Update #3 — October 5, 2026
The biggest patch so far, focused on performance and the manager economy. Read the official notes
Performance
Improved crowd simulation and animation performance; fixed a memory issue in The Stacks scene where light probes from unloaded scenes were kept in memory; optimised footprints rendering (no longer rendering when it is not snowing).
Key fixes
Fixed the vending machine and composter item-duplication glitch; fixed customers never leaving when you take orders without the required processors; fixed cleanup of rotten food from large venue storages; fixed a conflict between two treasure fishing spots that blocked a related quest; fixed quest conditioning in Coffee Run, Protection Racket and The Network; fixed venue levelling for Sunset Hour; removed characters blocking the way to Deeala in Mountain Town; fixed the End-of-Day panel for large review numbers.
Managers and staff
Manager restocking is now synced with the automated restock objective (which triggers when an ingredient falls below 10 in stock); delivery wait time scales with manager level from 10 seconds down to 4 at max level; managers now gain skill experience from resolving complaints, ordering and delivering ingredients; NPC-run venues in Calypso Island received trash bins and better delivery scheduling.
World
3 new greenhouses in the Industrial District; a decorated neighbour apartment in Lowtown; Zaffer's neon sign is now a placeable decorative object; achievement point unlock levels rebalanced across all districts.
Update #2 — October 2, 2026
The performance-tuning patch. Read the official notes
Lighting Details slider
Added a light-culling system: the new Lighting Details graphics slider controls how many lights can be active in your field of view. Lowering it deactivates lights by distance — the single most useful setting if you are fighting frame drops.
Other highlights
Staff task priorities reworked (serve first, then process, cook, take orders, with manager and cleaner roles after), which encourages staff specialization; older ingredients are now used first to reduce rotten food; overwriting a save no longer risks losing the old one on a crash; texture-quality settings reworked (Low removed, players moved to Medium); fishing rod physics stability; trash bins relocated closer to venues in Central Canyon.
Update #1 — October 1, 2026
The day-after-launch patch. Read the official news hub
Highlights
Performance improvements for character actions, animations and physics; fixed business and barter skill levelling; fixed a camera issue that made performance degrade each time a save was loaded; fixed chess castling when the king is under check; improved the boat cockpit view; added lower mouse sensitivity support; improved the intro tutorial's shopping-list objective.
Known issues (official)
Fast travel can degrade performance on some systems — the official workaround is to save after arriving and reload, which resets it. Staff can get stuck in some venues, likely tied to idle positions — hiring fewer staff reduces the chance. Both are listed by the studio as under investigation as of Update #3.
A practical FPS checklist
1. Update to the latest patch — every update so far includes performance work. 2. Lower the Lighting Details slider (added in Update #2). 3. After fast travelling, save and reload if frames tank. 4. At venues with many staff, consider hiring fewer. 5. Full CPU/GPU targets are on the arrival checklist — the game wants an SSD and 16 GB either way.
Update questions, answered
What is the latest Nivalis Nights update?
Update #3, released October 5, 2026. It improved crowd-simulation performance, fixed item-duplication glitches, quest blockers and venue bugs, and reworked manager restocking. Updates #1 and #2 landed on October 1 and 2.
How do I fix performance issues in Nivalis Nights?
Official guidance: lower the "Lighting Details" slider added in Update #2, and after fast travelling, save and reload to reset performance if it degrades. If staff get stuck, reducing hired staff at a venue lowers the chance. Keep the game updated — every patch so far has included performance work.
Are the developers still patching Nivalis Nights?
Yes. ION LANDS shipped Updates #1, #2 and #3 within the first week after the September 29, 2026 launch, each with performance fixes, and states it is continuing to monitor feedback.
What known issues remain?
As of Update #3: fast travel can degrade performance until you save and reload, and staff can occasionally get stuck — the official workaround is to hire fewer staff per venue. Both are listed by the studio as under investigation.
Patch notes summarized from the official Steam announcements by ION LANDS; see each linked post for the complete list.