Episode Four is Here

Today is a big day for Hinterland. After two years of development, we are finally launching Episode Four of our WINTERMUTE story mode for The Long Dark. “Fury, Then Silence” continues Mackenzie’s story after his ill-fated meeting with the convict Mathis in Carter Dam. You may remember that meeting didn’t end well for Mackenzie. Now we get to see what happens to our everyman bush pilot as he tangles with some very unpleasant people in a prison complex at the end of the world.

Developing the majority of this episode during a global pandemic has been a challenging experience to say the least. All the while, the team has banded together to support each other during the ups and downs. Within our small team, we’ve experienced the highs of births and new life, and the deep lows of losing people we love. And all the while, we pushed forward to tell the story of Mackenzie and Astrid, the quiet apocalypse, the wintery wilderness of Great Bear, and the mysterious aurora in the sky, all to the best of our ability. The parallels between our isolation and fears of the outside world and Mackenzie’s experience in the episode were not lost on us.

For us, Episode Four will always be the pandemic episode. The experience of making it, and of playing it, will always be coloured by this time. Art doesn’t exist in a vacuum, so maybe you will feel some of those influences as you go through and experience Blackrock for yourselves.

Today is a bittersweet day. We give you the fourth episode of our survival odyssey, and we come one step closer to the final part of our story. We have set the table for Episode Five, and now we turn our attention to bringing it to a close. There are still many challenges ahead.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more information about our plans for the future of Survival Mode, next-gen enhancements, mod support, and other things we’re doing at Hinterland. But today is about Mackenzie, a prison in the mountains, and a tough journey that will push him — and you — to your limits as a survivor.

We hope you enjoy the experience we have created for you, and on behalf of the entire team at Hinterland, I thank you for all your support and patience as you waited for this day. Thank you for believing in us, as we believe in you.

All the best, and safe travels.

– Raphael