The underground drug empire simulation game that took Steam by storm has just dropped its most substantial update yet. Schedule 1, the surprise hit from solo developer Tyler (TVGS), has released its November 2025 Halloween Update, bringing players a whole new way to navigate the dangerous streets of Hyland Point. Despite its spooky name, this update isn’t about ghosts and goblins—unless you count the new sewer-dwelling NPCs that now patrol the city’s underbelly.
What Exactly is Schedule 1?
Before diving into the update details, let’s cover what makes Schedule 1 such a standout title in the crowded simulation genre. Released in March 2025, Schedule 1 is a first-person drug empire building simulator that somehow manages to turn the gritty world of narcotics trafficking into a surprisingly cozy management experience. Players start as small-time dealers with nothing but the clothes on their backs and must build their criminal enterprise from the ground up in the west coast city of Hyland Point.
What makes Schedule 1 unique is its unexpected blend of themes. While the subject matter is dark, the gameplay loop is oddly meditative—growing drugs, packaging them, and building relationships with customers feels more like tending to a garden in Animal Crossing than the chaotic violence of GTA. This surreal dichotomy between subject matter and tone has helped the game develop a dedicated following, making it one of Steam’s top-selling titles with over $125 million in revenue by May 2025.
The Halloween Update: More Than Just a Name
The November 2025 update, officially dubbed the “Halloween Update” (version 0.4.1), arrived two days later than initially planned. Developer Tyler apologized for the delay, explaining that at the last minute, he decided to beta test the update rather than releasing it immediately—a decision that likely saved players from numerous bugs and performance issues.
Despite its Halloween-themed name, the update doesn’t actually add any seasonal content. Instead, it focuses on expanding the game’s core mechanics and adding new ways for players to navigate and interact with the world of Hyland Point. The centerpiece of this update is undoubtedly the new sewer system, but there’s much more to discover beneath the surface.
Descending Into Darkness: The New Sewer System
The most significant addition in the Halloween Update is the extensive sewer network that now runs beneath Hyland Point. This isn’t just a cosmetic addition—the sewers serve a crucial gameplay purpose by offering players a new way to navigate the city while avoiding the watchful eyes of law enforcement and rival cartel members.
According to the patch notes, “The sewers offer a new way to navigate Hyland Point without having to worry about police and cartel members, but it isn’t without its risks.” This risk-reward dynamic adds a new strategic layer to the game. Do you take the safer but longer route through the sewers, or risk running across town where you might encounter police or competitors?
To access the sewer system, players will need to obtain a sewer access key, which opens up new possibilities for stealthy movement and strategic positioning. The sewers also connect to various points throughout the city, making them valuable for quick escapes or discreet travel between your various properties and operations.
New Faces in the Underground: Sewer NPCs
What would a new area be without new characters to interact with? The Halloween Update introduces two new NPCs who call the sewer system home: the Sewer King and the Sewer Goblin. While their exact role in the game’s ecosystem isn’t fully clear yet, these characters add personality and potential quest opportunities to the new underground environment.
The Sewer King and Sewer Goblin represent the first of what will likely be many unique NPCs as Schedule 1 continues to develop. Given the game’s quirky humor and unexpected charm, these characters will probably offer their own brand of missions, dialogue, and perhaps even special items or abilities for players who befriend (or defeat) them.
Reaching New Heights: Climbing and Ladders
The Halloween Update doesn’t just take players down—it also brings new verticality to Schedule 1 with the introduction of a climbing system and ladders throughout Hyland Point. This new mechanic allows players to access rooftops, climb over obstacles, and find new vantage points across the city.
The addition of ladders to various buildings serves both practical and strategic purposes. Practically, they provide access to previously unreachable areas. Strategically, they offer new escape routes, ambush positions, and shortcuts through the urban landscape. This vertical expansion makes the city feel more three-dimensional and opens up new possibilities for creative navigation and tactical gameplay.
Expanding Your Empire: New Properties and Items
No Schedule 1 update would be complete without new ways to expand your criminal enterprise, and the Halloween Update delivers with several new additions:
- Sewer Maintenance Office Property: Players can now purchase this new property, which likely serves as a base of operations for sewer-related activities and may offer unique benefits or production capabilities.
- New Furniture and Decorations: The update adds several new decorative items including a 2x1m plastic table, trash crown, and garbage throne. While these may seem purely cosmetic, in Schedule 1’s world, even decorative items can serve strategic purposes or contribute to your empire’s prestige.
- Loading Dock at West Gas-Mart: This practical addition provides a new location for loading and unloading goods, potentially streamlining your distribution operations.
Performance Improvements and Technical Enhancements
One of the most welcome aspects of the Halloween Update is the focus on performance optimization. Tyler has implemented numerous technical improvements that should result in a significant performance boost for most players. According to the patch notes, players can expect a 10-15% increase in framerate following these optimizations.
