Since the holidays ended, we've been hunkering down and working on all things Outbreak: Shades of Horror! We wanted to come up for air and give you all a quick update on what we've been up to!
First, thank you to everyone who has played the Steam & Xbox Series X|S versions of the game, spread the word, and given us feedback! We are thrilled that everyone is playing and enjoying the ongoing Winter Wonderland and DINOBREAK crossover content! We will continue to update and improve the game based on player feedback.
Speaking of seasonal content, we're hard at work on the next seasonal event, which is coming this Spring! Once we're a little closer to deployment, we'll have more information to share.
We're still finalizing timelines and specifics, but there's a lot of other stuff coming up! Here's a small preview on top of the aforementioned seasonal content...
You can expect news regarding cross-platform multiplayer in the next few weeks.
New DLC content is being planned for release down the line.
Work continues on the PlayStation 5 version of the game. We'll share more details as we approach Spring!
Progress on Story Mode remains steady. This is another area we'll be talking more about in the Spring!
We want to take this time to thank everyone for their support and patience as we've continued to build out Outbreak: Shades of Horror. Game development is no easy task, and with a game as cutting edge as Shades of Horror that includes a large amount of content, features, and supported platforms, it's certainly challenging as a small indie team to craft.
We're extremely excited for you all to enjoy what we've been working so hard on, so we humbly ask for a little more time before we share and release our next wave of zombie-slaying mayhem.
Until next time, take care Survivors!
New Patch Live! Winter Wonderland Season Begins! Steam Winter Sale Discounts!
Hello Survivors!
Today marks a major patch release for Outbreak: Shades of Horror! Cypress Ridge is getting festive for the holidays!
Here's what you can expect to see after updating the game:
Free New Playable Character: Illena, Cypress Ridge’s very own DJ, joins the character roster! Illena features her own unique loadout, stats, and upgrade tree. Play as her to improve her skills, unlock new weapons and items for her to use, and customize her appearance with dozens of unlockable cosmetics. The addition of Illena brings the total free default character roster up to thirteen!
Winter Wonderland Season: Brrr! It sure is cold out! Enjoy special decorations in the Cypress Reel hub world, and unlock new festive cosmetics to customize your characters with. A new Invasion Mode map, Wordy’s Winter Wonderland, also debuts with this season; depose the undead in a stormy tundra shining bright with holiday cheer. The availability of the previous Halloween season’s content, including special cosmetics, has also been extended.
Quick Action Playlists & Other Improvements: Looking to jump into a brisk session of zombie murdering mayhem? Choose from new quick start playlists to instantly dive into a random scenario. Just starting out? Get acclimated to Cypress Reel with a new, optional introduction video. Need better performance? Feast on a bevy of graphical enhancements, including improved frame rates and refined character models. Dozens of optimizations, UI tweaks, and bug fixes have also been applied to deliver a smoother gameplay experience.
If you have yet to try out Outbreak: Shades of Horror, we've got great news! The game, the Dinobreak Crossover Character Pack DLC, and the Pure Gold Weapon Skin DLC are discounted 30% as part of the Steam Winter Sale now through January 5th!
As always, thank you for playing and thank you for your support! Development continues on Outbreak: Shades of Horror to make it even better! On behalf of everyone here at Dead Drop Studios, we wish you and your families a very Happy Holiday and a wonderful New Year!
Details on next patch! Winter Wonderland coming soon!
Hello Survivors!
This is just a quick update about what you can expect to see coming soon to Outbreak: Shades of Horror!
Toward the end of next week (Nov 12-15), we will be deploying the next patch for the game. This will include the following:
Performance improvements through a new video encoder for menus, the theater, and the FMVs in the game
Memory reductions across the game to improve performance on lower and mid-range machines
Adjustments to performance settings
Minor bug fixes
Then, in December, we're going to launch our next season: Winter Wonderland!
This season will include a new character, a new scenario, and new cosmetics to unlock via seasonal challenges!
