Far Far West Patch Notes: Hotfix 3 Live, Update 1 Previewed

Far Far West, the 1–4 player co-op robot cowboy shooter from Evil Raptor and Fireshine Games, has been patched several times since its Steam Early Access launch on April 28, 2026. Three hotfixes have shipped so far, and the developers have published the full notes for the first proper content update, Early Access Update 1, which is still being stabilized before release.

Quick answer: The latest live build is Hotfix 3 (version 601), released May 4, 2026, which focuses on save corruption fixes plus small Joker buffs. Early Access Update 1, previewed on May 9, 2026, is not live yet and has no confirmed release date.

Live patch timeline (Early Access)

All three current patches are stability and balance hotfixes rather than content drops. Update 1 will be the first larger pass on progression and gameplay systems.

Hotfix 3 (version 601) - live build

Hotfix 3 is the current build on Steam. It is a small patch by design because the team spent most of its time chasing save corruption. The developers have flagged that a larger patch with more bug fixing, balance work, and system changes is expected within the following week of the May 4 release.

Stability and saving:

• The game will not save if the in-progress data is already corrupted.
• Saving is now blocked during operations that could crash mid-write and produce a bad file.
• Auto backups no longer go to Steam Cloud, which prevents loss through Steam Family Sharing.
• User settings are no longer cloud-synced, so PC and Steam Deck can keep separate configurations.
• A shader crash on the Far Far North map has been fixed.

Joker balance:

• Weaklink maximum raised from 1 to 2.
• Run and Gun rarity lowered from Prime (3) to Rare (2), making it easier to roll.

Quality of life: The Gamba Machine now shows its odds before you commit.

Known issues still being investigated: Fatal Errors after long sessions and on launch, possible memory leaks during multi-hour play, and ROG Ally UI scaling problems. Deadeye is intentionally being kept strong for now, with a planned future tuning pass based on player feedback.

Hotfix 2 (version 593) - May 2, 2026

Hotfix 2 was a smaller, network-focused patch. The headline fix made the 250KCOWBOYS promotional code redeemable again without errors. As a side effect, the first two equipped spells were reset to defaults for everyone, so anyone who launched after the patch needed to re-slot their preferred spells. Nothing was permanently lost.

The patch also introduced the Evil Raptor Network back-end work, with most of the day spent resolving the network issues that surfaced in the first 48 hours of Early Access.

Hotfix 1 (version 583) - April 30, 2026

Hotfix 1 was the largest of the three live patches, with more than 50 fixes plus features and balance changes. User settings were reset once as a one-time technical step.

Backup system: Save file backup capacity grew from 10 to 30. A new backup is created after every completed mission rather than only on game launch, and you can manually create a backup or wipe your active save from the menu.

Languages: First-time launches now match the operating system language automatically.

Balance highlights:

• Bow XP gain increased.
• XP buffed on the level 1 spells Fireball, Strikes, Thrower, and Drain.
• XP buffed on all Cactus spells, with a large bump on Mino.
• Cryptic Saloon base health raised from 40 to 60 planks, scaling with difficulty.

Notable bug fixes: Steam Deck and PC saves now sync correctly. AMD Frame Generation no longer appears on incompatible hardware. Lobbies auto-kick when a fifth player joins. The Laser Cannon objective now displays the math correctly for every player. The Payload objective no longer leaves the map when the Pere Marquette train hits it on Far Far North. Cheapskate Joker now updates HP properly, the Trainwrecks questline syncs tool data across the lobby, and the sell price for Secret-related Jokers shows the correct number. Willy Billy no longer gets stuck during his gatling quest.

Quality of life: Screen shake and screen flash accessibility toggles now disable every effect. Cactus Mino and player landing sounds were quieted. Second Wind Joker now heals 50 HP instantly instead of trickling 5 HP every 0.1 seconds for one second. The chat key is rebindable from the Controls tab. Canyon secret targets are easier to see.

Misc: The internal network layer was rewritten to reduce crashes. A "compiling shaders" indicator now explains stutters during the first minutes of a session. SteamID no longer appears on the HUD, and Steamy has new dialog lines.

Early Access Update 1 - previewed, not yet released

The full Update 1 patch notes were published by Evil Raptor on May 9, 2026, but the build is still being tested. A Fireshine Games developer confirmed on May 11 that the update is not out yet and that the team is finalizing stability before pushing it live. No release date has been announced.

Note: Because Update 1 has not shipped, none of the changes below are in your game yet. The current build remains Hotfix 3 (version 601).

Progression rework. The developers describe this as the biggest change so far, cutting the Prestige grind roughly in half.

• Main weapon and secondary weapon XP gains doubled.
• Bow XP increased by 30% on top of the Hotfix 1 buff.
• All hero XP sources doubled.
• Joker slot unlocks now spread across levels 1–100 instead of 1–50, with free levels granted so no one loses slots they had already earned.
• Upgrade slots unlock every 2 levels instead of every level. Doubled XP keeps the practical rate the same.
• Prestige can now grant up to 6 bonus upgrade slots, up from 5.

Joker instancing. Jokers will become per-player loot to stop hoarding in co-op.

• Each player sees their own Jokers, and others cannot pick them up.
• A Joker's rarity is the same for every player on the drop.
• Enemy Joker drop rate scales down with party size, from x1 solo to x0.5 in a four-player group. Other Joker sources are unchanged.

Weapons. The bow's base ammo goes from 20 to 31. The Bend Speed upgrade slot caps at 8 instead of 16, but each rank is worth 10% instead of 5%. The Ammo Bag upgrade per-rank effect is doubled. The minigun's Fire Rate upgrade caps at 8 ranks instead of 16, with each rank worth 5% instead of 2.5%.

Jokers. Swift Shot becomes equippable on the Long Ranger and the Leverage. Medic Aid moves from Mythic (4 slots) to Fine (2 slots), with its bonus reduced from 50 HP to 35 HP to match the new rarity.

Spells. Finger Guns duration extends from 10 to 15 seconds. Bubble cooldown drops from 50 to 40 seconds. One additional cast time tuning takes a spell from 1 second to 1.5 seconds.

Stability fixes queued for Update 1. Saving completes correctly after picking a backup. Full servers can no longer be joined through Steam invites. Mismatched network internal versions no longer disconnect clients from the host. Intel AI fatal error crashes, the Far Far North shader crash, and post-kill or post-spell freezes are addressed.

Features. Pigs, goats, and chickens can be carried in the lobby town. The Wishing Well can roll a Joker as one of its outcomes.

How to check which patch you're on

The version number appears in the corner of the main menu in Early Access builds. If it reads 601, you are on Hotfix 3. Anything lower means Steam has not pulled the latest hotfix yet, in which case you can force a check from the Steam library by right-clicking Far Far West, choosing Properties, then Installed Files, and running Verify integrity of game files.

For Update 1, the version number will change on launch day, and Evil Raptor will post the live notes on the game's Steam page. Until that happens, the May 9 preview should be treated as a design plan rather than a live changelog. Save backups created on Hotfix 3 will carry forward, but anyone running mods, particularly UE4SS-based scripts, should expect signature breaks when Update 1 ships and plan to update or temporarily remove mods before launching the new build.