Veilbreak: Dead Signal

ShooterofIO ONLINE
Developer(s)	SOI Studios
Publisher(s)	Mob Productions
Series	ShooterofIO
Platform(s)	Web browser
Release	WW: July 2, 2026
Genre(s)	First-person shooter Survival game
Mode(s)	Single-player multiplayer

ShooterofIO ONLINE is a 2026 browser-based first-person survival game developed by SOI Studios and published by Mob Productions. It was released on July 2, 2026, for web browsers on PC. It is part of the ShooterofIO series and is launched through ShooterofIO: Online HQ.

The game is structured as a Zombies-focused online survival experience. At launch, the playable build centered entirely on Zombies content, with no active Multiplayer or DMZ modes. Its first playable map, Hollow Pines, supports three playlists: Standard, Cursed, and Surge. The game includes account progression, weapon leveling, perks, GobbleGums, challenges, cosmetics, and a browser-based profile system.

Gameplay

ShooterofIO ONLINE is a round-based Zombies survival game. Players enter a Zombies lobby, select a profile and starting weapon, and launch into one of the available playlists. Matches are built around surviving waves of undead enemies while earning Essence, Scraps, weapon experience, profile experience, and seasonal progression.

Essence is the main in-match currency. It is used to open doors, buy perks, purchase ammunition, activate the Mystery Box, use Pack-a-Punch, and interact with other survival systems. Scraps function as an account-level currency used outside matches for progression rewards, GobbleGum packs, cosmetics, and store items.

Players begin each match with a selected starting weapon and can increase their power through several systems. Weapons can be upgraded through Pack-a-Punch, improved through rarity upgrades at the Arsenal Machine, replaced through the Mystery Box, or obtained as special Wonder Weapons. Players can also purchase perk drinks, use GobbleGums, equip lethal and tactical equipment, and activate Aether Shroud as a field upgrade.

The game's main Zombies menu includes Play, Weapons, Perks, Augments, Barracks, Challenges, and Store tabs. Player progression is stored through a shared profile system that tracks level, prestige, Scraps, weapon progression, GobbleGums, calling cards, emblems, operators, daily and weekly challenges, and Zombies statistics.

HUD and controls

During gameplay, the player's HUD displays health, armor, ammunition, round progress, Essence, equipment, field upgrade status, quest information, and player status. The game also includes a Quest Items display, accessible during matches, for tracking key items collected during the main quest.

Aether Shroud functions as the primary field upgrade in the launch build. It charges through combat and can be activated as a defensive escape tool during high-pressure rounds, Cursed objectives, and boss encounters.

Zombies

File:Zombies Icon.png

Zombies is the only playable mode in the current version of ShooterofIO ONLINE. It is accessed from the main menu and contains three playlists: Standard, Cursed, and Surge.

Standard

Standard is the main Hollow Pines survival experience. The player starts at Ranger Checkpoint and opens the map by spending Essence on doors. Standard includes the full map layout, power system, perk machines, Mystery Box, Arsenal Machine, Pack-a-Punch, Wonder Weapon crafting, and the main quest, "The Echo Beneath the Pines".

The playlist follows the traditional Zombies structure of opening the map, restoring power, increasing weapon strength, buying perks, surviving higher rounds, and either completing the main quest or continuing for high-round survival.

Cursed

Cursed is a harder variant of Standard that uses the same Hollow Pines map while adding Cursed Relics and hidden Relic quests. Players can equip unlocked Relics before beginning a Cursed run. Each Relic applies a negative modifier, such as reduced Essence income, faster enemy pacing, stronger Special Zombies, rarer power-up drops, or increased enemy health.

Relics contribute points to the Cursed Meter. Grim Relics add one point, Sinister Relics add two points, and Wicked Relics add three points. Higher Cursed Meter tiers unlock stronger in-match benefits, making the playlist a risk-and-reward version of the main survival mode.

Cursed Meter tier	Requirement	Reward
Tier I	3 points	Removes the standard four-perk limit.
Tier II	6 points	Restores normal base Essence income and grants increased ammunition capacity.
Tier III	9 points	Unlocks Ultra rarity at the Arsenal Machine.

Surge

Surge is a compact containment-zone variant of Zombies. Rather than progressing through the full map normally, players fight in rotating combat zones based on areas from Hollow Pines. Each Surge requires players to survive and clear enemies inside the active zone before moving to the next phase.

After each Surge, players are offered reward choices. The mode tracks best Surge and total Surge clears separately from standard round-based survival. After enough progression, a boss portal can open and allow the player to begin a multi-phase Surge boss encounter. Classic full-map systems are disabled inside Surge in order to create a faster, arena-focused version of Zombies.

Map

Hollow Pines

Hollow Pines is the launch map of ShooterofIO ONLINE. It is a forest-town survival map set across a rural checkpoint, abandoned town road, market lot, electrical substation, chapel grounds, saw mill, rail yard, bunker laboratory, mine, and underground temple.