We'll continue to update you here as we carry on with development of Outbreak: Shades of Horror! Thank you as always for your continued support!
Halloween Arrives in Cypress Ridge! Seasonal Event on NOW!
Hello Survivors!
Even in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, it's important to celebrate the holidays. Our first seasonal event, Halloween, is live now! Here's what you can expect to see:
Cypress Reel is even spookier!
Looks like the theater has gotten a bit of a makeover! Enjoy a variety of Halloween-themed decorations all around our lively hub world. There are jack-o-lanterns aplenty, and...wait, who is that? Those eyes are scary...
What's Halloween without costumes?
By completing Seasonal Challenges, you can earn Seasonal Tickets! Use these at the Seasonal Gotcha Machine to get all kinds of spooky cosmetics!
What sorts of creepy customizations will you earn? Get your Survivors suited up for a night of trick or treating with unique hats and weapon skins!
Fight from dusk 'til dawn in Invasion Mode and Raid Mode!
Can you defend a sprawling medieval castle against an unending horde of monsters? Hop into this Invasion Mode map and hold down the fort...literally. Check out the Raid Mode variant, too; it's a long journey to the extraction point on this one!
We hope you enjoy the Halloween event! It's the first of many coming to Outbreak: Shades of Horror. Stay tuned for more updates on future events.
For an extra bit of spooky fun, make sure to check out the VOD of our Shades of Horror launch stream if you missed it! We also had some pre-Halloween fun with Silent Hill 2 Remake and other games recently, too! We typically stream on Twitch every week with the latest information and updates regarding Outbreak: Shades of Horror and other fun activities, so make sure to follow us so you don't miss a stream!
https://youtu.be/UAKJO62-_AM
Finally, check out the Steam Community Hub for a variety of helpful pinned threads to get the most out of your Shades of Horror experience! In particular, our Official User Guide is useful for first-timers!
That's all from us today. We wish you and your families a safe and sweet Halloween! Indulge your sweet tooth a little, and then jump into Cypress Ridge for more treats!
4P Co-op and Raid Mode Debut TONIGHT on Twitch!
Hello Survivors!
We've been hard at work on Outbreak: Shades of Horror over the past several months, jamming in new features such as an elaborate costume and weapon skin system, reinventing our melee weapon systems, adding a massive number of new weapons, creating new levels and maps, and so much more!
This is just a quick note to let you know we'll be going live on our Twitch channel at 7:15pm ET TONIGHT with some 4P co-op madness over the network and a first look at Raid Mode! We'll be leading into this with the conclusion of our Resident Evil 5 co-op playthrough, so expect the Outbreak: Shades of Horror party to start around 8:30pm ET!
If you are a US resident and come hang out with us, you will also have a chance to win a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller!
Also another reminder that nearly every Wednesday night at 7:15pm ET we do stream on Twitch showing fun playthroughs of horror games AND updates on the development of Outbreak: Shades of Horror! Please come by, hang out, and ask us questions! Afterward, all of our stream VODs are uploaded onto our YouTube channel in case you can't be there live!
See you tonight, and take care Survivors!
March 2025 Update - Trailer & Modes Overview!
Hello Survivors!
First, check out this new trailer:
https://youtu.be/vtxiPu7Cr8Q
Today, we're going to break down the game's modes and hub area for you! The entirety of Outbreak: Shades of Horror can be experienced either solo or with up to three friends in co-op play over the network.
This playground is where you and your friends can group up and enter the game's various modes! You can select your character (across over 25 options!) and practice your controls, and you can also test your mettle at the obstacle course, improve your combat prowess, check out the game's various abilities and items, and so much more! Over time, Cypress Reel will expand with new content and special events!
Story mode
This is the survival horror campaign you're all expecting! Manage your resources and inventory, defeat menacing zombies, solve puzzles, and find notes as you explore colossal maps with awesome set-pieces and challenging encounters. Each episode will play out in explosive fashion, with multiple routes and many secrets to discover.
