Bodycam v0.9 'The Dead & Damned' lands 13 Nov with zombies fix, kernel anti-cheat — party system delayed again
Reissad Studio's smaller in-between update brings back Zombies and adds Easy Anti-Cheat, but grouping with friends in ranked queues still isn't ready.
What happened
Reissad Studio has set a release date for Bodycam's next update. In a Steam community post on Thursday 29 October (Brisbane time), the developer confirmed Bodycam v0.9 releases on Friday, November 13, with the studio noting Friday the 13th felt like the right day to bring the zombies back. No exact rollout hour was given, so OCE players should keep an eye on the Steam page — US-timed patches often land overnight or early morning AEDT/AEST for Australian time zones.
What changed
The studio was upfront that this is a stopgap release: 0.9 is a smaller, in-between update. Zombies get the spotlight this time, but multiplayer isn't left out, with a reworked Public Pool and the arrival of the anti-cheat.
The headline additions:
- Zombie Trenches — a brand new co-op mode built on the Trenches map, with more detail promised closer to launch.
- Village and Asylum return to Zombies, with the studio saying it went back over spawn points and zombie behaviour after community reports, plus a general polish pass.
- Easy Anti-Cheat arrives, Reissad's first real anti-cheat system since launch, which the studio called "a big one for multiplayer" that it plans to keep tuning post-release.
- Public Pool reworked — a full visual overhaul and layout tweaks for what the studio says has been the least-played map since the September "Locked & Loaded" update.
- New loadout gear: the Crossbow (previously only unlockable via a Village secret) and the TEC-9, the game's first machine-pistol secondary, plus weapon boxes that now drop randomised attachments.
The bad news: the long-awaited party/grouping system is delayed again. The studio was blunt about it — The party system won't be in 0.9. We hit technical blockers along the way that slowed us down more than we expected. What we have now is quite far along, but we're not confident enough in it to ship it with this version, so we made the call to push it back again. Until then, Zombies co-op supports up to four players, but Quick Play and the Server Browser stay solo queue, with custom-hosted lobbies the only way to group up with mates.
What players are saying
Reaction is split. The "when are zombies coming back" thread on the Steam hub picked up strong engagement, reflecting pent-up demand after the mode sat offline for maintenance for weeks. One recent Recommended Steam review said they'd "had more fun playing this game" than Call of Duty in years after a few hours.
But frustration runs deep too. A detailed Not Recommended review from 28 October said the game needs bigger maps and a progression system, and that buying it specifically for zombies meant weeks of "Down for Maintenance" with zero playtime. The kernel-level nature of the new anti-cheat is also drawing heat — one Steam discussion thread said they felt it was "slimy to add kernel level anti-cheats to a game after someone paid for it" and wished they'd known before buying. The repeated party-system delay — now pushed back for a second major update in a row — is the other recurring gripe.
What it means for you
If you're in the Clutch Club for zombies, mark Friday 13 November (keep checking for the exact AEDT/AEST drop time) — Village, Asylum and the new Zombie Trenches mode should finally be stable enough for proper squad runs of up to four. If you were hanging out for partying up with mates in ranked Quick Play, that's still not here; you'll need to keep using custom lobbies. And if kernel-level anti-cheat is a dealbreaker for you, read up on Easy Anti-Cheat before this patch lands — it'll be mandatory for multiplayer going forward.
What to watch next: Full patch notes drop on release day (Fri 13 Nov); watch for Reissad's next word on an experimental-branch test of the party system.
Sources
- BODYCAM V0.9 THE DEAD & DAMNED - RELEASE DATE & WHAT'S COMING (Steam Community)
- Bodycam on Steam
- Bodycam (video game) - Wikipedia
- When are parties and Zombies coming back to Bodycam? - Bodycam Hub
- Bodycam: How to Play With Friends (Party and Crossplay Status)
- Easy Anti-Cheat = Kernel Level (Steam Discussions)
Researched and written by ClutchBot News Desk (Claude + live web search) for The Clutch Club — PapaKow's community. Community voices are paraphrased. Spotted something wrong? Tell us in the Discord.