Antti Leinonen’s Road to Vostok was one of the most anticipated indie games in April. The hardcore survival game is living up to expectations and has sold over 250,000 copies in less than a month of its early access release. It has garnered Very Positive reviews on Steam, and players are excited for what’s next. The good news is that Antti has officially shared the Road to Vostok roadmap and talked about what to expect from the game’s next build, Build 2, coming in Q3 2026.
Road to Vostok Build 2 to Introduce Nomads
The currently available early access Road to Vostok version is referred to as Build 1 – Road. The next major update for the game will be Build 2 – Nomads. The biggest change will be the addition of a new AI faction called Nomads. It will be a friendly faction by default, but their behavior will change based on how players interact. Nomads can be added to your friends list by helping them and increasing your reputation. If you choose to attack them, Nomads will turn hostile towards you. It is up to players what route they want to take.
As friends, Nomads can be helpful in multiple ways. Players can interact with them and complete mini-tasks or barter for items they have found. They can be invited over to your shelter to sleep, eat, and do activities like playing instruments and feeding your cat when you are away. Players can ask a particular Nomad to follow them to a particular map. You can attend Nomad Meetings, where you might meet the Nomad Boss, a lore-based character with a trader-like task system and specific questline.
AI Overhaul Planned for Road to Vostok
The next major update will focus on AI performance to deliver a completely different gameplay experience. Antti says players currently feel like the main character who loots resources and shoots enemies. He wants to make players feel like a random trespasser in an uncontrollable situation. This is the reason he will work on overhauling the whole AI performance and behavior.
He says AI will investigate noise, which means players will need to be more careful of their surroundings. AI will indulge in different activities like lighting fires, picking up loot, throwing grenades, and using flashlights. They will now patrol in groups and reload weapons. The dev also wants to make fights against each faction feel different. This is the reason fighting the military will feel noticeably harder than fighting Bandits.
The Road to Vostok roadmap also has Build 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 lined up, but the dev currently wants to focus only on the upcoming Build 2. It is the reason detailed information about these builds will be revealed as they get closer to release.
