GROUND BRANCH V1.1.0 and Chapter 1 Release Date Is 12 November, and the Game Is Moving to Unreal Engine 5

GROUND BRANCH V1.1.0, including Chapter 1 of the Operations campaign, releases on 12 November 2026, BlackFoot Studios confirmed on 29 October. The free update brings a new Persian Gulf hotspot with three missions, the first campaign-specific Ready Rooms and a big round of AI and animation work. And in what the studio calls "possibly even bigger news", the tactical shooter is moving to Unreal Engine 5.

GROUND BRANCH V1.1.0 at a glance

When is the GROUND BRANCH V1.1.0 release date?

12 November 2026. BlackFoot had originally aimed for the end of October, and confirmed the date in Intel Report #034. Like all planned updates, it's 100% free for owners.

What's in GROUND BRANCH Chapter 1?

Chapter 1 adds a new Operations hotspot, the Persian Gulf, with three missions set on the Tanker, Rig and Docks maps (Docks is getting a small update for its mission). From V1.1.0 onwards, every new hotspot gets its own Ready Room, where you're briefed and kit up before deploying.

What else is new in GROUND BRANCH V1.1.0?

• AI updates, including idle animations and new hostage and high-value-target behaviours.
• Shoulder-tapping your teammates.
• Animation improvements from two new specialists: a new character rig with facial expressions and cloth simulation, cleaner reload transitions, vaulting and mantling, and procedural weapon handling.
• New weapons and attachments, face paint and audio tweaks.

Is GROUND BRANCH moving to Unreal Engine 5?

Yes. BlackFoot is migrating GROUND BRANCH to Unreal Engine 5.8, which it calls a "near-future endeavor". V1.1.0 itself still releases on Unreal Engine 4 on 12 November.

The studio's reasons: UE4 "has been visually showing its age", plugins are dropping UE4 support, and UE5 natively handles features the team has been adding through plugins or even backporting. A dedicated team is working on the migration in parallel, so it doesn't hold up regular updates. Early UE5 previews show better lighting and atmosphere and hint at weather effects. Larger versions are on the studio's website.

How much is GROUND BRANCH?

It's £23.79 / $29.99 / €24.99 on Steam, published by MicroProse. Version 1.0 released on 16 July 2026, and V1.1.0 is a free update.

Watch the GROUND BRANCH V1.1.0 face paint preview

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