Ten years is long enough for a game to become a running joke on its own Steam forum. That was Scrap Mechanic’s reality for most of the 2020s, a beloved sandbox that everyone agreed was great, followed immediately by “so when does it actually come out?”
On July 24, 2026, that question finally got an answer. Developer Axolot Games pushed Scrap Mechanic out of Early Access and into a full 1.0 release, paired with a free content update called Drilling Thunder. No asterisks, no “1.0 in name only.” The game that entered Early Access on January 19, 2016 is now, officially, done cooking.
Here’s what actually shipped, what it means for your old save files, and whether the decade-long wait was worth it.
Wait, Was Scrap Mechanic Really in Early Access for 10 Years?
Yes, Scrap Mechanic spent essentially its entire public life in Early Access, one of the longest runs of any game still active on Steam. Development traces back to an alpha build in October 2014, with the Early Access launch following on January 19, 2016. That means the game logged more than a decade of active updates, community builds, and price changes before Axolot Games felt ready to call it finished.
For context, that’s roughly the same amount of time separating the original *Portal* from *Portal 2*’s tenth anniversary. Scrap Mechanic spent that entire window as a “buy now, still unfinished” product, and somehow kept a loyal, very active community building walking robots and working calculators out of in-game logic blocks the whole time.
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Developer / Publisher | Axolot Games (also made *Raft*) |
| Early Access launch | January 19, 2016 |
| Full 1.0 release | July 24, 2026 |
| Time in Early Access | ~10.5 years |
| Current price | $28.99 |
| Steam rating (all-time) | Very Positive, 90% of 47,368 reviews |
| Platforms | Windows, Mac, Linux, Steam Deck (Playable) |
What’s Actually New in the Scrap Mechanic 1.0 Update?
The headline answer: Scrap Mechanic 1.0 finishes the story mode, adds a new underground area to explore, and throws in enough new parts, enemies, and systems that returning players are looking at a genuinely different game, not a reskin.
The update ships under the name Drilling Thunder, and it’s free for anyone who already owns Scrap Mechanic, it isn’t paywalled DLC. Axolot Games has framed it as a thank-you to the community that stuck around through a decade of Early Access.
Here’s what Drilling Thunder actually adds:
- A completed Survival story, the campaign now has a full narrative arc with voiced characters, closing out a plot that had been sitting half-finished for years.
- A new excavation/underground layer, players dig down into fresh biomes rather than only building on the surface.
- New enemies and a boss fight, combat finally has a proper climax instead of just recurring Farmbot raids.
- 400+ Creative Mode parts, a major jump in the building toolkit for anyone who plays purely in sandbox mode.
- New bots, tools, and cosmetics, plus a reworked Garage feature for organizing vehicles.
- Fire physics and performance optimization, long-requested changes for anyone who’s watched a base burn down (or their frame rate collapse).
One thing that hasn’t changed: Scrap Mechanic is still Windows/Mac/Linux only, with no confirmed console version. Given how much of the game leans on physics simulation and multiplayer sync, that’s arguably the right call rather than a missed opportunity.
Early Access vs. 1.0: What Changed on Paper
| Early Access (pre-July 2026) | 1.0 / Drilling Thunder (now) | |
|---|---|---|
| Survival story | Incomplete, “Chapter 1” only | Full story, voiced, two chapters |
| World | Surface biomes only | Surface + new underground excavation layer |
| Creative parts | Baseline toolkit | 400+ parts added |
| Boss content | None | New enemies + boss fight |
| Price | Rose gradually over the years | $28.99 at full release |
| Status tag on Steam | “Early Access” | Full release |
The takeaway from that table is simple: this isn’t a status flip. Nearly every major system got touched, which is unusual for a game exiting Early Access, plenty of titles just remove the label and call it a day.
How Are Players Reacting to Scrap Mechanic 1.0?
Reception is strong on the whole, but it’s not a clean sweep, Scrap Mechanic’s all-time Steam rating sits at “Very Positive” with 90% of 47,368 reviews in favor, while the reviews written specifically in the 30 days around launch dip to 83% positive out of roughly 3,000 reviews.
That gap tracks with a fairly normal pattern for a decade-long Early Access game hitting 1.0: a wave of returning players collides with launch-week bugs, and the review score takes a temporary hit before patches catch up. Axolot Games moved fast on that front:
- Patch 1.0.1 (July 26–27), fixed multiplayer steering-sync issues, Schematic Box crashes, and several mod-related crashes.
- Patch 1.0.2 (July 29), restored the in-menu Mods button, fixed missing items in challenge chests, and resolved quest-progress bugs.
