What happened with Scrap Mechanic?
After years in Early Access, Axolot shipped 1.0 Chapter 2 (Drilling Thunder) on July 24, 2026 — completing Survival story content and adding the underground mining layer.
Scrap Mechanic Chapter 2 guide: July 24 1.0 launch, Drilling Thunder mines, Grow Labs, console FAQ, save migration, and major Early Access changes on Steam.
Official 1.0 trailer — underground mines, Grow Labs, new biomes, and Chapter 2 story beats.
~7 min read
Scrap Mechanic Chapter 2 — marketed as Drilling Thunder! — is the update that took Scrap Mechanic from Steam Early Access to version 1.0 on July 24, 2026. It finishes the Survival story, adds a full underground layer, and ships alongside the largest balance and visuals pass in the game's history.
If you searched scrap mechanic chapter 2, you probably want three answers fast: when it dropped, what actually changed, and whether your old save still works. This page covers all three — then points you to the walkthrough for route order and the map for new POIs. Verified July 27, 2026 · Steam.

| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Update name | Chapter 2 — Drilling Thunder! |
| Version | 1.0 (full release) |
| Launch | July 24, 2026 |
| Platform | Steam (PC) · Online Co-op |
| Modes touched | Survival · Creative · Challenge |
Axolot Games shipped Scrap Mechanic 1.0 and Chapter 2: Drilling Thunder together on Thursday, July 24, 2026, ending roughly a decade in Early Access. The patch applies through the same Steam listing you already own — there is no separate SKU or launcher.
| Milestone | What changed |
|---|---|
| Jan 2016 | Early Access launch on Steam |
| 2017–2025 | Survival beta, Creative, Challenge, Workshop growth |
| Jul 24, 2026 | 1.0 + Drilling Thunder — full Survival story, underground biomes |
Open Steam → Library → Scrap Mechanic → confirm the build shows 1.0 or a post-July-2026 patch note. If nothing downloads, right-click the game → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity.
Co-op hosts must also be on 1.0; mixed Early Access / 1.0 lobbies are not supported once the client updates.
Survival now has a complete narrative arc — crash landing, surface progression, warehouse clears, and the underground chapter that closes the Farming Planet storyline. Creative and Challenge modes receive the same new parts and visual upgrades without gating them behind quests.
Returning players should treat 1.0 as a soft reset of the world layout in places: terrain generation, roads, ruins, and POI rewards were reworked even outside the mine elevator.
Drilling Thunder is the subtitle Axolot uses for Chapter 2. The name matches the new mining vertical: surface elevators drop you into cave networks, Grow Labs, and a collapsed Mining Island POI chain.

The headline gate is a surface elevator that opens The Underground — a multi-region cave layer with its own landmarks, loot tables, and Farmbot variants. Plan a vehicle or tram before your first descent; haul distance matters more here than on the crash-site plains.
Grow Labs act as underground dungeons with scripted rooms and heavier bot patrols. They tie into Builder Quests and schematic unlocks — pair with the warehouse guide if you are still underequipped for multi-floor clears.
Chapter 2 adds a dedicated mining toolkit: Plasma Drill for bedrock and extended reach, Plasma Saw for crystal rock and timber, vehicle drill attachments, and station upgrades like Ore Crusher, Battery Generator, and Freezer on the Craftbot tree.
Ore processing becomes a mid-to-late Survival loop — gather in the mines, refine at base, feed automation or trader orders. See the crafting guide for component chains before you bulk-craft crushers.
Fire is no longer decorative — it spreads across flammable blocks and parts if left unchecked. Underground camps need stone buffers or fire breaks just like surface bases.
Surface weather (including desert tornadoes in the new biome) affects travel and base planning. Lightning and storms were part of the 1.0 visuals pass alongside upgraded glass shaders and lighting.