The map begins at Ranger Checkpoint. From there, players can open Ashwood Main Street and branch into routes leading toward the West Cabin Loop, East Market Lot, Power Substation, Memorial Grounds, Rift Chapel, Moonlit Saw Mill, Old Rail Yard, Bunker Lab, Blackroot Mine, and Subsurface Temple.

Hollow Pines is described in-game as a "Full Quest Survival" map. It includes doors, power, perk machines, a Choose-a-Perk machine, the Mystery Box, Arsenal Machine, Pack-a-Punch, Cursed Relics, a Quest Items display, Wonder Weapon crafting, and the main quest "The Echo Beneath the Pines".

The Echo Beneath the Pines

"The Echo Beneath the Pines" is the main quest of Hollow Pines. The quest is playable in Standard and is built around restoring power, collecting quest items, building the Wonder Weapon, opening the boss portal, and defeating the final boss, The Jailor.

The quest begins with the player restoring power at the Power Substation and gradually expands across the map through a series of item-based objectives. Quest progression involves the Station Fuse, Bell Tower Key, Saw Chain, Rail Signal, Blood Well, Temple Obelisk, and other map-specific steps before the player can access the final encounter.

Enemies

The launch enemy pool includes regular Zombies and several round-scaling variants. Standard Zombies form the base enemy type, while faster, armored, ranged, and phase-based threats appear as rounds progress.

Enemy	First appears	Description
Zombie	Round 1	The standard enemy type and the core of the round-based horde.
Sprinter	Round 3	A faster, lower-health enemy that pressures movement and positioning.
Armored Husk	Round 5	A slower, tougher enemy with increased health and damage resistance.
Bile Spitter	Round 6	A ranged enemy that attacks from distance and disrupts safe routes.
Phase Wraith	Round 9	A later-round special enemy with increased pressure and mobility.
The Jailor	Main quest boss	The final boss of Hollow Pines.

Perks and Augments

ShooterofIO ONLINE includes perk machines that grant passive bonuses after purchase. Some perks are placed directly on Hollow Pines, while the Choose-a-Perk Machine allows broader perk access once power is active.

The launch perk set includes Juggernog, Speed Cola, Stamin-Up, Deadshot Brew, Quick Revive, Vulture Aid, Voltaic Vigor, Undertow Tonic, and Widow's Wine. These perks provide health, reload, movement, critical damage, recovery, resource, electrical, terrain, and defensive effects.

Perks also include Augments, which allow players to strengthen or specialize perk effects over time. Augments are divided into Major and Minor upgrades and are unlocked through progression milestones such as level, kills, round survival, or perk-specific objectives.

Weapons and equipment

The game includes weapons across several classes, including assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, light machine guns, marksman rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, launchers, and melee weapons. Weapons can be unlocked through player level, prestige, progression state, or purchase state, and can be selected as starting loadout weapons once available.

Weapon balance in the Zombies build uses a single live tuning profile across Standard, Cursed, and Surge. Fast-firing submachine guns and automatic pistols are tuned with lower raw damage to prevent them from dominating every playlist, while semi-automatic, burst, marksman, sniper, pump shotgun, and launcher weapons have stronger per-shot value in Zombies.

Wonder Weapons are high-power special weapons that can be obtained through crafting or the Mystery Box. In Hollow Pines, the map-specific Wonder Weapon is required to open the boss portal after the player restores the major quest items. The Ray Gun is also available as an Ultra Wonder Weapon option and received balance improvements in a later update.

GobbleGums

GobbleGums are consumable power items used during Zombies runs. They are divided into Rare, Epic, Legendary, Ultra, and Mythic tiers. Players can own and equip GobbleGums through profile progression and GobbleGum packs.

GobbleGum effects provide temporary or situational advantages, including bonus resources, emergency survival, ammunition recovery, perk support, time manipulation, high-rarity weapon opportunities, and quest assistance. GobbleGum packs are purchased with Scraps and contain randomized GobbleGums weighted by pack tier.

Cursed Relics

Cursed Relics are unlockable gameplay modifiers used in the Cursed playlist. Each Relic is tied to a hidden Cursed quest in Hollow Pines. Relics do not directly make the player stronger; instead, they make a run harder and contribute to the Cursed Meter, which unlocks tiered rewards during the match.

The launch build contains six Hollow Pines Cursed Relics: Pilgrim's Bell, Hollow Matchbook, Widow's Antler, Ashen Compass, Grave Choir, and Root Crown. They are divided into Grim, Sinister, and Wicked tiers, with higher tiers applying more severe penalties and contributing more points toward the Cursed Meter.

Progression

ShooterofIO ONLINE uses profile-level progression across Zombies. The profile tracks level, prestige, profile experience, weapon levels, weapon kills, critical kills, best round, total kills, Cursed statistics, Surge statistics, main quest completions, GobbleGums, Scraps, cosmetics, operator unlocks, calling cards, emblems, and Battle Pass progress.

