First look at the vehicle damage system
A short shows vehicles taking visible damage. According to the Q&A, vehicles are getting a polish pass, including handling.
Dispatches
News
Every announcement, every video, every turn since 2024 – newest first.
Curated news with a summary, plus every Steam announcement and every longer studio video, pulled in automatically.
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Character creator up close
Body types, face presets, age, around 50 sliders and a “DNA code” to share your look with friends.
First gunplay footage
Work in progress: the new shooting. Projectiles follow a parabola, with bullet drop and a supersonic crack depending on calibre.
Official community forum launched
playardem.com/forum is a new official forum, also for everyone who can't easily use Discord.
Two-hour developer Q&A: the key answers
Server owners should be able to configure almost everything, including an editable zombie heatmap. Offline raid protection comes as a server option. Around 10 to 15 weapons at Early Access, no skills, no story mode. A new public playtest date will only be named once it's certain. More on the Game and Servers pages.
Public playtest called off, Early Access in 2027
The public test planned for October 15 won't happen; stability under load isn't there yet. No new date on purpose. Early Access moves to 2027, while the closed test continues in small waves.
Ardem’s Public Playtest — Stability First
Why the public playtest was postponed and Early Access slid to 2027.
Join Our Official Discord!
Join Our Official Discord! Join the official Ardem Discord server for quick and easy communication with the team, connect with fellow community members, stay up to date with the latest news, and become part of our growing community. Have a question, suggestion, or something you'd like to discuss? Feel free to ask! Our community and team is there to help, and we'll do our best to get you an answer as quickly as possib …
The land claim system explained
To build freely you first claim an area. Alongside that you can barricade existing houses.
Manual reloading, DayZ-style
Magazines are filled by hand and ammo needs managing.
Sneak peek: military areas, clothing, farming
Clothes get wet, bloody or dirty and fit 13 body shapes. Plants grow in stages from seed. New military areas in Minnowa.
Closed playtest “Patient Zero” begins
First test wave under NDA with a few hundred randomly picked players. Around 20,000 applied; streamers get no preference.
Gamescom video: an evening with the campervan
Narrated gameplay: a trailer full of supplies, digging a garden bed, cooking on the stove. Ardem as quiet survival.
Dates: closed test Aug 31, public test Oct 15
Over 600,000 sign-ups. The public test was meant to set the Early Access date, with servers worldwide, not just in the US and Europe. (Oct 15 was later called off.)
ARDEM PLAYTEST ANNOUNCEMENT – August 31 & October 15
Announcement: closed test Aug 31, public test Oct 15.
Sneak Peek: Weapons & World Design
Otti and Dini are currently working on all the sheds, barns, and similar locations throughout the world of Ardem. They’re filling these areas with furniture, props, and other details while preparing them for loot spawns. Every piece of furniture and every prop is carefully selected to fit the location and surroundings, making each area feel more natural, immersive, and believable. Our 3D modeler and animation artist, …
Ardem's Single Player Customization Options-Full Breakdown | 2026
Everything you can configure in single-player – according to the studio, also the basis for server settings.
Hygiene, a motel and the first UI
Skip washing yourself and your clothes and you're more likely to get sick. Plus zombie facial animation, a military checkpoint and tools like lighter, GPS and compass.
New place: Summer Camp
A large nature area with a camp lake.
Character editor revealed
Male and female characters, different body shapes and ethnicities, around 50 face sliders.
Crafting: the community gets a say
The studio collects ideas for new items via a form.
Albington and the Claypit
First town Albington and the Claypit interiors. Dark rooms need a light source.
Funding secured, team grows to 15
Private funding turns the passion project into a real studio. A new website, roadmap and NDA test groups are announced.
Infected players turn into zombies
Die of the infection and you rise again as a zombie. According to the Q&A, with no special abilities.
200,000 wishlists
Just six weeks after passing 100,000.
Dev diary: trailers and clay crafting
New interaction system, storage and heavy-duty trailers, an area with its own clay crafting branch.
Ardem | New Systems | Dev-Diary | PART TWO | 2025
Dev diary part 2: new systems, trailers, clay crafting.
100,000 wishlists
Actually already past 110,000.
New Dev Diary – Monthly Progress Update is Here!
Hello Survivors We are excited to share our new Dev Diary, the first entry in a monthly series where we take you behind the scenes of Ardem. In each episode we will talk about what the team has been working on, show progress and give you insights into worldbuilding, systems and upcoming features. This months Dev Diary covers some of the latest updates in environment art and level design, including a look at new locat …
Ardem | A New Beginning | Dev-Diary | 2025
Dev diary on the fresh start with zombies and new visuals.
