We've added tweaks to improve SteamVR streaming performance for a smoother experience.
If you still encounter FPS drops, jittering hands, or image stuttering while using Meta + SteamVR:
Set Graphics presets to LOW.
Adjust Render Resolution in the Settings (e.g., set it to 90% for a ~10% performance boost).
We strive to support all VR devices and launch options, continuously improving third-party solutions launch. However, we still recommend using native Oculus streaming, like AirLink, to minimize additional FPS loss — VR is already demanding on hardware!
Let us know how these updates work for you!
HBAO is still under development
We've been working hard to integrate this graphics-enhancing technology into Hard Bullet, but we encountered some performance issues, particularly with Meta via SteamVR streaming.
While we aimed to have HBAO ready this year, we want to ensure a smooth experience for all our players. Therefore, we've decided to postpone its release until January.
Thanks and sorry for waiting!
Bugfixes and Improvements
Graphics: Added more precise render scaling, now adjustable in 1% increments.
Graphics: Introduced an HDR on/off option for enhanced visuals.
Head Bag: Fixed an issue where the active Head Bag outfit reverted to the default after restarting.
Range: Updated target destruction sounds for better feedback.
Range: Improved UI button usability for a smoother experience.
Veteran 88 and some other rifles: Fixed reloading issues.
❄Graphics Update and Winter Event!❄ ❄Holiday Shooting Range with Prizes!❄
Hey everyone!
First of all, happy holidays to everyone who celebrates it! We hope that you'll have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and well deserved holiday! 🎄☃️(we can also use some rest)
Christmas Update will be our last update for 2024 but expect even more exciting stuff in 2025! Thank you all so much for an amazing year, we really appreciate your support and love! Let's get right into the update details! 📜
Real-Time Shadows Everywhere!
Today, we’re thrilled to introduce some significant visual improvements that elevate the realism and depth of Hard Bullet’s style.
Real-Time Shadows Update
We’re excited to introduce real-time shadows for all objects across every arena in Hard Bullet!
Optimized Performance: Shadows are designed to have minimal impact on performance.
Customizable Settings: If you prefer, you can disable real-time shadows in the Graphics Settings menu.
As this technology is still new for us, you might encounter some visual glitches, particularly in larger arenas like City Roofs. Rest assured, we’re actively identifying and addressing these issues to ensure a smoother experience.
Horizon-Based Ambient Occlusion — Still in Work
We planned to include Horizon-Based Ambient Occlusion (HBAO) in today's update, but due to some unexpected issues, we had to postpone its release.
This feature will now be added during the next few days, enhancing the realism of lighting and reflections across all physics and static objects in the game.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. Stay tuned for this exciting visual upgrade coming very soon!
Updated System Requirements and Launch Options
📈 Rising System Requirements
To keep up with modern hardware and deliver a smoother gaming experience, we’re phasing out support for older systems:
Minimum GPU: GTX 1070.
Recommended GPU: RTX 2070S (or GTX 1080 Ti).
Minimum CPU: Intel i5-10400.
Recommended CPU: Intel i7-10700 or equivalent.
These changes reflect the hardware most players already use and prevent confusion for new users looking to match their setup with the game’s needs.
⚙️ Graphical Settings Presets
We also Resolved issues with graphical presets that could prevent them from being applied. Now switching works correctly but restarting the game is still needed.
We’ve reordered our VR launch options for clarity and convenience:
Meta Runtime is now the first launch option.
SteamVR is the second option.
While we recommend using the runtime that corresponds to your headset, we remain fully committed to supporting all available options and HMD combinations.
🛠 Need Help?
If you experience any launch issues or other technical problems, please reach out to us via Discord, Steam Forums or Email. Our team has a strong track record of troubleshooting issues and providing fixes, and we’d love to help resolve your case.
📝 Note: Posting detailed descriptions of your issues on forums is far more productive than leaving negative reviews without specifics. Your feedback helps us identify and fix problems more efficiently!
