Abiotic Factor Just Got a Big New Update

Abiotic Factor has released its new Cosmic Companions major update, adding a wealth of content, systems items, and a crossover adventure that are live now. The scientific survival crafting game’s newest update brought a surge of players returning to the game, causing its player count to spike since the update dropped. This is the first significant post-launch content drop for Abiotic Factor ever since its full 1.0 release in July 2025.

Developed by Deep Field Games and published by Playstack, Abiotic Factor is a complex survival game for 1–6 players, set in an underground research facility in Australia. Players will take on the role of scientists, researchers, and employees of the facility that aliens and anomalies have overrun. Leaning into its science elements, Abiotic Factor lets players build bases and experiment with resources in their surroundings to create makeshift weapons and tools, all while surviving and trying to find the next working toilet.

Abiotic Factor: Best Jobs, Ranked

Some of the Jobs in Abiotic Factor will perform a lot better than others.

Abiotic Factor’s First Major Content Update Is Now Live

Cosmic Companions gives Abiotic Factor players more ways to push the limit of science and survival. The capstone of the update is its new Chemistry system, adding a Distillation and Chemistry Bench for players to tinker with. These aren’t the usual crafting benches with preset blueprints. The system encourages experimenting, as players have to first distill items from resources or Abiotic Factor’s alien enemies, then mix them to create concoctions. The end result will either be a tincture that can buff or alter the player, coatings for weapons, throwable flasks, or failed trials that will immediately explode.

The second pillar is about its enhanced Pets 2.0 overhaul. Players will now see a huge boost to potential companions, which they can feed, farm, tame, mutate, and recruit into battle, useful for adding even more friends when playing co-op in Abiotic Factor. This comes with a Companion Pet Slot with a functional companion collar, acting as its dedicated inventory and a way to keep it stable when in a “downed” state. Pets 2.0 will also allow players to tame Peccary, the alien dog-like creature seen early in the game, to fight.

Aside from those systems, Cosmic Companions has added over 100 new items to the game, including new recipes, furniture, inventions, cosmetics, QOL, and bug fixes. In the update post, Deep Field Games has highlighted a few new Blunt melee weapons, a mop used to clean up mess, and a new invention that lets players rig chairs with high-powered fans to traverse Cascade faster. Most of these updates are locked behind progression and require players to work on their skills in Abiotic Factor to access them.

The most mysterious part of the Cosmic Companions update is its collaboration with the indie horror game, Voices of the Void. The teaser points to a location called Dunkeltaler Forest, home of the Alpen Signal Observatorium. Players can access this new portal world in the western waterways of the Hydroplant. This adventure will task players with investigating the source of the signal, which is giving off unusual readings. Like scientists and researchers, players are encouraged to explore and experiment with Abiotic Factor‘s latest update.

Abiotic Factor v1.3.0 Cosmic Companions Update Patch Notes

The following changelog contains spoilers for the Cosmic Companions update.

NEW PORTAL WORLD (Voices of the Void Crossover)

New Location: Dunkeltaler Forest, accessed by [DATA REDACTED] in [DATA REDACTED] Hydroplant. Access will require a Neutrino Mapper obtained in Voussoir.

