SCUM's free-roaming animals are live on the Public Alpha branch as of June 18, 2026, with the full Into the Wild June Update rolling out to everyone on Monday, June 29, 2026. Gamepires has rebuilt how wildlife populates and behaves across the island, and the changes will land on every dedicated server in just a few days. Here's what's in the Public Alpha, what's different about the new system, and what server owners need to plan for.
Release Date
The Public Alpha build went live on Steam on June 18. The stable June Update, which folds the same free-roaming animal system into the main game branch, releases Monday, June 29, 2026. Private dedicated server owners cannot run the Public Alpha branch (Gamepires is keeping server files official-only during testing), so the first time your community sees these changes will be on launch day.
What's Changing in the Public Alpha
The build focuses on how animal populations move and die across the world. The biggest behavioural shifts:
- Population updates throughout the in-game day instead of only flipping at the day or night transition. Hunters no longer see the artificial "everything spawns at dawn" bottleneck, and animal density adjusts continuously based on what's already on the map.
- Bait feeders now work with the new population system. They attract existing animals first, and only spawn a new one if there are none nearby. This keeps trap setups rewarding without flooding the map.
- Improved flee behaviour to reduce stuck-animal cases. Spooked prey should actually leave the area instead of pathing into a rock.
- Animals can now die mid-state. Previous builds let an animal get caught between behaviour states and appear dead while still standing. That's fixed.
- Dead prey attract predators. A carcass left in the open now functions like a bait feeder for wolves, bears, and big cats, but without spawning extra animals. Cleaner ecology, more dynamic hunting trips.
- Fixed water spawns and water pathing. Animals no longer materialize in lakes, and the wildlife AI stops running into them.
- Continued performance optimization across the system.
Public Alpha Server List
Public Alpha is running on eight official servers. To opt in, right-click SCUM in your Steam library, open Properties, go to the Betas tab, and select the Public Alpha branch. Then connect to one of these:
| Server | Address |
|---|---|
| Public Alpha 1 Canada | 51.222.255.64:7042 |
| Public Alpha 1 US Central | 79.127.244.247:7042 |
| Public Alpha 1 US East | 79.127.223.71:7042 |
| Public Alpha 2 US East | 79.127.219.101:7082 |
| Public Alpha 1 Europe | 5.9.115.49:7122 |
| Public Alpha 2 Europe | 5.9.115.49:7142 |
| Public Alpha 1 Asia | 15.235.181.208:7082 |
| Public Alpha 1 Australia | 51.161.198.166:7082 |
Back up single-player saves before switching branches. Public Alpha and stable saves are not interchangeable.
What This Means for Your Server
This is the largest wildlife rework SCUM has had since the 1.0 launch, and it touches a part of the game that runs every tick on a dedicated server. A few things to plan for before June 29:
- Baseline server load goes up slightly. Continuous population updates throughout the in-game day mean the wildlife AI is doing work between dawn and dusk that it previously batched at the transition. On a 32 to 64 slot server this is not dramatic, but if you're already running near your tickrate ceiling on a 100 slot box, schedule a load test the night the update goes live.
- Take a full backup before the update. New behaviour systems often touch save data formats. A pre-update snapshot lets you roll back if a mod or admin config breaks.
- Audit any custom AI or spawn mods. Workshop content that modifies animal spawn rates, density, or behaviour scripts will likely need a refresh from the author. Disable on Monday if the author hasn't pushed an update yet.
- Watch for predator clustering. The "dead prey attracts predators" change means hunting servers may see bears and wolves group around carcasses in ways they didn't before. PvE squads using "leave a kill to draw predators away" tactics will need new positioning rules.
- Expect a player bump on launch day. Free-roaming animals were one of the most requested 1.0 features. Hunting and survival communities will log in to test the new system, so size your slot count accordingly.
How to Test Before Launch
If you want to see the new wildlife behave before it hits your dedicated server, the cleanest path is to:
- Switch your personal Steam client to the Public Alpha branch (Properties to Betas tab).
- Join one of the official Public Alpha servers above (pick the one closest to your region for low ping).
- Spend an hour or two hunting, setting bait feeders, and watching predator response near kill sites. Take notes on what surprises you. That's what your players will react to on June 29.
- Switch your Steam client back to the default branch before connecting to your live server. The branches are not save-compatible.
Verdict
This is the kind of update server owners actually want: a real systems change that improves PvE flow, with fixes for long-standing bugs (animals dying in mid-air, spawning in lakes) layered on top. The "private server owners cannot test on Public Alpha" gap is mildly frustrating, but four days of lead time before the stable drop is workable, especially with the bug list already public. Plan a Sunday backup, a Monday morning patch window, and a quick walk through your wildlife-spawn mods, and your server should be ready when free-roaming animals roll out to everyone on June 29.
Host Your SCUM Server with DoomHosting
DoomHosting runs SCUM on Ryzen 9 hardware with the headroom for the new continuous animal AI to scale cleanly through wipes and the upcoming June 29 update. Instant setup, full FTP access, automated backups, DDoS protection, and 24/7 support are standard on every plan. Rent a SCUM dedicated server from DoomHosting and have your community in the new wildlife system the day it launches.