Thank you for your continued support — let’s keep making Hard Bullet better together! 💪
🎄 Welcome to the Holiday Shooting Range! 🌟
Complete shooting mini-games to unlock festive player outfits!
🎁 Holiday Head Bag — Earned after completing your first task.
🧤 Winter Gloves — Unlockable after finishing 4 tasks.
🧥 Holiday Jacket — Requires completing 8 tasks.
⛄ Snowman Head — Awarded for completing all 12 challenges.
Bonus: While completing these challenges, you'll also unlock unique weapon skins!
You can tackle the challenges in any order, but for the best experience, we recommend starting with the first gun and following the intended difficulty progression.
Don't worry if you run out of ammo — there's a special reloading timer, or you can simply grab another gun from the spawner.
🎄 Holiday Challenge starts today and will last till January 10th.
Thank You for the Amazing Response to Our Halloween Event! 🎃
For those who missed it, we’ve got a treat for you! The Halloween Event is now available to replay in the Betas tab — as many times as you’d like!
✨Your progress is safe! Saves will work both ways, so when you switch back to the main version, all your unlocked gun skins (new and old) will still be with you.
Don’t miss this chance to relive the spooky fun and keep collecting those looks!
Future Updates and Events
Replay Other Events
As the Winter Event comes to a close later in January, it will join other "classic" Hard Bullet versions in the Betas Tab. This way, you’ll always have access to those nostalgic experiences. But now, let’s talk about what’s ahead:
🚀 The Future of Hard Bullet
2025 will be a pivotal year for Hard Bullet. The updates we’re working on are monumental, reshaping massive aspects of the game, including:
Player body, movement, and hand systems.
Revamped enemy AI systems.
Quest 3/3s Standalone.
A Story/Roguelite Mode.
This leap forward is so significant that we’re dedicating ourselves fully to bringing Hard Bullet to the next level. It’s time to prepare for a game that addresses the flaws of its predecessor while embracing the innovation we’ve always envisioned.
So let’s take a moment to appreciate the current version — imperfections and all — and prepare to welcome the next generation of Hard Bullet, free from the limitations of old code and legacy issues.
🎉 Thank You & Happy New Year!
We’re deeply grateful for your support over the years. Your feedback and enthusiasm have made this journey possible.
While the dev team will take a well-deserved break from December 31st to January 10th, bugfix updates will roll out until the end of December. Meanwhile, our marketing team will keep you entertained with exciting content!
Here’s to an amazing 2025 and the future of Hard Bullet — built together with our incredible community! 🙌
Quest 3/3s and Story/Rougelite Mode Progress, Upcoming PC Updates
Hey everyone, it's time for some Devlog again! 📜
We are here today to share with you some progress on the Quest port and what's next on the horizon for HARD BULLET.
🥽 Quest 3/3s Port Progress
Better Graphics for Quest
We’ve developed our own render pipeline to deliver realistic visuals on this platform. Here are some glimpses of the Stairways arena running on Quest 3:
You can check the full footage here:
https://youtu.be/PY9gq638MUU?si=i7mGwwGUc0xXRDW1
📜 Story/Rougelite Mode Progress
More Variative Gameplay
As mentioned in our previous post, we're excited to bring fresh and varied gameplay experiences to Hard Bullet. Let’s take a look at two new scenarios available in the second biome, “Skyscrapers.”
Exploring the abandoned skyscrapers introduces thrilling new elements, with the addition of real-time lighting elevating the realism to an entirely new level. Prepare for an atmosphere that will keep you on edge!
We’re working on new interactive objects, like doors! Some of them will be breakable, allowing you to burst through and unleash chaos on unsuspecting enemies. Stay tuned for more dynamic gameplay!
🔺 Upcoming Updates
Shadows and Realtime Lights on PC
The significant performance improvements we've recently achieved now allow us to introduce real-time shadows and lighting to Hard Bullet.
These highly anticipated graphical upgrades bring a new level of realism to the game. Players will have the option to adjust the quality of these effects or turn them off entirely to suit their preferences and hardware capabilities.
