SCUM added controller support on November 11, 2026, in its November Update (version 1.3.6.0.177121), and developer Gamepires says the update comes with no wipe. “This update doesn’t include a wipe, and no further official-server wipes are planned for 2026,” the studio wrote in its Steam announcement. It also brings back tattoos, opens Photo Mode to everyone, and supports joining multiplayer servers through Proton on Linux, Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
How Controller Support Works
The update is live now for everyone who owns SCUM on Steam. Gamepires says you can now “fight, drive, fish, take photos and tackle minigames” on a controller, with radial menus and button combinations putting the extra actions within reach. The post names no setting to switch on and no list of supported pads: it says you can use “your controller of choice.”
Gamepires calls this a first release that “may still have some rough edges,” and asks for problems to go to SCUM Support with your controller model.
The other additions, and how to use them:
- Photo Mode: press P on the keyboard, or pick Photo Mode from the controller’s radial menu. It used to come with Supporter Pack 2, whose owners get three exclusive face tattoos as replacement content.
- Tattoos: more than 60 designs, placeable from the face down to the hands. Choose them in character creation, or visit the barber trader in a safe zone to ink an existing prisoner. The designs planned for a Yakuza-themed tattoo pack are in the free library instead, and a second planned pack is not in this update.
What This Means for Players
No wipe means prisoners and bases on official servers carry on through this update, and Gamepires plans no more official-server wipes this year. That plan covers official servers only; community servers are run by their own admins. The update also fixes foliage that poked through newly placed base pieces and Small Twig Stairs upgrades, and fixes the Woodland Hearth’s unusually low durability.
For Steam Deck, Steam Machine and Linux players, joining multiplayer servers through Proton is now supported rather than a workaround. Steam lists SCUM as a Windows game, so it runs through Proton on those devices. If Steam does not pick Proton on its own, open SCUM’s Properties in your library, go to Compatibility and tick the option to force a Steam Play compatibility tool. Our guide to connecting an Xbox controller to the Steam Machine covers pairing a pad, and our best Steam Machine games list has more to play.
SCUM follows Rust, which added gamepad support on PC earlier this month. For another hardcore survival game, our DayZ guides cover the Badlands expansion.
When and Where
The November Update is live now on PC through Steam. The Halloween quest runs until the end of November, and Gamepires is working on Survivalist, an optional tougher server ruleset, and the next season.
Source: Gamepires, SCUM November Update 1.3.6.0.177121, Steam, November 11, 2026.