Dead Cells takes a bow with its 'final major update,' calling an end to 7 years of development that spanned 35 updates, 5 DLC, and 2 studios

Dead Cells is finishing a hell of a run. The excellent roguelike that first hit early access all the way back in 2017 got its «final major update» today, adding a raft of new features, weapons, customisation options and, most importantly, bidding a fond farewell to fans.

Update 35—The End is Near—was announced at the start of this year, and finally released earlier today. It marks the end of the journey with Dead Cells for both of the games' development studios: Its original creators at Motion Twin and the people at Evil Empire, who took over on the game five years ago.

«Thank you for everything,» reads a statement from both sets of devs in the Steam patch notes, «Thank you for all of your dedication, passion, and feedback. Dead Cells wouldn't be what it is today without all of you.» The team also gives thanks to devs past and present from both studios who have had their hands on the game before pointing towards their new games—The Rogue Prince of Persia and Windblown—and heading off into the night. Dead Cells is done, friends. It's over. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here.

As for what the final update actually does? Well, it does a bunch of stuff. In a handy-dandy «TLDR» section right up top, the devs call out «New additions based on one of our most iconic mechanics, Curse» as a particular highlight. Those additions consist of «3 new mobs, 3 new weapons, 3 new mutations and a new biome effect for you to choose whether you are gonna take the risk for more rewards or not.»

Apart from that, also highlighted are «40+ new heads» to customise your protagonist with, «new routing» that will let you check out both Return to Castlevania biomes in a single run, and a slightly vague «more accessibility options.»

The new Curse stuff sounds like the biggest addition, though, and the team is keen to point out that it's optional. If you don't quite remember, Curse is the name Dead Cells gives to the status effect whereby a hit from literally anything can kill you