Pets 2.0

The pets system has been overhauled! You can now tame a wider variety of pets, raise them to get stronger, and bring them out into the field to support your expeditions as powerful Companions! There’s a lot to go over here, so we’ll break the feature down a bit:
A new equipment slot has been added: The Companion Pet Slot! Pets placed in this slot will be equipped with a stylish and functional companion collar that will keep them stable in a “downed” state if they take what would otherwise be lethal damage. This way your companion can aid you out in the field while you face down the myriad dangers of Cascade, and you don’t have to fret about it being in mortal danger!
New advances in chemistry have enabled Peccary Taming! Once tamed, these loyal beasts will fight by your side, and certain variants will even produce harvestable resources on a semi-regular basis.
All pets can now be picked up so long as you have a free hotbar slot, not just IS-0128-A. You can pet them while holding them, and this means that anywhere a scientist can go a pet can go too. That includes those hefty Peccaries! Lift with your knees!
Pests can now be thrown directly into battle from your hotbar, and if your companion slot is empty they’ll conveniently be equipped as a companion as they spin violently towards your foes. I choose you, Ela!
All tamed pets will now eat any food a scientist can when they’re hungry, and in some rare cases they’ll eat stuff scientists normally can’t. To feed your pets, simply offer them the item the same way you would a fellow scientist. If the item can’t be offered, it can’t be eaten by pets.
Every time you feed a pet they’ll gain EXP towards a level, much like your scientific skills. Every level a pet gains increases its health, damage, and even size. The more nutritious the meal, the more EXP your pet will gain from it.
In addition to making your pets stronger, some anomalous foods will have a profound effect on pets that are the base “variant” of a creature. When fed these foods consistently, the pet will rapidly Mutate into a new variant, including some new ones never before seen by GATE xenobiologists. Experiment with pet diets and see which ones make them really shine.
Pets will now have an easier time following scientists around the Facility.
New regulations put in place by the xenobiology research team forbid the placement of any pets in backpacks or storage containers, citing “ethics concerns.” Scientists keeping fauna samples outside of designated habitats are advised to corral test subjects using pet beds and Cubicle walls.
The process for renaming a pet has been changed: You now rename them through a right-click context menu while carrying the pet in your inventory.
Advances in chemistry have allowed scientists to tame Peccaries at long last for combat and companionship purposes.
Tamed pets now produce a variety of cute new noises when pet, picked up, snoozing, eating, etc.
Peccary Sows can now be tamed (and milked!) Peccaries can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
Peccary Sows have undergone a dramatic transformation in appearance
Mushroom Peccaries can now be tamed. Peccaries can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
Snow Peccaries can now be tamed. Peccaries can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
Alpha Peccaries can now be tamed. Peccaries can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
IS-0178-C has been added. Peccaries can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
A crafting recipe to create IS-0178-D has been added, going even further beyond Dr. Stern’s experimental subject augmentation research.
IS-0178-G has been added. Peccaries can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
Electro-Pest behavior while tamed has been adjusted.
A crafting recipe has been added so you can build your own Electro-Pest, expanding upon Dr. Stern’s experimental research.
Tamed Volatile Pests have been trained to curb their explosive tendencies.
Tamed Snows Pests Now have a chance to freeze targets that they’re attacking on hit.
IS-0173-D has been added. Pests can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
A crafting recipe to create IS-0173-E has been added.
IS-0173-F has been added. Pests can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
IS-0173-H has been added. Pests can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
IS-0173-L has been added. Pests can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
IS-0128-B has been added. IS-0128-A can mutate into them when fed certain substances.
IS-0128-A is no longer interested in Pest Wheels. It won’t fret when placed in one, it just won’t actively seek them out for enrichment.

Introducing Chemistry

Scientists who reach Cascade Labs will now be able to build two new crafting benches and use them to engage in Chemistry!
Scientists can now build and utilize the Distillation Bench to process a wide range of the anomalous materials acquired during their various expeditions into one of 15 new intriguing Distillations, or in some cases a vial of useless slop.
With some Distillations in tow, scientists can now build the Chemistry Bench and use it to combine those Distillations into potent new concoctions!
12 new Throwable Flasks can now be concocted at the Chemistry Bench and promptly flung at friends and/or foes, depending on what you made and how much of a team player you feel like being that day.
10 new Tinctures can now be concocted at the Chemistry Bench. These items produce potent (if very temporary) effects when a scientist drinks them.
10 new Weapon Coatings can be concocted at the Chemistry Bench. Scientists can apply these Coatings to most melee and ranged weapons to give them powerful new abilities for a little while, from dealing additional damage to handy utility effects.

New Craftable Wristwatches

Dress code restrictions on GATE-issued digital Wristwatches have been lifted as part of a new employee morale initiative. What does this mean for the enterprising scientist? It means they can now craft and equip Upgraded Wristwatches with handy new effects!
The Stealth Watch can now be crafted. While checking it, it will render the scientist invisible so long as its primary battery holds out. The more the scientist moves, the faster the battery will drain. It will unfortunately not assist with your understanding of the French language.
The Decoy Watch can now be crafted. While checking it, the watch will project a jaunty hologram of the scientist that will attract the attention of nearby hostiles and entertain colleagues.
The Hauling Watch can now be crafted. While checking it, the scientist’s maximum carrying weight will be significantly increased, perfect for dragging a new base setup to those hard-to-reach remote locations.
A certain anomalous Pocket Watch can now be equipped in place of a Wristwatch. Its new refined appearance offers no scientific advantage whatsoever, but it sure does have an air of elegance to it.

