- Scanner Sombre is now Steam Deck Verified! - 1 August 2026
We are delighted to announce that Scanner Sombre has now been approved as Steam Deck Verified. Scanner runs like a dream and looks absolutely gorgeous on this amazing handheld gaming device, especially on the OLED model. We have loved the Steam Deck ever since we first got our hands on one, and Scanner was the first Introversion game we wanted to bring over. If you own Scanner and you are lucky enough to own a Deck then you'll find Scanner is now playable and works brilliantly with the handheld controls.All Changes in the latest versionSteam Deck and Steam Machine compatibility fixesD-Pad can navigate menusGame Controller Mapping updates: Button naming / Icons match SteamDeck controller Hold LT to zoom. Release = Unzoom. Aperture control: D-pad up and down RB: Toggle continuous scanExtras Prototypes disabled on SteamDeck (they only work on Desktop).Save Game Menu display formatting fixe…
- SteamDeck compatible build - 30 July 2026
This build focuses on adding SteamDeck compatibility. Please let us know if you discover any problems with it.
- New Windows / SteamDeck build available on the Beta branch - 13 July 2026
We have been workling mainly on SteamDeck compatibilty: = Steam Deck and PC usability, compatibility fixes. - D-Pad can navigate menus - Game Controller Mapping updates: - Button naming / Icons match SteamDeck controller - Hold LT to zoom. Release = Unzoom. - Aperture control: D-pad up and down - RB: Toggle continuous scan - Extras Prototypes disabled on SteamDeck (they only work on Desktop). - Save Game Menu display formatting fixes. - Button tooltip presentation fixes This build should also include the previous fixes to VR mode. Please let us know your exoeriences (please mention how you are trying it - Windows Desktop, Steam Deck, VR.
- Minor Update - 18 September 2024
Fix OpenSSL-related crash-on-start bug with Intel 10th Generation and later CPUs.
- Official Soundtrack released, free to download - 15 August 2018
Greetings, We wanted to say a big thank-you to everyone who has supported Introversion through the years, and especially to those that love our oddball art exploration game Scanner Sombre. We were all in a pretty dark place after working on Prison Architect for five years plus, and something sinister and dark was just dying to come out. Scanner Sombre is how we felt! As a thank-you gift we have released the Official Soundtrack as a free download, for anyone who owns Scanner Sombre. Thank you so much! https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F28572655%2F6c71685ed3b7a6db8d57cc050e9941fcbab5083c.jpg Track Listing: 1 As Above So Below (Surface Ending) 2 Know our Truth (Temple Ending) 3 The Souls of the Many (River) 4 Don't Fall in (Lake Part 4) 5 Somebody Was Here Before (Base Camp) 6 A Serpent Bites its Own Tail (Base Camp) 7 Halls of the Fallen (The Mine) 8 The Asce…
- Scanner Sombre VR mode now available in beta - 24 June 2017
Scanner Sombre, as it turns out, hasn't sold very well, at least compared to Introversion's previous game: the 2-million-copies-sold-and-counting Prison Architect. By comparison, the developer's first-person cave-mapping game Scanner Sombre has only rustled up around 6,000, or in the words of Introversion's Chris Delay, "It's bombed". Delay, and Introversion co-founder Mark Morris, chatted about the game, and its sales, in a frank new YouTube video, while also finding the time to show off Scanner's previously teased VR mode, which is now live in beta form, and playable on HTC Vice or Oculus Rift. Click here to learn how to opt in to that beta on Steam. Here's Delay speaking about Scanner Sombre's sales, via Gamasutra : "It's bombed. I didn't think that was possible. It's not that I arrogantly believe we're the best people in th…
- VR mode released into beta! - 23 June 2017
We are very proud to announce you can now play Scanner Sombre in VR, using a HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. We've been busy working on this since Scanner Sombre launched, and we think it's one of the most atmospheric experiences we have ever created. Let us know what you think! Mark & Chris made a video demonstrating the new Vr mode, and also discussing the critical and commercial response to the games launch. It's a difficult but honest discussion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4a7K-I-F5s This update is on the steam branch 'beta', meaning you must manually switch to that branch to see this new version. - Right click on Scanner Sombre in your games list - Click 'Properties' - Click 'Betas' - Select 'beta' from the list. (Restart steam if it doesn't show up) - The update will then download. Full list of changes - Experimental VR mode Supports HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. - Translations The game…