Invasion mode
A different flavor of survival. You'll face down endless enemy hordes as you attempt to both live and protect innocents. Before the game begins, you have a small period of time to fortify your base with turrets, traps, and more. Once the creatures appear, you'll need to annihilate hundreds of them without losing all of your lives or your civilians in the heat of battle. Multiple maps will be available!
Raid mode
This arcade-style experience is a blast. Scout sprawling, tight maps, take on the undead masses, and rescue trapped civilians before time runs out! As with the rest of Outbreak: Shades of Horror, Raid mode will be updated with new content and maps over time. Fans of our previous games may even find some fun nods to our history.
Mini-games
For some quick action, check out a selection of extra game types inspired by classic survival horror masterpieces. From Boss Rush, where you'll face a parade of tough monsters, to Collapse, where you'll flee a nasty subway on the brink of destruction, these scenarios are fun to play through over and over. Look forward to new mini-games as the game continues to grow!
We hope you're excited to experience the wild world of Cypress Ridge when Outbreak: Shades of Horror begins its descent onto Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, and on PC via Steam this year! We will of course continue to update you with the latest information and more specific release timing as development continues. Thank you as always for your support and patience.
Outbreak Winter Sale is Live! Massive discounts on the entire series!
Happy Holidays Survivors!
We're happy to announce the ENTIRE Outbreak series, including our latest title Outbreak: Shades of Horror Chromatic Split is ON SALE for the Steam Winter Sale for a massive 78% off in our Complete Collection! You can also grab each title in the Outbreak, Dinobreak, and Railbreak series at massive discounts individually too!
Best wishes for an awesome holiday and we're so excited to bring our spiritual successor to titles like Resident Evil: Outbreak to the world in 2025 with our 4-player co-op survival horror nightmare Outbreak: Shades of Horror!
Have fun! :)
Steam Autumn Sale is LIVE! Big discounts on the ENTIRE FRANCHISE!
Hey Survivors,
It's finally time for the Steam Autumn Sale! Get ready to face the undead, dinosaurs, ghouls, and more across the entire Dead Drop Studios franchise with awesome discounts on many of our titles, as well as a Franchise Bundle that gives you your best bang for your buck, including picking up our latest next-gen survival horror nightmare: Outbreak: Shades of Horror Chromatic Split!
We've gotten a few questions regarding Keyboard & Mouse controls for the game.
KBM support is always active and can be used at any time on top of our gamepad support.
If you'd like to see on-screen controls for your control scheme of choice:
Go to Settings -> Game Settings -> Controller Icons
You can set Controller Icons to Xbox, PlayStation, Keyboard, or Hidden.
We also wanted to inform you that an incoming patch will fix the icon sizes for the on-screen KBM control display. In the near future, we will also support key rebinding.
Thank you for reading, and we hope you enjoy the game!
Chromatic Split is AVAILABLE NOW on Steam!
Hello Survivors! Just a quick note today!
After a small delay, we are excited to share that the Steam version of Outbreak: Shades of Horror Chromatic Split is now available to play and purchase with a 20% launch discount!
Chromatic Split is a standalone prologue to the upcoming Outbreak: Shades of Horror starring our hero Lydia Daniels. Our detective enters the Cypress Ridge sewer system to meet with her contact on the eve of a massive zombie outbreak, and things quickly devolve from there.
Though initially unarmed, you will eventually find a melee weapon and firearms that allow you to progress through sprawling maps. Items and resources are limited, so what you use them to craft, be it healing items, ammo, or save items, will be key to your survival. Enemies can be strategically dismembered to make the most of your limited ammo, while massive boss creatures will require a lot more tenacity to finish off.
Explore the Cypress Ridge underground across a three act campaign, and then enjoy a variety of bonus modes and new game plus once you complete the game! Post launch content will include additional bonus modes and the Trials of Hank, an extra side-campaign.
Gory survival horror gameplay meets glamorous graphics only possible with Unreal Engine 5 in Outbreak: Shades of Horror Chromatic Split, available now!