Item Changes

Quite frankly, we got a little carried away with this update and before we knew it we’d added over 100 new items to the game including weapons, furniture, resources, and of course all those new chemistry concoctions!
A variety of new collectibles, foods, resources, and one fish are all available to find in the new location described earlier in this report.
The newly-invented Mess Obliterating Paraphernalia (M.O.P.) 9000 can now be crafted. Scientists can fill it with water and use it to clean up messes throughout the Facility. Make your base look like that Containment Failure never happened!
The newly-invented Power Chair will allow scientists to sate their need for speed like never before. With its agile frame and compact package, this innovative one-seater can go places other vehicles simply cannot, and better yet: It’ll never tip over!
The appearance of the Peccary Sow Skull and its corresponding helmet has been adjusted to reflect the peculiar transformation that Peccary Sows have undergone.
A new Peccary Skull and corresponding helmet is now available to industrious xenobiologists with questionable ethics that can raise their own IS-0178-G specimen.
Reduced the cost of the Explosive Cartridge.
The amount of Motion Modules required to build a certain advanced suit have been reduced from 4 to 3.

Weapons & Gear Changes

NEW CRAFTED WEAPON: Endothermic Hammer
NEW CRAFTED WEAPON: Plasma Flail
NEW CRAFTED WEAPON: Acid Mace
NEW CRAFTED WEAPON: Hardlight Sledge
IS-128-B can be used to craft a fiery new weapon, much like its base form can.
NEW CRAFTED HELMET: Volatile Helmet
The Mystagogue Wraps now grant the ability to use artifact weaponry.
Fixed a weighting issue that caused the Anteplate Gauntlets to have floating pieces.
Fixed the Sword hilt being reflective.
Adjustments have been made to the Healing Briefcase to improve its reliability in some cases.
The super blast from the Polished Antique Shotgun no longer deals friendly fire damage.
The increased presence of pets and companions throughout the Facility has spread the power of the Core Companion Trinket and reduced its efficacy. The xenobiology research team is monitoring the situation closely, and its power may weaken further in the coming days.

General Gameplay Changes

Certain foods and other illnesses can color a scientist’s face while active.
NEW BLUNT MELEE PERK: Stunning Slam
An error message now displays on screen whenever an item cannot be manually moved into a container.
The Wristwatch and Pager slots in the inventory screen have swapped positions to keep all item-equippable slots together on the left-hand side.
Terminals now open to Desktop now instead of the Email application by default.

Performance / Optimizations

Loading screen code has been tweaked to allow precompiled shaders to build faster on startup.
Intrados: Trees in the area received some optimization work.
Praetorium: Optimized some books.

Facility & Portal World Changes

The Botanical Temporal Rift has grown more unstable, causing a broad range of new hostile entities to emerge. In addition there is now more loot laying around nooks and crannies and an increased Gatekeeper patrol presence.
The Sister of the Unlost has brought some ammunition and medical supplies to the [DATA REDACTED], just in case you need them for the trials ahead.
Fixed a temporal issue causing the date to show incorrectly on the Wristwatch at the beginning of the game, after the intro.
Many bodies around the Facility that could previously not be removed can now be removed. Tidy up those bases!
Fragments: Jump orbs have been made more consistent and reliable to cut down on tragic trips into the void.
Intrados: Fixed the internal garage door shortcut locking after portal resets.
The Train: Fixed the two lab carriage doors re-locking after portal resets.
Rise Bio-Laboratory: Fixed the rooftop shortcut, lab door shortcut, double lab door shortcut, and server room door shortcut locking after portal resets.
Residence Sector: Wakeman rewired his power socket when no one was looking.
Most bloodstains and similar messes throughout the Facility (such as scattered papers) have been updated so that the MOP 9000 can clean them up.