The technical improvements include:
- Refactored environmental FX and post-processing systems
- Tweaked occlusion settings and shadow cascades
- Optimized compass rendering
- Disabled unnecessary calculations and update loops
- Replaced some MeshColliders with primitive colliders
- Cached animation string hashes on startup
- Turned off shadows for small objects
These optimizations address some of the performance issues that players have reported since the game’s Early Access launch, making for a smoother experience as you build your drug empire.
Bug Fixes and Quality of Life Improvements
As with any major update, the Halloween patch includes numerous bug fixes that improve the overall gameplay experience. Some of the most notable fixes include:
- Fixed police global vision events not working properly
- Fixed NPCs shooting at players even when not visible
- Fixed police officer vision getting bugged if killed while searching for the player
- Fixed not being able to pickpocket unconscious NPCs after a failed attempt
- Fixed null reference errors when inserting cash into storage entities
These fixes address some of the more frustrating bugs that players have encountered, particularly those related to the police AI and stealth mechanics. The improvements to the police vision system, in particular, should make stealth gameplay more consistent and predictable.
What This Update Means for Schedule 1’s Future?
The Halloween Update represents more than just new content—it’s a clear indication of where Schedule 1 is headed and what players can expect from future updates. The addition of the sewer system and climbing mechanics suggests that Tyler is focused on expanding the game’s movement and navigation options, making Hyland Point a more complex and interesting environment to explore.
The performance optimizations and bug fixes also show a commitment to improving the technical foundation of the game, which is crucial for supporting the additional content planned for the future. According to the game’s Early Access roadmap, Schedule 1 will continue to receive monthly updates for the next few years, with plans for map expansion, additional drugs, and more endgame content.
Looking Ahead: The Shrooms Update
While players are still exploring the new sewer system, Tyler has already provided a glimpse of what’s coming next. Following a community vote where over 269,000 players cast their ballots, the next major update will focus on adding psychedelic mushrooms as the fourth drug type in the game.
The Shrooms Update, slated for late November 2025, will introduce:
- A unique production process for growing and harvesting mushrooms
- New production equipment that can be used for both shrooms and other drugs
- Additional ingredients for creating new drug variants
- New customers with specific preferences for psychedelic products
This community-driven approach to development has been a hallmark of Schedule 1’s Early Access period, with Tyler frequently polling players on what features they’d like to see next. It’s this level of community engagement that has helped the game maintain its “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on Steam despite still being in development.
The Solo Developer Success Story
What makes Schedule 1’s success even more impressive is that it’s primarily the work of a single developer—Tyler, who operates under the studio name TVGS (Tyler’s Video Game Studio). At just 22 years old, Tyler has created one of the most surprising hits of 2025, proving that innovative game design and community engagement can triumph over big-budget marketing campaigns.
The Halloween Update exemplifies Tyler’s development philosophy: substantial content additions, careful attention to player feedback, and a healthy dose of humor. While many Early Access games struggle to maintain momentum, Schedule 1 continues to grow its player base and improve with each update.
Tips for Navigating the New Sewer System
For players diving into the Halloween Update for the first time, here are some tips for making the most of the new sewer system:
- Get the Sewer Access Key Early: This item is essential for accessing the sewer system, so make it a priority to obtain it as soon as possible.
- Map the Connections: Take time to learn how different sewer entrances connect to various parts of the city. This knowledge will be invaluable for quick escapes or efficient travel.
- Beware the Sewer Dwellers: The Sewer King and Sewer Goblin aren’t just for show—approach with caution until you understand their behavior patterns.
- Combine with Climbing Mechanics: Use the new ladders and climbing system in conjunction with the sewers for truly stealthy approaches to your targets.
- Consider Strategic Property Placement: With the new sewer maintenance office property available, think about how it might fit into your existing empire layout.
Final Thoughts on the Halloween Update
The November 2025 Halloween Update for Schedule 1 represents exactly what players have come to expect from this surprise hit: substantial content additions, thoughtful gameplay improvements, and that signature blend of serious mechanics and silly humor that makes the game so endearing.
While the update may have arrived a couple of days late, the additional polish and testing time have resulted in a more stable and feature-rich addition to the game. The new sewer system alone adds hours of exploration and strategic gameplay, while the performance improvements make the entire experience smoother for both new and returning players.
As Schedule 1 continues its journey through Early Access, updates like this Halloween patch demonstrate the game’s potential to evolve into something truly special. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a curious newcomer, there’s never been a better time to dive into the surprisingly cozy world of drug empire building.
With the Shrooms Update just around the corner and years of additional content planned, Schedule 1’s underground empire is only just beginning to surface. The November 2025 update isn’t just an addition to the game—it’s a foundation for the future of one of 2025’s most unexpected gaming success stories.