Ardem | Campervan-Features | New Update | 2026
Every campervan feature.
Reboot: realistic visuals, zombies instead of robots
The style switches from low-poly to hyper-realistic and the robot enemies are gone. Over 60,000 players had tested the old builds.
M14, a prison and plot antennas
One of ten new rifles, a prison location and five-tier antennas that extend the building radius.
The Open Alpha will REMAIN OPEN!
Hey, everyone! We’ve been blown away by the response to the Open Alpha! We’ve been getting a ton of feedback, squashing bugs we didn’t even know about and having fun jumping in and playing with people. It’s with that in mind that we’ve made a decision… We’re keeping the Alpha OPEN! We may close it as we get closer to our Early Access launch but for now, the gates are staying open! We hope you stick with us on this jo …
Getting Started in Playtest 4
Hi everyone! We've loved seeing so many of you jumping into Playtest 4 for Ardem already but if you're going in for the first time this coming weekend (or any time really), this video should help get you started! We can't wait to see even more of you checking out Ardem! If you run into any issues, you can raise a bug report by pressing * on your numpad. And if you need more information, have some suggestions, or just …
Open alpha (playtest 4) goes live
Open to everyone on Steam, with electricity to try out. Stays open afterwards.
Get Ready! Ardem Open Alpha Returns March 24th!
Hey everyone, Mark your calendars, the next Ardem Open Alpha is happening on March 24th ! If you’ve already signed up on Steam, you’re all set. But here’s a heads-up: if you’ve played in a previous test, Steam won’t automatically notify you when the playtest goes live. You’re still registered and good to go, but to make sure you don’t miss out, hit that Set A Reminder button on this post to get a notification when it …
Our Next Open Alpha Takes Place March 24th!
Hello, everyone! You read it right: the next Open Playtest will happen on March 24th! If you've already registered on Steam, you're good to go! However, if you have played in one of our tests before, Steam won't let you know when it goes live by default. You are already registered for this next playtest and will be able to download and play on the 24th; Steam just won’t send you a handy email reminder! You can, howev …
Design Competition Winner
Hello, everyone! You may recall a month ago we launched our Design Competition over on our Discord . We have read all the entries and considered all the options, but we have finally chosen the winner! Congratulations, elizarya, for coming up with the winner! "A drive in theatre could be fun maybe. You could even have it able to play a movie if you wanted Theres a survival game I am playing and in it you have a stress …
Sneak Peek Roundup #2
Hello, everyone! If you caught our last Sneak Peek Roundup you’ll know the deal. But just in case, our Discord is the place to be for a lot of our smaller updates. We have short videos and screenshots that give everyone an insight into what we’re working on right then. So, let’s round up another month's worth! #1 Into The Swamp Text from the original post… So, in the last sneak peek you saw the new area from high up, …
Closed Alpha Roundup #1
Hello, everyone! As you may have seen, a while back, we opened up applications to join us for a Closed Alpha. We had a lot of applications and let in even more people than we planned because of it. One thing that has really been exciting for us is the amount of great screenshots and moments our testers have been sharing, so we thought we’d share some with you here! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44384659/db0cb984a84b0636ca54f0f8 …
Design A Part of Ardem!
Hello, everyone! Points of interest and environmental storytelling are a part of Ardem that is close to our hearts. We thought, wouldn't it be cool if you guys got to design one, and then we build it and put it in the game! [*] The area can't be too complicated, so "a theme park about me with 100 NPCs and fully working rollercoasters" is out for now. [*]It also has to fit into the post-apocalyptic world of Ardem. So, …
First Look: Ardem’s Newest Region - Dev Diary Jan. 2025
Hey, everyone! This month, we’re shaking things up with our Dev Diary. Usually, we gather together once a week on Discord to playtest Ardem and make sure it's fun while coming up with new ideas to improve the game. But this time, we thought—why not bring you along for the ride? So, in this latest Dev Diary video, we’re taking you on a tour of the brand-new area we’ve been working on! If you’ve been on our Discord , o …
Sneak Peek Roundup #1
Hello, everyone! Over on Discord we’ve been making small little development updates, which while they don’t need their own blog post, are still interesting little sneak peeks into the development of Ardem. We wanted to share a roundup of some of the more recent ones we have posted there and share them with you! #1 Character Model Updates Text from the original post… “We're making our own character models! This is the …
The Year Ahead for Ardem
Hello, everyone! 2025 is here, and the team is back at work after the winter break. 2024 went by so fast, but we are really blown away by all the feedback, videos, and new faces that have joined us! Playtest 3 went really well, and we gained a ton of useful feedback from all of you! Thank you! With that in mind, we're looking to the future! In the short term, applications are still open for our Closed Alpha Program . …
Happy Holidays from all of us at Techtive Games!
