In every update we fix bugs, make improvements to balance, lighting, graphics and more. We also endeavor to add meaningful changes to the way you survive which will add complexity and depth to your experience. In our second open beta update we continue to add new items, make graphical improvements and make changes under the hood to allow us to expand the game in efficient and meaningful ways.

Camera & Lighting: Shadows, Storms, and Sunlight

Image captured by community member Lucker

We’ve made some more big changes to the way the camera and lighting work in-game, aiming for a more consistent, realistic, and atmospheric experience.

• Tone Mapping & Exposure
  The camera’s tone-mapping and exposure range have been completely redesigned. To set benchmarks, we focused on the extremes: thunderstorms (the darkest) and clear skies (the brightest). With those locked in, we’ve rebalanced every other weather state to match, so the visuals stay coherent no matter the conditions.

• Skylight Improvements
  The skylight now follows the player a few hundred meters overhead. It’s subtle you won’t notice it directly but it smooths out inconsistencies in lighting and keeps the world looking stable as you move.

• Reflections & Colour Depth
  We’ve switched to a new screenspace reflection method. The result is richer colours and deeper materials, without that washed-out grey sheen we had before. Surfaces now feel more solid, and specular reflections pop.

• What You’ll Notice as a Player

  • More depth and atmosphere in the fog

  • Materials look richer, more grounded, with better reflections

  • Lighting transitions between weather states feel smoother

  • Moving between interiors and exteriors is more natural

  • Minimum spec players now get correct lighting across all scenarios

• What’s Still Missing
  The only major piece we still want to tackle is shadows. They’re not quite where we’d like them yet, but we’ll be working on a new solution in the future.

Image captured by PLAYERUNKNOWN

• Behind the Scenes
  On the technical side, the camera now has a realistic exposure range, meaning no more “hacky” workarounds. This makes life much easier for the rest of the team and helps us build consistently going forward.

Weather: When the World Changes Its Mind

Survival in Go Wayback! has always been shaped by the sky above. Fog rolling in to swallow the tree line. Thunder cracking across an open plain. Blizzards bringing a windchill that saps your body heat. Weather isn’t just scenery it’s the world’s indifference made real, a reminder that nature doesn’t care whether you live or die.

Up until now, the world could shift between six major moods: Wet Haze, Blizzard, Thunderstorm, Hail, Clear Skies, and Overcast. Each carried its own challenges, from blinding fog to freezing winds.

But weather is rarely so simple. The world doesn’t move from storm to calm in giant leaps it drifts, wavers, and changes its mind. That’s why we’ve added more subtle weather variations to keep you guessing what might come next.

These new states don’t just expand the variety of skies you’ll see they make the world feel more alive. Rain that starts as a drizzle may build into something heavier. A flurry might dance across the forest before the real storm begins. Sometimes the weather passes quickly; sometimes it lingers just long enough to change your plans.

We’re not interested in telling you exactly how or when these shifts happen. The important part is how they feel: the sound of rain pattering on leaves, the soft blur of snowfall, the uncertainty of what comes next.