Entity Changes

The Defense Robot now turns to face its intended target before firing Mortars instead of inexplicably firing them backwards.
Fixed the infinite Thorns loop issue causing scientists to be insta-killed when attacked by IS-0173-B.
Military enemies exercise a bit more caution when it comes to avoiding friendly fire incidents.
Military enemies will exhibit more spatial awareness and avoid taking cover in locations where there isn’t enough space for them. This should help prevent them from getting stuck on compatriots taking cover in the same area.
Fixed a visual issue with tracers sometimes not appearing when firing at other NPCs.
Certain stronger [REDACTED] enemies have a chance to drop additional Arcane Scrap.
Volatile Exor have a chance to drop one additional Plutonic Blood and Plutonic Caracpace.
Increased drop rates on Essence dropped from IS-0091 and similar creatures when found in the wild.

HUD & Journal Changes

The Distillation submenu has been added to the GATEPal to track which Distillations you have discovered.
The Chemistry submenu has been added to the GATEPal to track which concoctions you have successfully created.
New Theory Compendium entries have been added to explain the pet and chemistry system.
New Compendium entries have been added for all newly-discovered pet mutation variants. If you don’t have their entry, give ‘em a pet!
Fixed a bug where players could not access the first Praetorium Compendium entry. It may need to be re-acquired by visiting the location.
Various fixes to Compendium entries that were not unlocking properly or unlocking in the incorrect location.

Narrative NPC & Progression Changes

Dr. Riggs has received very minor changes to her very late-game dialogue. The Discord #abf-lore channel will be stewing about it for weeks.
Two dueling doctors now have slightly altered dialogue from their original encounter, but nothing #abf-lore needs to worry about.
Potential fix for softlock in Gale Reactor if game start world flag is somehow lost.
There are reports of a new perforation (a shortcut?) in the Security Sector. Ask any friend of Sydyk. Perhaps they will know.

Customization Changes

NEW HEAD: Hudson, unlocked by default.
NEW HAIR STYLE: Patchy, unlocked by default.
NEW FACIAL HAIR: Mad Scientist, unlocked by [DATA REDACTED]
NEW FACIAL HAIR: Spiked Goatee, unlocked by default.
NEW FACIAL HAIR: Curled Mustache, unlocked by default.
NEW FACIAL HAIR: Astronomer’s Beard, unlocked by [DATA REDACTED]
NEW HEAD ACCESSORY: Oval Glasses, unlocked by default.
NEW HEAD ACCESSORY: Tortoiseshell Glasses, unlocked by default.
NEW UNLOCKABLE HEAD: Chemist Leigh, unlocked by [DATA REDACTED]
NEW UNLOCKABLE HEAD: Chemist Hubert, unlocked by [DATA REDACTED]
NEW UNLOCKABLE HAIR STYLE: Singed, unlocked by [DATA REDACTED]
NEW UNLOCKABLE HEAD ACCESSORY: Broken Goggles, unlocked by [DATA REDACTED]
NEW UNLOCKABLE HEAD ACCESSORY: Fancy Monocle, unlocked by completing The Train.
NEW UNLOCKABLE TIE FABRIC: [DATA REDACTED]
NEW UNLOCKABLE TOP: ASO Labcoat, unlocked by [DATA REDACTED]
NEW UNLOCKABLE BOTTOMS: ASO Pants, unlocked by [DATA REDACTED]
NEW UNLOCKABLE ID CARD: ASO ID Card, unlocked by [DATA REDACTED]
NEW UNLOCKABLE ID CARD: Test Tubes, unlocked by [DATA REDACTED]

Food Changes

Various new foods can be discovered in Dunkeltaler Forest.
Tame Peccary Sows can be milked to produce Vials of Milk.
Milk Sacs must now be distilled into a Vial of Milk to be used in recipes in place of Milk Sacs. This will also break a small number of deployed soups that have been created prior to this update – sorry about that!
Fixed the issue of the baked Pumpkin Cookies having a weird-looking texture. They should now appear as intended – ~~perfectly delicious~~ like Pumpkin Cookies.
Scientists will finally be able to see when another scientist takes a drink from a Water Bottle.