Shadows ON (How it will be)
Shadows OFF (How it is now)
We’re planning to introduce real-time shadows to all open-sky locations, such as Rooftops and Backstreets.
Horizon-Based Ambient Occlusion
We’re enhancing Hard Bullet's visuals with Horizon-Based Ambient Occlusion (HBAO) to deliver more realistic shadow effects on both physics-driven and static objects across all locations.
This technology significantly boosts overall realism and immersion without heavily impacting performance, as it operates independently of real-time shadows.
Occlusion ON (How it will be)
Occlusion OFF (How it is now)
We plan to enable Shadows and add HBAO on PC at the end of 2024.
AI and Animations: Better Run
Here’s a sneak peek at our new animation system in action!
Enemies now move with improved realism, placing their feet accurately based on their actual speed, avoiding obstacles, and stopping naturally.
You’ll also notice they’ve adopted an "aware" behavior, meaning they no longer target the player immediately, adding a more immersive layer to encounters.
We can’t wait to share even more advanced behaviors, like patrolling, searching, and navigating complex environments. Stay tuned for updates!
We plan to launch new AI and Behaviours during Q1 2025.
If you have missed our previous Devlog Post, no problem, here is the link to catch up: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1294760/view/4702410905651014113?l=english
Thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm, we really appreciate it! We can not wait to share even more soon!
Thank you for the reports over the weekend! We came across some bugs that were affecting the pumpkin progress in some Arenas - they should be all good now!
Pumpkins Counter Updated
We're adding an option to reset your pumpkin progress in any arena, letting you replay them as much as you want! To reset Arena Progress, visit your chosen arena and click the "Reset" button near the Pumpkin Counter in any Armory.
Other Fixes:
Fixed the Pumpkin Counter for Deadend Arena.
Conducted some internal refactoring to eliminate potential counter bugs.
If you've experienced any issues with incorrect counters, they should be resolved with this update. Please ensure you've received the latest update by verifying the integrity of game files through Steam.
Bugfixes and Improvements
Updated Model: Sausage 350 now features a high-quality, enhanced gun model.
Deadend Arena Fix: Resolved an issue where exploding certain barrels could remove parts of the arena.
Current game version: EA 0.7.12.49
Please let us know on Discord if anything feels wrong and we'll look into it!
It's the spooky time of the year!👻 And we have been cooking some Hard BoOoOllet action for you. 👀 We have some new challenges not only in-game but also as a community event on Discord! Let's get right into the details.
🎃Halloween Challenge🎃
It's never a good Halloween without the good old pumpkins, right? If your seeker skills are as good as your combat skills we have just the right thing for you. Look for all the 66 pumpkins across different Arenas, and destroy them to get new unlocks!
The Haunted Harvest - Community Event
If you think that you're the fastest Gunner in the west (or anywhere) - why don't you prove it to us? Destroy all of the 66 pumpkins in the Arenas, record your gameplay and win Steam Gift Cards up to $60 from us! 🎃
How, you ask? Join our Discord for all the details on how to participate!
Pumpkin Head
Find and destroy all 66 pumpkins in all locations! to unlock this time-limited customization! For all the time-limited outfits, you will have time until November 4th!
Halloween Player Outfits
Four customizations for the player to unlock during the event:
Scary Bag — One at the Main menu
Pumpkin Suit — 6 somewhere at the Deadend
Spider Gloves — get 4 at the Deathbox
New Firearms Looks
Some popular weapons got their holiday looks too! 🎃 They also unlock while destroying pumpkins in arenas except one-holiday grenade is already available for everyone!
Rhino — 5 hiding at Warehouse
Gretta 92 — 6 at Pool
Muller PL — 5 at City Roofs
1911 — 5 more at City Roofs
Mark10 — 5 at Market
Scorpio — 5 at Rooftop
Sawed-off — 6 at Basement
Choppa Triplet — 5 at Repair Shop
М16А4 — Stairway
Mark18 — 7 at Backstreet
Bugfixes & Improvements
Fixed issue that prevented high jumps on some places on arenas.