Beyond the mine layer, scrap mechanic chapter 2 adds surface biomes, robots, quests, and building parts across all three modes. Below is a player-facing checklist — not a raw patch dump.
| System | Chapter 2 highlight |
|---|---|
| Story | Full Survival campaign with ending |
| Underground | Elevator, Grow Labs, core-bound mining route |
| Crafting | Ore Crusher, Battery Generator, Freezer, Plasma tools |
| World | Desert tornadoes, ice caves, reworked ruins |
| Tech | Schematicbot scans, expanded Builder Quests |
| Visuals | Lighting pass, weather, spreadable fire |
New and reworked regions include an expanded desert with tornado events, forest roads linking POIs, refreshed ruins with meaningful loot, Underground cave sets, Ice Cave POIs, and the Mining Island chain. The map guide marks crash site → stations → warehouses → elevator hooks.
1.0 introduces additional Farmbot variants such as Minerbot, colored Totebot tiers (blue, yellow, red), and flying bot types in underground zones. Raid waves on the surface still scale with crop value — the farming guide and farmbots database cover counters.
Builder Quests expand beyond the single pre-1.0 quest line. Schematicbot scans world props so your Craftbot learns decorative recipes you discover in the wild. Voiced NPC beats and trader hideouts receive new beats tied to the underground arc.
Notable additions include 360° pilot seats, sticky wheels for climbing builds, UV growing beds for underground farms, digital clocks, customizable signs, boomboxes, and battery generators. Creative mode gets them immediately; Survival unlocks through stations and quests.
Import community vehicles through Steam Workshop mods once you are comfortable with vanilla physics — see the building guide for bearing and suspension basics first.
Matched by build plan, shared topics, and guide progression — not random related links.
As of the July 2026 1.0 launch, Scrap Mechanic remains Steam PC only. Axolot has not announced PS5, Xbox Series, or Switch ports alongside Drilling Thunder.
| Platform | Chapter 2 / 1.0 status |
|---|---|
| Steam (Windows PC) | ✅ Available — July 24, 2026 |
| Steam Deck / Linux (Proton) | ✅ Community-playable — verify ProtonDB for your deck |
| PlayStation 5 / PS4 | ❌ No release announced |
| Xbox Series X|S / One | ❌ No release announced |
| Nintendo Switch | ❌ No release announced |
Google PAA questions like "Can I play Scrap Mechanic on PS5?" and "Will Scrap Mechanic ever come to console?" surged around the 1.0 trailer. The honest answer today: buy on Steam or wait for an official port announcement — fan wikis and this site track Steam updates only.
Online co-op works through Steam invites on PC. There is no cross-play with consoles because no console SKU exists. All party members need the 1.0 client and matching mod subscriptions if you use Workshop content.
Most Early Access saves carry forward, but 1.0 rewrites parts of the worldgen and quest state. Treat the update like a major season patch: back up before launching.
Exit the game → copy your save folder (Steam Cloud also syncs, but local backup is safer) → launch 1.0 once to let migration run → confirm Mechanic Station tier and quest log look sane before investing hours underground.
Start fresh if you hit missing quest triggers, broken elevator scripts, or terrain seams at old base coordinates. Speedrunners and achievement hunters often prefer clean 1.0 seeds for the achievements list — especially routes that touch warehouses and Grow Labs in one timeline.
After years in Early Access, Axolot shipped 1.0 Chapter 2 (Drilling Thunder) on July 24, 2026 — completing Survival story content and adding the underground mining layer.
July 24, 2026 on Steam PC, bundled with the 1.0 full release.
No PS5 or Xbox version is confirmed as of July 2026. The game is sold on Steam PC with online co-op.
Not natively — there is no PlayStation store listing. Remote play or streaming from a PC is the only workaround today.
Windows PC via Steam, plus Steam Deck/Linux through Proton where community reports are positive. See the platform table above.
The marketing name for Chapter 2 — focused on underground mines, Grow Labs, Plasma mining tools, and the final Survival story beats.
Usually yes, but back up first. If quests or the elevator break, start a fresh Survival world.
No — existing owners receive the update free through Steam.
Yes — new parts and blocks appear in Creative immediately even though Survival gates them behind progression.
Follow the walkthrough for act order, the warehouse guide if you are pre-mine, and mods for Workshop blueprints.
Matched by build plan, shared topics, and guide progression — not random related links.