Deployable Changes

NEW CRAFTED DEPLOYABLE: Small Pet Bed. Suitable for pests and similar-sized pets.
NEW CRAFTED DEPLOYABLE: Pet Bed. Suitable for Peccaries and just about anything else.
NEW CRAFTED DEPLOYABLE: Luxury Pet Bed. Suitable for any pets that deserve to be spoiled.
NEW CRAFTED DEPLOYABLES: Full & Half-Height Cubicle Gates that can open and close.
NEW CRAFTED DEPLOYABLE: Taxidermized Snow Pest
NEW CRAFTED DEPLOYABLE: Wall-Mounted Snow Peccary
Fixed an issue with some items sitting incorrectly on the Item Stand (Wall) in certain cases.
The Containment Unit: 91 now requires Vials of Milk in order to keep IS-0091-B safely contained, leaving more Ice Cream for you, sweet scientist.
The Charging Crate has been upgraded, it now recharges battery items significantly faster.
The recipe to craft a Pest Dummy is now correctly set to only unlock upon examining the crushed version located in Staff Processing.
Fixed an issue that caused Office Chairs to disappear if occupied by a scientist when the host quits the game.
Fixed an issue causing the Transmogrifier to stay highlighted while a scientist was actively customizing their appearance.
Fixed an issue with Mushroom Farms and Beehives not working with larger bodies of water and Antejuice due to how the distance between them and the liquid was detected. These deployables now check the distance to the edge of the liquid instead of the center.
Fixed a bug where Office Chair rotation would change when exiting the chair.
Weights for Cubicles have been tweaked to be a bit lighter.
Cubicle recipes now only require 1 Box of Screws and use Wood Planks instead of Metal Scrap.

Accessibility & Localization Changes

While the audio will still play during the event, Facility quakes no longer shake the screen for scientists who are actively viewing a Terminal.
The whiteboard in the Introduction (tutorial) and the sign on the broken computer in the Office Cafeteria starting area are both now localized.
Fixed some Simplified Chinese localization errors (with more fixes on the way). 感谢大家的反馈!
Various localization strings have been updated.

Audio & Effects Changes

Added looping waterfall sounds to various places throughout the Facility.
Updated the sound of the Labs Vacuum Chamber door.
The ambient sounds and general soundscape have been updated for Far Garden and The Mycofields. We like some good ambience around here.
Lots of server beeps and boops have been added to the environment throughout the Facility.
Facility quakes now have sound effect variations to help… shake things up a bit.
Different types of doors have more sound variations for locked, unlocked, and kicked depending on the material.
Updated Facility Trams sound effects.
Updated GATE Security Door sound effects.
New sound effects have been added for zipline traversal.
The Synchotron event now has an updated soundscape. Scientists who have already done this event will not hear this, but it’s a great reason to do another playthrough, right? … Right!?
Added more variations to the sound effects for entering and exiting water.
The Ammo Station has received more satisfying Crafting Start and End sound effects.
Fridges and Freezers now have open and close sound effects.
The X-Ray Lamp and OX Lamp now have beefy wind-up and wind-down sound effects.
Improved audibility of keypad interactions.
Sound effects for a couple actions have been updated for IS-0247.
The footsteps of IS-0059 now have a bit more variation to them.
Eating and drinking sound effects have been updated on many foods and drinks, making it so the sound effects match the type and timing of food or drink being consumed.

Other Fixes & Changes

Updated game credits to include some new team members and others who assisted in the creation of this beautiful game.
Fixed an issue with Dedicated Servers where the use of the MultiHome launch parameter would not be applied correctly.
Dedicated Servers can now have more than 16 players and will properly respect the max player count.
Fixed an issue that prevented newly added recipes from unlocking if they were set up to only unlock when an older recipe unlocks.
Fixed an issue on PC that made it difficult to understand fellow scientists when communicating over Walkie-Talkies.
Tooltips should no longer show orphaned “Adds” or “Removes” text when there aren’t any added or removed effects.
Fixed a bug causing scientists to get stuck in the rummaging through their inventory animation.
Fixed a bug causing vending machines to not show most of its available snacks. The snacks still move around, however. Quite anomalous, indeed.
Many other small fixes, possibly not listed here or in the categories above.

Released: July 22, 2025
ESRB: Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Violence
Developer(s): Deep Field Games
Publisher(s): Playstack