Fixed an issue where bullet positioning caused shots to land lower than expected.
Removed the outdated German 45 pistol model from enemy weapon sets.
Added more grab zones in Lobby area.
We hope that you'll have tons of fun! Please let us know if you have any feedback and enjoy your new outfits! 👻 Make sure to get those outfits before they leave on November 4th!
Performance Improvements, Updated Blood Effects, More Enemy Firearms
Hey everyone!
This week, we are happy to introduce some performance improvements, reworked blood effects, and more firearms for enemies to use. Recently, we have seen some of our players having a hard time regarding performance so we wanted to take this topic as our priority. Smooth gameplay experience is something we aim for everyone!
Performance Improvements
A bunch of improvements to boost your FPS even more in Hard Bullet! Expect HUGE performance improvement during shootouts with enemies:
Optimized VRAM usage for smoother gameplay, offering up to a 50% FPS boost on low to mid-tier GPUs, especially when using streaming VR headsets like Quest.
Enhanced physics and core optimizations, reducing CPU load by up to 30% during action-heavy battle scenes.
Future Performance Updates
Some things we are working on to bring in future updates regarding performance:
Bullet Physics improvements;
Adaptive physics for enemies;
Reworked effects system so we can add more effects with less performance cost;
Blood and Gore Updated
Blood on Cloth and Skin
Different blood patterns now appear on various materials like cloth and skin, with old splash effects replaced by realistic fabric saturation with blood.
Difference between cloth and skin blood effects: [TAG-40]
New Bruises
Bruises have been completely revamped to look more natural on different skin tones, with better blending after repeated impacts, eliminating those glitchy dark spots.
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Inner Skeleton and Body Damage
Bone models have been updated, and we’ve added a few inner organs for extra realism. Shotgun and rifle damage will appear more brutal, with detailed "skin digging" effects.
[expand type=showmore expanded=false]
Dismemberment looks more gruesome than ever, with realistic bone models and vivid, disturbing visuals when they are exposed!
No harm was given to the NPC while showcasing the new update.
Movement Speed While Holding Enemies
We've adjusted the player's movement speed while holding enemies to enhance interaction with ragdolls. This change reduces chaos and makes it more convenient to maneuver them.
In future updates, we plan to make this more dynamic, with movement speed varying based on the size and weight of the object you're carrying.
We’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!
Future Gore Updates
Gore is a very important part of Hard Bullet, so we are constantly working on more improvements. Here is a list of the goals we aim to achieve before/at the game’s release, and what you can expect in upcoming updates:
More detailed blood patterns on clothing.
More realistic flesh deformations.
Creation of blood puddles under dead bodies.
Destructible body parts, including head explosions.
Death and agony animations that correspond accurately to the type of damage.
Enemy Guns
More Diverse Gun Pools
Redistributed firearms among enemies. Lower-tier enemies will now use basic firearms, while armored opponents will be equipped with more advanced rifles.
New Models
Updated two iconic guns with improved, highly detailed 3D models: Mark 16 and Gretta 92, custom-made exclusively for you.
Other Bugfixes & Improvements
Corrected gun names in Arena Challenges.
Rebaked lighting in Deathbox and its assets.
Grinder: Fixed issue where ragdolls were not placed inside correctly.
Leg Kick & Explosives: Resolved bug where kicking grenades or small explosives could cause premature detonation.
UI: Renamed "Action Arena" to "Warehouse."
Fixed incorrect positioning of the Wrench when held.
Hand Spawner: Addressed issues with spawned warning signs.
Current game version: EA 0.7.10.45
Upcoming Events
We prepared a surprise for this Halloween season, stay tuned! We plan to make a timed event with unlockable looks for players and weapons.
