Active Matter Patch Notes: Every 0.4.x Update Since Launch

As of September 29, 2026, Active Matter has shipped six official patch notes since the September 15 full release, ending on build 0.4.0.156. Two of them break advice you will find in older guides: 0.4.0.132 made Monolith rewards from level 2-5 available on every edition, and 0.4.0.156 added a partial Active Matter cost to fusion, so pure-Credit fusion routes no longer work.

• Full release shipped September 15, 2026 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
• Latest announced build as of September 29, 2026: 0.4.0.156, dated September 26, 2026.
• Named builds in the official feed: 0.4.0.115, 0.4.0.122, 0.4.0.132, 0.4.0.135, 0.4.0.137, 0.4.0.156, plus a named non-numeric event update, "The Fundamental Protocol".
• The official news feed does not publish every internal build. Treat the list below as announced patch notes, not a complete build-by-build diff.

Official source: Update 0.4.0.156 - Active Matter

The full 0.4.x timeline since full release

0.4.0.115 - September 17, 2026

The first build after the September 15 release. The official summary reads: improved performance, reworked several animations, fixed multiple bugs, and important updates to the user interface and sound. The Agency's own news feed is the only published description of this build, and it carries no per-item bullet list.

Official source: Update 0.4.0.115

Practically, if you launched on day one and the game felt like it was dropping frames or the interface was fighting you, this is the build that addressed it. Nothing here changes drop rates or progression, so no raid route written in week one is invalidated.

0.4.0.122 - September 18, 2026

This one is small in headline size and large in knock-on effects. It introduced an experimental Body Sleeve appearance-correction option, and the Agency warned that spatial distortions may occur with further adjustments planned.

The gameplay edits are the ones worth knowing:

• Swarms no longer sting operatives inside Ozernoe's church.
• A tougher Distorted Swarm variant was added, and it can call allies with a scream.
• Dogorsk extraction locations now vary between runs, so a memorised extraction spot is no longer a guarantee.
• Vehicle Transfer missions were raised to the Agent rank, which gates a contract type that used to be open to lower ranks.
• Operatives transformed into a monster can no longer revive teammates, and cannot use items while transformed.
• Raid-crafted backpacks now go into free gear slots or containers, only falling to the ground when inventory is full.
• Dropped Active Matter now lands beside the creature's equipment instead of scattering.
• The weight display now explains how carried mass changes sprint pace.
• Weapon malfunctions no longer trigger when you leave the firing range mid-reload, and the TOZ-B reload speed was corrected.

One line in this build answers a question a lot of players had: the item text now states explicitly that Merits and Prime survive account wipes. That is the first official written confirmation of the two wipe-proof currencies.

Official source: Update 0.4.0.122

0.4.0.132 - September 21, 2026

The largest post-launch build by volume, and the one most likely to make an old guide wrong. Headline changes: major control improvements, intensified danger in Distorted threat locations, and Shelter building that now explains why an item cannot be placed.

Rules and economy:

• Stronger Distorted variants now appear more frequently inside designated threat areas.
• Monolith access level 2-5 rewards are available to every player, regardless of edition. If a guide told you to buy a bigger edition to reach those rewards, that is no longer true.
• The Ural truck cargo now contains loot.
• Healing items no longer occasionally put an injured limb into shock.

Raid and map edits:

• Added potential final contraction locations for the Military Base "Unstable Zone" raid.
• Added vehicle spawn locations for the Airport Vehicle Transfer contract.
• Fixed rooftop sensor placement during Factory contracts.

Interface and Workshop, all of which change how you interact with the same screens:

• The inventory now has an ammunition slot showing the current count, with storage transfer from that slot.
• Replicator fusion can gather materials from every accessible inventory in one go.
• The recipe filter moved under the Workshop heading and became a persistent search field.
• Locked Replicator recipes and Investigations are dimmed instead of looking identical to unlocked ones.
• Tier III chronogenes display their remaining charges.
• The Raid Archive history now includes revivals performed for other players.
• Ammunition load and unload controls no longer remain visible while spectating or outside the Shelter.

Controls, if you play on a pad:

• Added gamepad shortcuts for Isolated and Open Raids and their settings.
• Holding the assigned gamepad button enables Drop All To Storage for backpack, rig and Body Sleeve inventories.
• External containers now initially highlight their first item with the gamepad cursor.
• Map-mode trigger zooming no longer causes accidental firing or aiming.
• Weapon-firing vibration was restored, and PS5 LT/RT tab switching in the Workshop works again.

Official source: Update 0.4.0.132

0.4.0.135 - September 22, 2026

A short stability build: improved raid reconnection, plus fixes for issues when looting containers and for users not appearing on friends lists. If a raid used to drop your connection and end the run outright, this is the build to retest before blaming your connection. If your friends list is missing people after a session, the fix is here rather than in a platform-side account problem.

Official source: Update 0.4.0.135

0.4.0.137 - September 23, 2026

Rewards and interface first, then stability:

• Defeating a Devourer once again unlocks its journal entry in Notes. Guides written during the launch week may list Devourer research as unavailable.
• Purchases during Harmonization Cycle 2 now grant the correct dog-tag offer, so a wrong or missing Cycle 2 dog-tag claim is fixed rather than lost.
• The current-track indicator is visible again on high-resolution displays.
• Map zooming works again with a controller.
• A rare server failure on entering a raid was prevented, a crash associated with Vulkan was resolved, and graphics-device failures are now detected so the driver recovers instead of the process terminating.

