Vicious survival game Scum explodes on Steam thanks to long-awaited 1.0 launch

We recently learned that long-running survival game Scum was finally set to leave Early Access, seven years after it first launched in Steam's preview program. It's not unusual for games in this genre to spend a long time being iterated upon in this way, but Scum's lengthy creation process has meant we've been waiting quite a while to see how it's full version would pan out. Now, with its 1.0 launch, Scum has rocketed up Steam's player charts, enjoying a level of popularity that could see it standing next to genre classics like Rust, DayZ, Subnautica, and The Forest if its creators are able to make good on its initial success.

The 1.0 version of Scum sees the survival game overhauling various aspects of the experience. Its island map has been reworked, armed and aggressive NPCs have been added in, its weapons design has been altered, and various methods of more gradually introducing first-time players to the game have been incorporated. There are also custom servers and quests now, and a large number of bug fixes.

This update has made Scum very popular on Steam. At the time of writing, it has 29,374 active players despite its 'Mostly Positive' user review score having slipped to 'Mixed.' We'll have to wait to see if the game's user reception rebounds to take advantage of its renewed popularity. Though it's now in 1.0, Scum is set to receive substantial updates over 2025, with a roadmap for these changes detailed on its Steam page.

Scum's full version is out now on Steam. You can grab a copy right here.

Otherwise, there's more like Scum to discover in our lists of the best multiplayer games and best open-world games on PC.

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