Hello, everyone! Firstly, we wanted to say Happy Holidays to all of you! We hope all of you get to take some much needed time off to sit down, meet friends and family and, most importantly, play some video games! Our team will be doing precisely that! 2024 has been a big year for us; our little team has grown, with a few more people joining us on this journey. We all want to make Ardem the game we want to play and th …
Dev Diary Short - A New Landmark
Hello, everyone! After a bit of time off, we’ve been in full development mode since the open playtest, and we wanted to give you a quick update on one of the new landmarks we’re adding to Ardem. Phillip took time away from, well, being ill, to have a quick chat with our Community Manager, Chris, and show you around the work-in-progress downed plane that is going into Ardem. There’s even more work going into the game …
Closed Alpha Testing Applications Now Open
Hello, everyone! We learned so much from our recent open playtests that we wanted to open our Closed Applications again! This round of testing will be different to our recent open Alpha test as they will be held at very specific times. We are looking for people who can join us at set times in order to test new systems and the general stability of the game. You’ll be playing with the dev team so we can get that valuab …
Thank you for playing Alpha Test 3!
Hello, all! We wanted to say a heartfelt THANK YOU from all of us here at Techtive Games to everyone who played, streamed and made videos out of Alpha Test 3! The response was bigger than we expected and the amount of feedback we have received has been amazing. If you didn’t get a chance, filling out our survey would be an incredible help to the team! It helps give us a really good indication of what you’d like more …
Tell us what you thought of Alpha Test 3!
Hi there! There's not long left for Alpha Playtest 3 and we hope you have all enjoyed having this early look at what we've been working on! We've got a lot to do, and thanks to all of your feedback so far! If you haven't already, we have a survey that you can fill out ! It's not very long but it will be incredibly helpful in helping us shape the game as we continue development! We'd also love to see you in our Discor …
Creative and PvP servers in the alpha
Different server types for the first time; plus clans, building boundaries, power and vehicles.
We're Extending Playtest 3 Until November 24th!
Good news, everybody! We are extending the playtest until the 24th! We've already learned so much during the last few days that we wanted to get as much playtime as possible out of this playtest, so we're extending it by a whole week! So you have this weekend, AND next weekend to explore Ardem! In that time we will continue to fix bugs and push out as many little updates as we can! We've said it before but I'm going …
Share Your Videos and Screenshots and Win a Key!
Hello, friends! Playtest 3 is well underway, and we hope you're all enjoying seeing what we've built so far! But we want to see what you are building! Got Content? We Want to See It! During the playtest, if you plan to capture any epic moments, stream your adventures, or create content around Ardem, we want to see it! Share your clips, live streams, or any content you make in the Shared Content section in our Discord …
Alpha test 3 public on Steam
Open test from November 8 to 24, 2024, still in the old art style.
Getting Started Guide for Playtest 3
Welcome to the third Alpha Playtest for Ardem! Ardem is a third person, survival game so if you’ve not been in one of our playtests before, or if you’ve never played a survival game before, we’ve put together this little guide that should help get you started! This guide should get you to the point where you know what you’re doing and can begin to fend for yourself in the world of Ardem. There are many threats, from …
Our Next Alpha Test Is November 8th!
Hi there! You read that right, the next Alpha Playtest is happening on November 8th from 6pm CET! The test will run until November 17th and it couldn’t be simpler to sign up. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44384659/5331e4af9a1dd16ccc1f2cea2f0d63a765747f68.png Simply click “Request Access” right here on the main part of our Steam Page and you’ll get an email as soon as it’s open and ready to download! If you’ve already registered …
Q&A With The Developers
Hi there! Over on our Discord we've been taking some questions about Ardem, coming off the back of our recent Dev Diary Update . So, here it is in full! Our Community Manager, Chris, sat down with Phillip and Simon this month and we will talk with other members of the team in the future! If you have any questions, head over to Discord , or leave a comment here and we will be sure to get them in the next video! Not lo …
Dev Diary October 2024
Hello, everyone! It’s been a little while since our last dev update, but rest assured, this has been a productive time! We’ve got a video covering some of the updates that have been added to the game since we last spoke, but here are some highlights! - Electricity System Added To Base Bulding You can now add the electricity system to your base. You can add fuse boxes, sockets, switches and hook up a generator to your …
Ardem - Dev Diaries [May]
Don't forget to join our Discord to always get the latest news on updates and events! Attention, survivors! We are excited to provide you with detailed information on what has happened since the last dev diary a month ago. If you haven’t noticed, we have changed the dev diary cycle from biweekly to monthly to give us more time to work on the report and have more to show. This edition will be quite large, and we are s …
Ardem - Dev Diaries #05
Don't forget to join our Discord to always get the latest news on updates and events! Attention, survivors! We are finally back with the next episode of the dev diaries! As always, we are super excited to show you some of the progress that has been made over the last two weeks and provide you with some deeper insights into the development of Ardem. Let's dive in! Art If you've checked out our latest announcement, you …
Limited Time Remaining: Ardem Public Playtest!
