5 entries. Source counts apply to each linked claim; a recipe ingredient can still have one source.
| Chapter | Unlock | Main people | Mechanics | Known snag | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prologue 2024-06-05 | Free standalone Prologue on Steam (app 2419710) | Locke (framing); Blueberry tutorial cast | Tutorial: cleaning, first drinks and meals, toolbox and repair-kit tasks | Separate app; mechanics differ from 1.0; not a demo of the full build | Official · 1 source Documented update: Prologue Checked 2026-11-09 |
| Chapter 1 (Act 1) 2025-07-15 (Early Access) | Start of the Early Access story | Locke, Earl, Casey, Samuel | Saloon restoration, first drinks and meals, first guest room, toolbox, $200 Locke debt | Story gates block closing the saloon and sleeping | 3 sources Documented update: Early Access Checked 2026-11-09 |
| Chapter 2 (Act 2) 2025-07-15 (Early Access; Act 2 content) | Complete the opening Locke debt / Act 1 | Earl, Addie, Charlie Duff, Casey, Samuel, Doc, Locke | Estate auction, toolbox recovery, first guest room, Charlie barter, six recommendation letters, town defense | Progression to later chapters unclear (official hotfix 2026-11-08); toolbox location has conflicting reports | 4 sources Documented update: 1.0 Checked 2026-11-09 Source links
|
| Chapter 3 2026-05-24 | Complete Chapter 2 | Otto, Lucy, W., Cheyenne, Peabody | Employees (cook/waiter/cleaner/bartender), pickpocketing, fistfights, train unloading rework, reputation, courtesans, moonshine, rooms and furniture | Employees lost after the update; moonshine quest bugs; waiter/cleaner stuck | 2 sources Documented update: Chapter 3 Checked 2026-11-09 |
| Chapter 4 2026-11-06 | Complete Chapter 3 and the reputation/milestone gates | Blueberry cast; Locke | Story conclusion, new rewards and customization, cart customization, performance work | Players report unclear progression after 1.0; hotfix 2026-11-08 addresses reputation | 2 sources Documented update: 1.0 Checked 2026-11-09 |
The line, with the names the posts use
Prologue is the free 2024 app. Act 1 and Act 2 are the Early Access story. Chapter 3 is the 24 May 2026 post. Chapter 4 is the 6 Nov 2026 ending. Official posts switch between “Act” and “Chapter.” The table uses both labels on the same row when a thread does.
The milestone panel is not optional flavour. Stuck threads show extra tier items beside the story: Cleaner Rank, bodies to the undertaker, patients to the doctor. Those counts disagree between a player post (10 and 10) and 1.0 goal text (5 and 5). See Cleaner Rank for both wordings.
Act 2 ends with the town defense and Locke. The Chapter 3 post refers to the defense in the previous chapter, which is the cross-check I use for “the fight is late in Chapter 2.” Staff systems are a Chapter 3 unlock; older saves sometimes only see them once Act 3 content is on the branch. Version 1.0 also rewrote the “Advance the story” objective and the Act 3 unlock progress value, and it added catch-up for old saves.
Read the Chapter 2 walkthrough for the auction, toolbox, guest room, and town-defense sequence. Other chapters are indexed in the table.
Questions players actually ask
How do you progress chapters?
Serve drinks and food. Sleep so reputation updates. Open T → Statistics → Act Milestones if a tier looks stuck. The hotfix says the studio is reworking the guidance because the current path is unclear.
Is Act 4 a different chapter from Chapter 4?
Players say Act 4. The 1.0 post says Chapter 4. I treat them as one ending, not two chapters.
Sources
- Steam news — Full Release update, 6 Nov 2026 — checked 2026-11-09
- Steam news — First hot-fix, 8 Nov 2026 — checked 2026-11-09
- Steam news — Chapter 3, 1.0, and the hotfix — checked 2026-11-09
- Milestone thread — checked 2026-11-09
- End of Chapter 2 thread — checked 2026-11-09