’s TV in introduction having some geo clipping into the screen (thanks Nervly!)
• Updated fire effects by the Behemoth found in Anning Containment Block. The fire should now be visible from the window (thanks Nervly!)
• The shovel held by Dr. Hammond should no longer have strange floating collision.
• Fixed Dr. Thule's animation when using the Bench Press.
• Various localization fixes.
• Fixed Traveling Traders being able to sit on unconstructed furniture.
• Fixed a bug where client Scientists could talk to Traveling Traders who were in their fear state or otherwise fleeing combat.
• Fixed a bug where stationary Traders would not be able to talk or trade if enemies were nearby.
• Fixed Favorited and Pinned Recipes not correctly loading from save.
• Fixed user settings not saving after entering the tutorial.
• Reduced likelihood of seeing floating furniture when in Home Worlds or other portal worlds. Not all cases have been resolved at this time.
• Scientist-placed furniture now has a max render distance and may not appear from infinite distances away.
• Fixed certain traits not properly granting items at the start of the game.
• Fixed a bug where stationary traders would not be interactable or fail to save their state properly under certain conditions.
• Fixed visual stretching or tearing bugs on GATE Security Chest when in certain more extreme poses.
• Fixed a major hitch when switching to certain journal tabs.
• Fixed “Delete Items” button sometimes showing on non-trash can containers.
• Fixed Platform Cart storage space being reduced erroneously in a previous update.
• Citizens of Anteverse 23 should no longer turn invisible when killed by an Electrothrower.
• Fixed Peccary turning while frozen and charging, when in Apocalyptic difficulty mode.
• Fixed Citizens of Anteverse 23 T-posing when they ragdoll.
• Set the correct durability material for Transformers found in Hydroplant.
• Re-added ID Cards to Holiday tops. (Sweater received for beating the game)