Career Rank progression rewards players with level-based unlocks. Weapons, perks, operators, cosmetics, and seasonal rewards may require specific level thresholds. The launch career reward structure includes Scraps, calling cards, emblems, charms, and weapon blueprints, ending with a VXR-7 Career Line blueprint at level 55.

Prestige progression is supported through profile storage and visual prestige icons. The profile system includes prestige icons from Prestige 0 through Prestige 10 and supports a Prestige Master state after higher prestige progression.

Challenges

The Challenges menu includes Zombies challenges, Daily Challenges, and Weekly Challenges. Challenges reward players for reaching specific rounds, earning kills, earning critical kills, completing the Hollow Pines main quest, clearing Surge zones, reaching higher Cursed rounds, unlocking Cursed Relics, and earning kills in Cursed.

The V80 update fixed challenge tracking so Daily and Weekly Challenges update when Zombies run progress is saved, even if the Challenges screen was not opened before the match.

Operators

Players can select operators through the profile and Barracks systems. Four operators are unlocked by default: Noah Mad, Jessica Carver, Edward Richtofen, and William Peck. Additional operators unlock through level progression.

Operators are cosmetic character selections and do not alter the core gameplay systems. The operator roster includes characters associated with several in-universe factions, including Hollow Pines Response, the Containment Bureau, Aether Science, Task Force 616, and other groups.

Plot

Zombies

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"Hollow Pines"	July 4, 2026 (2026-07-04)
Noah Mad, Edward Richtofen, Jessica Carver, and William Peck become trapped in the abandoned town of Hollow Pines, where the dead have risen around a buried containment system beneath the pines. After restoring power to the town, the group recovers a series of components hidden across the area, including the Station Fuse, Bell Tower Key, Vanta Canister, Phase Lens, Blood Well, Saw Chain, Rail Signal, and Temple Obelisk. Richtofen realizes the objects are part of a larger mechanism, while Carver suspects the town was built around something intentionally sealed away. The survivors assemble the Wonder Weapon and activate the Bell Tower, opening a portal beneath the town. Inside, they confront The Jailor, a guardian-like entity protecting the breach. After defeating it, the group escapes Hollow Pines, but the remaining energy suggests the town was only one lock in a wider system.
2	"Forest of the Dead"	August 22, 2026 (2026-08-22)
Following the events at Hollow Pines, the survivors are drawn into Forest of the Dead, a cursed woodland where the roots, bells, mirrors, and dead trees appear to remember those who died there. The group discovers the Forester's Locket inside the Hanged Ranger Cabin, using it to uncover the order of the Crow Bells and progress deeper into the forest. They assemble The Thornbinder, a root-bound Wonder Weapon, and use it to destroy the Blackseed Pods blocking the way into the Dreaming Crypt. After solving the Root Mirror sequence, the survivors recover the Heart of the Forest and open Heartwood Court, where they confront The Hollow King. Defeating him weakens the forest's corruption, but also reveals that the forest was another lock rather than the source of the outbreak, pushing the group deeper into The Broken Veil.

Development

ShooterofIO ONLINE was developed by SOI Studios and published by Mob Productions. Production began in March 2025. The project was originally planned as an incremental game before being delayed from its original October 2025 release window to July 2026.

During development, the game shifted into a Zombies-focused browser survival title. Later internal release notes identified the live package as a Zombies-only build. The V80 update removed deprecated non-Zombies playable directories and changed the main menu so that ShooterofIO ONLINE opened into a Zombies-only front menu. It also removed outdated non-Zombies labels from Challenges, Barracks, Profile, and HQ Store messaging.

Earlier release notes identified V79 as "Patch 1 - Boss Balance / Ray Gun Update", which focused on Hollow Pines boss pacing and Wonder Weapon tuning.

Release

ShooterofIO ONLINE was released on July 2, 2026, for PC web browsers. The game launched through ShooterofIO: Online HQ and initially featured the Zombies map Hollow Pines, three playlists, account progression, perks, GobbleGums, Cursed Relics, Surge, challenges, cosmetics, and store systems.

The launch build presented the game as a Zombies-only experience. Although several interface elements use squad and lobby terminology, including "1 / 4 survivors in lobby" and "Squad / 4 Max", the live web package is primarily structured around a single local player profile.

Updates

Patch 1

Patch 1 focused on reducing the length and frustration of The Jailor boss fight. The update increased Ray Gun performance, reduced The Jailor's health scaling, improved Wonder Weapon damage opportunities, reduced additional enemy pressure, reduced Brute and Armored enemy stacking, slowed repeated summon pressure, and improved weak-point windows.

The patch did not allow Nukes to damage The Jailor or other boss-class enemies.

V80

The V80 update focused on restructuring the game around its Zombies-only state. The update changed the front menu, removed deprecated non-Zombies playable directories, improved challenge tracking, and updated several menu labels to remove outdated references to inactive modes.

The update also caused Daily and Weekly Challenges to track through shared profile progress when a Zombies run is saved. The main Zombies menu was updated to reflect Boot Camp completion and live Daily Challenge progress rather than placeholder text.

See also

• ShooterofIO
• Hollow Pines