- VR mode released into beta! - 23 June 2017
We are very proud to announce you can now play Scanner Sombre in VR, using a HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. We've been busy working on this since Scanner Sombre launched, and we think it's one of the most atmospheric experiences we have ever created. Let us know what you think! Mark & Chris made a video demonstrating the new Vr mode, and also discussing the critical and commercial response to the games launch. It's a difficult but honest discussion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4a7K-I-F5s This update is on the steam branch 'beta', meaning you must manually switch to that branch to see this new version. - Right click on Scanner Sombre in your games list - Click 'Properties' - Click 'Betas' - Select 'beta' from the list. (Restart steam if it doesn't show up) - The update will then download. Full list of changes - Experimental VR mode Supports HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. - Translations The game…
- 13 recent games that run well on terrible laptops - 25 May 2017
‘Terrible’ only in the sense of their gaming capability. Honestly, I’m sure your laptop is lovely to look at and it was definitely a extremely sensible idea to spend all that money on it instead of buying a holiday or helping to save the pandas. Truth is, though, that playing recently-released games on the vast majority of laptops is about as effective as starting an online petition to uncancel your favourite television show. A little discretion goes a long way, however. Sure, you may be denied the glossiest of exploding viscera, but it is entirely possible to keep up with the Joneses even on a Terrible Laptop that has no dedicated graphics card. Here are but twelve contemporary games – either recently released or still-evolving going concerns – that will indeed run on your glammed-up toaster. Additional suggestions below are entirely welcome. …
- Scanner Sombre is coming to VR - 13 May 2017
Introversion Software surprised us recently by releasing its first-person adventure Scanner Sombre just a few days after announcing its existence, an interesting move considering Introversion's last game, Prison Architect , spent about six years in Early Access. Now comes the news that Scanner Sombre will soon be available to play in VR, which Introversion's co-founder, Mark Morris, didn't formally announce but simply mentioned to me during a conversation at PDXCon this week in Stockholm, Sweden. The news arrived when I asked Morris and fellow co-founder Chris Delay if they were still experimenting with VR, since the developers had expressed excitement about VR on our podcast in 2015 and released  Defcon VR back in February of this year. While Morris is definitely a fan of VR technology, he also admits it's still a bit of a niche market. "I think about seven peo…
- Wot I Think: Scanner Sombre - 10 May 2017
A beautiful and novel game suffering from something of an identity crisis, Scanner Sombre is the latest from Introversion Software , making a play for artfulness after a few years of successfully popularising themselves with Prison Architect . But though Scanner’s central conceit – using a laser scanner to ‘paint’ dot-array colours and shape onto your pitch black, subterranean surroundings – is gloriously atmospheric, it lacks the lightness of touch needed to achieve the emotional clout it so clearly wants to have. …
- Chris Delay on the dotty world of Scanner Sombre - 26 April 2017
Scanner Sombre is Introversion’s curious LIDAR-inspired exploration game. It caught my eye last year at Rezzed because it had such an unusual art style – the only thing close to it is A Light In Chorus and that does very different things with the specks of colour which make up its environments. In Scanner Sombre you use a scanning gun to reveal the world around you and to navigate its secrets. A spectrum of colour helps you parse the terrain with bluer areas being far away and reds indicating what’s nearest. Yellows and greens mark out the middle ground. It’s an atmospheric game although it cleaves to a narrative I wasn’t particularly interested in. That said, it managed to get under my skin to the point where I quit out forever about halfway through because I was TOO SCARED. But the art style is the thing which drew me in and which continues to absolutely…
- Now Available on Steam - Scanner Sombre, 20% off! - 26 April 2017
