- V0.2.001 Patch Released - 14 August 2026
- Optimized bullets with a complete system overhaul, after some performance profiling I learned that bullets were causing a huge performance problem which is now fixed. - Fixed achievements not displaying till end of game, they now display as soon as you complete an achievement. - Fixed Twin Shot Tonic perk. - Fixed Akimbo weapon upgrading, no longer shows one of the weapons stuck in your hand when upgrading Akimbo weapons at the Teslectrifier. - Fixed weapon audio sometimes not playing a fire sound when moving between indoor/outdoor environments. - Fixed Zombie sounds, zombies now play audio properly. - Fixed Highest Combo stat not updating.
- Unreal Engine 5.8 Update - 11 August 2026
All of the past builds of Code-Black have been using Unreal Engine 5.7Over the past couple weeks I have pushed the project to the newer Unreal Engine 5.8 which includes many critical performance improvements for Nanite, Lumen, Mega Lights, and more.I hope this improves the performance for many players who may have experienced any lag, fps issues, or rendering constraints, which typically comes from some of these newer Unreal Engine features.I am trying my best to continue optimizing everything where I can, and over time all of that will improve.Ground ZeroGround Zero is the first level I introduced, and it is the main level for the game, containing a large open world which is not fully complete yet. It can also be unstable in some cases depending on your hardware.Due to this, I have decided to create a couple smaller levels which are currently in development, and are planned to be relea…
- Early Access is here! - 25 July 2026
Important Notes from the Developer ːsteamhappyːFor those of you who may have been part of any pre-release playtests, or even played the demo, this is whats new, and some important notes about the current state of early access.As some of you know, Code-Black is a solo-developed game. About a month ago, I ran into a tough position where I was tackling some performance issues with the AI in the game, mainly the Zombie Dismemberment and Gore systems, and the Flying AI.Due to this, I have temporarily disabled these two systems. This allowed me to increase the overall horde size, more zombies now spawn, but you can't chop off their limbs right now. Overall this makes no change to the gameplay experience, its just as enjoyable, if not more enjoyable, as I believe more enemies and better performance is a completely acceptable hand-off in return for not having body parts you can chop off. This i…
- V0.1.303 Fixes and Updates - 22 June 2026
After the success of the Steam Next Fest and recieving some feedback from the community, along with testing as much as I possibly could on my own, I have made some great improvements over the past few days. If you recently played the game early last week, I highly recommend you try the demo again with these new updates!I have decided to extend the release of Early Access, and hope to release the full game near the end of June or early July due to many of these changes and fixes I think it's necessary as a solo developer to polish these things as much as I can. Thank you for your understanding!FixesImproved Zombie Navigation and Performance overall, they rarely get stuck now, and do not try and attack you while turned away from you.Zombies can now get on most locations you can, so jumping to a higher area will not save you and they can most likely follow you into higher ground, eliminati…
- Day One Patch - 16 June 2026
Bug Fixes & ImprovementsFixed an issue with Akimbo weapon upgrades that would cause some other weapons to stop workingFixed an issue with the Radial Menu Selector not selecting the correct weapon slotBalanced the Flying Gremlins, instead of starting on round 2 they now start spawning on round 3Fixed issue with music stopping after opening the third door to the tombOther ChangesAdded completely new gameplay music, more music tracks, and a bit more of a themed vibe to the atmospheric mood, removed any placeholder tracksI added a hidden radio somewhere on the map that plays a custom album of tracks completely separate to any gameplay music, a little treat to jam to
- Steam Next Fest Release - 15 June 2026
Day OneYes, I am going to be releasing a Day One Patch as there are a few things I noticed late last night and today, that I want to make sure I fix right away!Controls menu does not show all the correct inputs and will be fixed immediatelyLethal Pickups have a bug where your weapons are invisible after picking up more lethals, for now lethal pickups are disabled, and this will be fixed right away so you can blow things up as soon as possible ( you have a few lethals available on spawn that you can use until this is fixed )Leaderboard menu has an issue where it is not showing all the leaderboards (currently investigating this)The initial Tutorial has been updated to include a bit more information for the beginning of your journeyNew gameplay screenshots with updated weapon, customization, enemies, environments and level art, and update descriptions for each of these new imagesNew in gam…
- Early Access Launch Update - 24 April 2026
Main AnnouncementI am aware the Steam Page has never had a listed launch date and has always said "Coming Soon" but on social media and internally, my plan was to launch today, April 24th, 2026The Early Access build is under review by Steam and the initially planned date for Early Access Launch is being delayed for a few main reasons:As a solo dev, some things can be unpredictable, I have had recent nights where I have been up late to fix bugs, So I want everyone to know my main goal is to release the game with a great first impression. Making sure the game has minimal bugs and includes all the core features I promised to launch with Early Access such as:Controller Support (works but currently not fully functional in all menus and UI)Achievements & Leaderboards are mainly all in place but have not been fully tested internally and because of that some achievements cannot be achieved righ…
- Pre-Release Patch 1.1 - 7 April 2026
Various Zombie improvements:added additional methods for re-spawning to prevent the round from not ending or not being able to locate final zombie(s)increased zombie damage, and speedsadded more wall weapons, upgrade machines, explosives, and weapon pickups to the level
- Pre-Release Patch 1.0 - 5 April 2026
Various Zombie and Weapon improvements including:fix with zombies not re-spawning when too far or stuckincreased zombie difficultyfix for melee weapon disappearingfix for missing wall weapons
- Code-Black Pre-Release Closed Playtest - 17 March 2026
The Pre-Release Closed Playtest for Code-Black will be happening the whole weekend of April 3-5 Join the Discord in order to gain access ːsteamthisːWhats this all About?This closed playtest will be for testing the core-loop and mechanics, evaluating performance on different machines, and balancing gameplayːsteamthumbsupː Please keep in mind Code-Black is a solo-developed game, and certain features, enemies, weapons, animations, artwork, audio, and UI are all still a work in progress, and will remain in development until the community and I are satisfied with the quality.Some Features are still experimental, being improved or iterated on, and or may be removed/changed before releaseArtwork and set-dressing of the level is not completed, and the level will continue to change often even after releaseUI is still a work in progress, and not all information is being displayed yet (or working…
- Code-Black Announcement Trailer - 16 February 2026
Now Available to WishlistThe Code-Black Announcement Trailer is out, watch it now on Youtube and get a glimpse at what Plague Doctor Studios has been creating.Code-Black is a Zombie Survival FPS game set in a sci-fi post apocalyptic world.You are Rugir J.z, a treasure hunter captured by mercenaries in the Great Tombs when the dead start to rise, the one time imprisonment actually saved you. As an explorer and survivor, with master skills in combat and firearms, you fight till your very last breath.How long can you survive, or escape...?Code-Black was created for the FANS, for all the zombie overloads we have had flush the market; the goal of me making this game was to create something simple, bring us back to the golden ages of zombie games with some tweaks to make it unique and my own of course.I grew up loving Call of Duty Zombies, Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising, and many other great zombie…
- Gameplay Trailer V1 - 10 February 2026
Friday, February 13th, 2026 the Official Gameplay Trailer V1 will be posted on Youtube, and here on Steam as a replacement for the current "Teaser Trailer" so keep your eyes open.As a solo developer creating cinematics and trailer videos can be time consuming, and takes me away from actually making the game. So this will be the final and only Gameplay Trailer I release until the Early Access release.