Survivors, just a reminder: this weekend is your last chance to join our public playtest for Ardem. Take advantage of this opportunity to try out the game and provide valuable feedback before the playtest ends! Final Weekend The playtest will conclude after this weekend, so don't miss out on your chance to explore the world of Ardem and help shape its development. You can request access to the playtest on our steampa …
ARDEM PLAYTEST 5TH OF APRIL: REQUEST ACCESS NOW
Don't forget to join our Discord to always get the latest news on updates and events! Survivors, the time has come! We are happy to announce that we have just opened applications for our second playtest and you can now request access on our steampage. The playtest will start on April 5th and last until April 14th . If you are planning to participate, please request access to help us estimating the number of servers p …
Ardem - Dev Diaries #04
Don't forget to join our Discord to always get the latest news on updates and events! Attention, survivors! Survivors, it's time for the 4th episode of the Ardem Dev Diaries. As always, we are super excited to show you some of the progress that has been made over the last two weeks and provide you with some deeper insights into the development of Ardem. Let's dive in! Art On the art side, we've shifted our focus from …
Ardem - Dev Diaries #03
Don't forget to join our Discord to always get the latest news on updates and events! Attention, survivors! Welcome to Episode #3 of the Ardem Dev Diaries. We are thrilled to dive deeper into the events of the last two weeks and provide you with some intriguing insights into the development of Ardem. This one will be a bit shorter, but still a lot has happened. Let's dive in! Art Today, we will begin with art. As men …
Ardem - Dev Diaries #02
Don't forget to join our Discord to always get the latest news on updates and events! Attention, survivors! Welcome to Episode #2 of the Ardem Dev Diaries. We are thrilled to dive deeper into the events of the last two weeks and provide you with some intriguing insights into the development of Ardem. Also we will move the dev diary to Sunday instead of Saturday to allow ourselves more time to work on the report. Let' …
Ardem - Dev Diaries #01
Don't forget to join our Discord to always get the latest news and events! Attention, survivors! Welcome to the very first episode of the Ardem Dev Diaries. In this new biweekly format, we will provide you with exciting insights into the game's development, shedding more light on what the team has been working on. Please note that we will cover a selection of things we have been working on, and there might be additio …
Patchnotes for Regular Update 0.2.4196
Hello everyone, We would like to thank you for your tireless feedback, suggestions, requests, and the countless bug reports that have reached us. After this Open Alpha and your great feedback, we are sure that the current direction of Ardem will find a large fanbase, and we have collected many valuable suggestions that we will gradually implement into the game. We will shut down the demo on Sunday and focus on develo …
Open alpha launch date!
Hello Survivors! We're excited to announce that the open alpha for Ardem is just around the corner, scheduled to launch on October 27th! Once again, please spread the word to all your friends, gather your family members, and yes, even let your grandma know to mark her calendar for October 27th and join us in Ardem. For the open alpha, we will be providing servers in the EUROPE, US EAST, and US WEST regions, aiming to …
Get ready for the Ardem open alpha!
Hello, Survivors! We want to start by apologizing for any confusion our latest announcement might have caused. Right now, we're hard at work testing Ardem internally, and it's important to note that the open alpha is not yet live. But here's the good news – we're making fantastic progress, and we're feeling confident that we'll be launching the open alpha in October. We've got some details to share with you already: …
Ardem v0.2.2907 now live for all testers!
Greetings, Testers! A big "Thank You" to all those who consistently reported issues. Your help and support mean the world to us, and we're happy to announce that the next update is ready to roll out today. Our team has poured their efforts into enhancing the current content and introducing new features to the game. Let's delve into the specifics of what this update entails. User Interface We've been fine-tuning Ardem …