Scanner Sombre is Now Available on Steam and is 20% off!* Inspired by Gone Home and Dear Esther, Scanner Sombre is a cave exploration experience. With stunning visuals and a terrifying theme, it is the 6th major video game released by Introversion Software - creators of the BAFTA award winning Prison Architect as well as Uplink, Darwinia and DEFCON. *Offer ends May 3 at 10AM Pacific Time
- Scanner Sombre - 24 April 2017
We are very excited to announce that our sixth game ‘Scanner Sombre’ is finished, and is launching this Wednesday 26th April! Watch our launch trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NFlo9FEfaY Scanner Sombre began life as a short experimental prototype, created in a little over a week during the long Prison Architect alpha. We wanted to create something completely different to Prison Architect, and very different from any game we’d made before. Scanner Sombre is intended to be a deeply atmospheric experience, inspired by similar games such as Gone Home, Dear Esther, and Proteus. Armed only with a LIDAR gun, you must explore and ultimately escape the cave. As you explore your ‘point cloud’ becomes more and more detailed and expansive. Scanner Sombre will be on sale on Wednesday 26th April. The price will be $11.99, reduced to $9.99 for launch. We hope you enjoy playing our latest…
- Scanner Sombre - 24 April 2017
We are very excited to announce that our sixth game ‘Scanner Sombre’ is finished, and is launching this Wednesday 26th April! Watch our launch trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NFlo9FEfaY Scanner Sombre began life as a short experimental prototype, created in a little over a week during the long Prison Architect alpha. We wanted to create something completely different to Prison Architect, and very different from any game we’d made before. Scanner Sombre is intended to be a deeply atmospheric experience, inspired by similar games such as Gone Home, Dear Esther, and Proteus. Armed only with a LIDAR gun, you must explore and ultimately escape the cave. As you explore your ‘point cloud’ becomes more and more detailed and expansive. Scanner Sombre will be on sale on Wednesday 26th April. The price will be $11.99, reduced to $9.99 for launch. We hope you enjoy playing our latest…
- Introversion s Scanner Sombre surfacing on Wednesday - 24 April 2017
First-person spelunker Scanner Sombre will launch this very Wednesday, April 26th, developers Introversion Software announced today. They’re sending us to explore a deep and dark cave network with the aid of a LIDAR scanner that visualises the world with squillions of coloured dots. It’s a curious game to see from Introversion, who are known far more for exploring systems than places in games like Prison Architect , Uplink, and Defcon. I like the concept and look but I have premonitions of lurking horrors and do not want to know. …
- Prison Architect developer's next game is coming out later this week - 24 April 2017
After developing Prison Architect for six years, three of which were in Early Access, developer Introversion Software's next game is getting a much quicker turnaround. In fact, the first-person exploration game called Scanner Sombre will be coming out this Wednesday, April 26. No Early Access, no beta, just a full launch later this week for what Introversion's lead designer Chris Delay tells us is a "palate cleanser" after Prison Architect.  Scanner Sombre uses a unique visual mechanic that mimics a real-life LIDAR scanner . The game's world is completely invisible, but you can send out thousands of points of light to cover the landscape and slowly reveal the space around you. Delay told us the whole game is essentially one giant particle cloud with no limit to the number of LIDAR dots you can create, and every dot's position is saved exactly where you put them.…
- Introversion Software on why Scanner Sombre is its Prison Architect 'palate cleanser' - 24 April 2017
After six years of working on Prison Architect , developer Introversion Software announced today that its next game would be coming out in just a couple days on April 26. Scanner Sombre is a short first-person adventure game with one of the most unique mechanics I've ever seen: the game's world is pitch black, and you have to send out thousands of dots of light using a LIDAR scanner to reveal the terrain around you. It's a beautiful game, and we'll have a full review when it launches this Wednesday. But before that I got a chance to speak with Introversion's lead designer Chris Delay and producer Mark Morris about the inspiration behind Scanner Sombre, its incredible audio design, how making games is (and has always been) hard, and how working on the studio's sixth game was a "palate cleanser" after Prison Architect. PC Gamer: Where'd you get the idea…
