Start with the guide boundary
This guide covers the opening settlement loop for the PC and Steam Early Access edition checked on September 5 2026. It explains the documented loop rather than promising a universal best map, build order, resource count, or combat setup.
Choose a region and a base to develop
The official description says you can enter a city or town, download its map data, and choose a place for your survivors. Begin by identifying the part of the region you intend to turn into a settlement; the game does not document one universally best starting location.
Adapt nearby buildings for the settlement
The documented opening loop is to establish shelters and production facilities by rebuilding and adapting existing buildings. Read each conversion in the context of your current map, stock, and survivors instead of following a fixed layout that may not suit the location you chose.
Use the day to plan a cautious scouting pass
The official page encourages using your knowledge of the city to locate useful places such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and weapons, while warning that infected may be inside old buildings. Use that information to choose what to investigate first and reassess after each search rather than treating any location type as guaranteed loot.
Keep survivor decisions tied to the current run
The core loop includes taking charge of survivors from the selected city. Make assignments from the people, buildings, supplies, and threats that are actually present in your run; this guide does not publish unsupported role, weapon, or stat recommendations.
Set a defense plan before nightfall
The official description says settlements can be attacked by infected at night and names melee and ranged weapons, vehicles, walls, gates, towers, and light as available defensive tools. Before extending the day further, decide which of the tools available in your current run can protect the settlement and where your group needs to be.
Release platforms
These are independent platform records. The source beside each record is the basis for the date shown here.
Xbox Series X|S
Sources
This guide is updated when release information or documented in-game details change.
- SteamOfficial game description confirms choosing a real-world region, adapting buildings, managing survivors, scavenging old buildings, and defending against infected at night.