And that's a wrap for today's patch notes! 📜 If you haven't heard yet, we are working on the Quest 3/3S release of HARD BULLET. Check out all the details about the Quest version and the upcoming new game mode with Story & Rogue-Lite elements below! 👀
Today, we are here to announce some of our future plans for HARD BULLET - and some of them being long-time requested features by you. 👀 If you're ready, have some popcorn on us, and let's give it a start with an exciting announcement!
Meta Quest Version Announcement
ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, WE SEE YOU! 👀
Footage from Quest 3/3S Standalone Version
We FINALLY have an answer to your 'Quest version?' questions! 😅
We heard you loud and clear and we are more than happy to announce that we are working on the Meta Quest version of HARD BULLET.
We are still striving for the best possible performance on Quest 3. Hard Bullet is known for its intensive CPU and GPU usage, and we're actively working on optimizations.
This new research and development for Quest are also helping us improve the PC version significantly!
We plan to maintain all the features available in the PC version, and this includes the violent elements as well. To achieve this, we had to rework how blood behaves in Hard Bullet, which led to a more realistic saturation of fabric with blood and a few additional enhancements that you’ll see in the upcoming PC update.
And let's not forget about guns! Our huge collection with detailed gun interactions will be there too!
For more information on this Quest version please keep your eyes on the horizon!
Story and Rogue Elements
We're excited to announce a new game mode coming in 2025, which was a long-time requested feature from our community - bringing story elements, new gameplay mechanics, enhanced enemy AI, and countless fresh scenarios for you to experience in Hard Bullet.
Our vision is to create a unique, immersive journey through a violent, sprawling megapolis, where each moment is intense and unpredictable. You'll find yourself navigating chaotic city streets, facing brutal challenges, and engaging in high-stakes combat as you move deeper into the heart of the megapolis.
The story will unfold across multiple chapters, set in ever-evolving districts, each with its own atmosphere and encounters. You'll also have the freedom to embark on an endless journey, plunging further into the city's violent underworld to test your skills and endurance.
Random Encounters
The city's streets are always shifting, ensuring that even during story runs, you'll face fresh encounters with every playthrough. We are working on a variety of intense scenarios to showcase the brutal reality of life in the backstreets and the violent power struggles that spill into the luxurious high-rises of the city center.
You'll cross paths with dangerous figures and find yourself in harrowing situations — gangsters torturing debt collectors, underground human trafficking rings, drug labs hidden in plain sight, and secret arms deals taking place at dark alleys. Meanwhile, the local police struggle to keep up, often turning a blind eye as criminal powers dominate.
As a third-party contract killer, you'll have the freedom to decide where your loyalties lie. You can aid both factions, playing them against each other, or stay focused on your own mission, passing through the chaos as you pursue your primary target. The choice is yours.
Districts
We're currently developing two city districts for you to explore, each with its own distinct design, staying true to Hard Bullet's brutal style.
Backstreets District will immerse you into the city's dark corners, street markets, and poor quarters The Backstreets District will pull you deep into the city's shadowy underbelly, filled with dark alleys, crowded street markets, and impoverished neighborhoods. Here, gangsters of every stripe run their violent operations, from extortion to smuggling, creating a chaotic environment where no witnesses are welcome.
The Rooftops District offers a stark contrast, taking you to the heights of the city—luxury penthouses and towering skyscrapers, where those in power hide dark secrets. With a focus on vertical exploration, you'll navigate rich indoor environments while balancing perilous runs along the rooftops' edges, where one wrong move could send you plummeting to the streets below.
Nearest Updates
As for the upcoming updates, we are working hard to bring you these next week:
Performance Improvements — managed to get a huge FPS boost again, can't wait to share the details.
Reworked some gore aspects of the game to make blood and inner bones look more realistic.
Enemies will get more firearms to use.
What an entrance to October huh? 👀 We are so excited about everything we have announced today and can not wait for you to get your hands on them!
We couldn't be inspired this much if it wasn't for you, our community. Thank you so much for all your support and patience while we are cooking for the future of HARD BULLET. 🙌
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