Official source: Update 0.4.0.137

"The Fundamental Protocol" - September 24, 2026

Not a numbered build, but a live system. The Agency stated it had mapped the fundamental processes connecting all Harmonization Cycles and distilled them into a new unified initiative called the Fundamental Protocol. Community tracking of the Monolith ladder places Cycle access to the Fundamental Protocol as a Delta-level reward, so if you were planning around an old cycle list, check the Monolith and Harmonization Cycle progression guide before committing to a reset.

Official source: Update "The Fundamental Protocol"

0.4.0.156 - September 26, 2026

The build that changes routines most. Headline: the Agency revised the protocols for collapsing Personal Timelines, so some of an Operative's property can now be preserved, anomaly rewards were increased, and the fusion system interface was reworked.

What survives a new Personal Timeline now:

• All equipped gear is placed into a temporary stash.
• Items placed in the Shelter stay in their original locations. The Agency's own warning is that weapons and equipment left this way can become decorative items and unusable in loadouts.
• Equipped chronogenes are still discarded, exactly as before.
• The Profile and Current Cycle sections now display the number of Personal Timelines you have created.

Balance and yields:

• Active Matter yields from monsters increased 3-4x from Shy Girls, and approximately 10x from Alpha Mimics and Alpha Flowermen.
• Reduced aim-punch when hit by a Flowerman, and reduced shotgun sway when hip-firing and while aiming.
• Robot dog owners can now cancel the dog's extraction command.
• Monster-capture contract progress is preserved when a trap with a captured monster is extracted via a safe container or robot dog.

Raids and maps:

• Added loot spawns to the trunk of the Ural Soviet truck.
• Item-planting contracts can no longer select vehicle glove boxes as the receiver instead of the vehicle trunk.
• The TOZ-B no longer fails to reload in Open Raids.
• The passage through the hole in the wall of Hangar 8A in the "Airport" raid is sealed, and interior access is now gated behind a key.
• The "Random" raid variant option was removed from the raid selection menu.
• A "Rotation" raid variant option was added for Isolated raids, which automatically changes the raid variant after each visit.

Workshop and fusion, the biggest economy change:

• Fusion recipes moved to a separate Workshop tab, and the "show fusion recipes on blueprints" toggle was removed so each tab only shows its relevant recipes.
• You can select the number of fusion runs of an item and start the process in one click, and open the item selection window from the gear icon next to the start button.
• A partial Active Matter cost was added to fusion.

Inventory, localization and audio:

• In a raid, the left mouse button now moves items into a container or onto the ground the same way as at the Shelter.
• Clicking in external inventories now prioritises the backpack first, then the chest rig, while Painkillers still default to the chest rig.
• French, Spanish and Portuguese text localization was added for PlayStation.

Official source: Update 0.4.0.156

Before launch, for context

Three builds before full release still shape what you see today:

• 0.4.0.62, September 4, 2026 - red dot sights no longer slow down aiming, and the Replicator and Refiner moved to the Workshop.
• 0.4.0.73, September 9, 2026 - the Downtown raid duration was increased, vehicle handling improved, and numerous interface improvements landed.
• 0.4.0.76, September 10, 2026 - the update the Agency later used as the cutoff window for retroactive bonus Merits awarded on September 18.

If you want the full list of what a wipe does and does not take with you, that is covered separately in the Monolith and Harmonization Cycle progression guide. For what is already announced beyond 0.4.0.156, see the October 2026 update page.

FAQ

What is the latest Active Matter patch version right now? As of September 29, 2026, the latest announced build is 0.4.0.156, published September 26, 2026. It is the newest entry on the official news feed.

Do I lose everything when I create a new Personal Timeline? Not any more. Since 0.4.0.156, equipped gear moves to a temporary stash and items placed in the Shelter stay where they are, although they can become decorative and unusable in loadouts. Equipped chronogenes are still discarded.

Which patch changed the drop rates for Alpha Mimics and Alpha Flowermen? Update 0.4.0.156, released September 26, 2026. It increased Active Matter yields approximately 10x from Alpha Mimics and Alpha Flowermen, and 3-4x from Shy Girls.

Is fusion still paid for with Credits only? No. Update 0.4.0.156 added a partial Active Matter cost to fusion, so a route that only budgets Credits no longer completes. The Workshop was also split into separate tabs and the blueprint recipe toggle removed.

My friends list is missing players and my raid keeps disconnecting. Which build do I check? Both symptoms are addressed in 0.4.0.135 from September 22, 2026, which improved raid reconnection and fixed container looting issues and users not appearing on friends lists.

Why does my old guide talk about a Random raid variant and a hole in Hangar 8A? Both changed in 0.4.0.156. The Random raid variant option was removed from the raid selection menu, and the passage through the hole in the wall of Hangar 8A in the Airport raid is now sealed with interior access behind a key.

What changed on the day of release itself, September 15, 2026? That was the full release on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S rather than a numbered patch. The Agency had confirmed in its September 7 Q&A that a patch would accompany the release and that there would be no global wipe.

Related Guides

• Active Matter October 2026 Update - 5 New Mutators - what is already announced beyond 0.4.0.156.
• Active Matter Monolith and Harmonization Cycle Guide - what resets when a cycle ends, and what the new timeline rules mean for you.
• Active Matter Maps and Locations - the raid zones that these patches changed, including Airport, Military Base and Downtown.
• Active Matter Currency Guide - Credits, Prime, Merits and harvested Active Matter, and which one the new fusion cost drains.
• Active Matter Extraction Loop - how a raid runs end to end, unaffected by the interface changes in 0.4.0.132.