- Patch 1.0.3 (early August), added new Creative Mode chat commands, fixed rendering glitches, and repaired an issue that could stop raids from triggering.
Three patches in the first two weeks isn’t a great look for a launch, but it is a reasonable pace for fixing it. If you tried Scrap Mechanic 1.0 on day one and bounced off a bug, it’s worth checking the current build rather than judging the game by launch week.
Will Your Old Scrap Mechanic Save File Still Work?
It depends on the save type. Axolot Games’ official guidance is that old Creative Mode worlds are expected to carry over into 1.0 without issue, since Creative doesn’t depend on the story or progression systems that got rebuilt.
Old Survival worlds are the exception. Because 1.0 restructures story progression and adds the new excavation layer, Axolot recommends starting a fresh Survival world on the full release rather than continuing an Early Access save. If you want to keep your old Survival progress accessible, you’ll need to stay on the legacy Early Access build via Steam’s beta branches, the game itself won’t force an upgrade on saves it can’t read correctly.
Practical tip: back up your save folder before opening anything you care about. It lives under %AppData%\Axolot Games\Scrap Mechanic\User\ on Windows, and duplicating that folder before you touch branches or mods costs nothing.
Is Scrap Mechanic Worth Buying Now?
At $28.99, Scrap Mechanic sits in a reasonable spot for a physics sandbox with an estimated 25-hour main story and effectively unlimited Creative Mode replay value. It’s not a budget purchase, but it’s also shipping with more finished content than it had a month ago, for the same price bracket most Early Access sandboxes charge on day one.
Quick pros and cons:
- Story mode is now actually complete, with voice acting
- Free Drilling Thunder update, not paid DLC
- Strong long-term Steam rating (90% positive, 47,000+ reviews)
- Light system requirements, runs on modest laptop hardware
- Multiplayer is still host-based, with no dedicated servers
- Early post-launch patches suggest some rough edges at launch
- Old Survival saves need a workaround to keep playing
If you’re specifically drawn to the base-building and mechanical-engineering side of Scrap Mechanic, it’s worth comparing notes with other Steam sandboxes chasing the same crowd, our breakdown of <a href=”/iron-nest-mech-base-building-steam”>why mech and base-building fans are watching IRON NEST</a> covers a newer take on the same fantasy, and <a href=”/starrupture-survival-crafting-base-builder”>StarRupture’s sci-fi take on survival crafting and base building</a> is aimed at a very similar audience.
And if the “finally out of Early Access” angle is what caught your attention, Scrap Mechanic isn’t alone this year, we broke down <a href=”/hades-2-early-access-major-release”>how Hades II proved Early Access can still lead to a genuinely major release</a> earlier this month.
Final Thoughts
A decade in Early Access usually ends one of two ways: a quiet status change nobody notices, or a genuine finish line. Scrap Mechanic landed on the second one. Drilling Thunder isn’t padding, it closes out a story that had been left hanging for years, adds a new layer to dig into, and throws in enough new parts and systems that returning players have a real reason to boot the game back up.
My honest read: the launch-week bugs were real, but three patches in two weeks is Axolot Games taking the finish line seriously rather than treating 1.0 as a marketing label. If you bounced off Scrap Mechanic in its Early Access years, this is the version worth giving a second shot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Scrap Mechanic still in Early Access?
No. Scrap Mechanic exited Early Access on July 24, 2026, with the version 1.0 update, also called Drilling Thunder.
Is the Scrap Mechanic 1.0 update free?
Yes. Drilling Thunder is included free for anyone who already owns Scrap Mechanic. The optional Fan Pack sold on Steam is separate, cosmetic supporter content and isn’t required to play the new story.
How much does Scrap Mechanic cost now?
Scrap Mechanic is $28.99 on Steam as of its 1.0 release. Historically, the game has gone as low as $11.99 during sales, so it’s worth watching for a seasonal discount if you’re not in a rush.
Do I need to start a new save in Scrap Mechanic 1.0?
Your Creative worlds should carry over fine. Survival worlds are the exception, Axolot Games recommends starting a new Survival save on 1.0, since the story and progression systems were rebuilt for the full release.
Does Scrap Mechanic have dedicated servers now?
No. Multiplayer is still host-based, meaning one player opens the world and others join through Steam friends. That limitation didn’t change with the 1.0 update.
Is Scrap Mechanic coming to consoles?
Not currently. As of the 1.0 release, Scrap Mechanic remains PC-only (Windows, Mac, Linux), with no confirmed PlayStation or Xbox version.
Current listing: Scrap Mechanic Early Access on Steam.