Funguys Swarm March 2026 Optimization Update
Fifth major Early Access patch: swarm CPU work, graphics presets, Banish therapy, and the relic/Treeling reworks that 1.0 still uses.
The fifth major update
Stairway Games called March 2026 the Optimization Update: the fifth major Funguys Swarm patch, focused on CPU swarm simulation, graphics presets, quality-of-life toggles, and a pile of gameplay rewrites that 1.0 still runs on. It is not the full release. Version 1.0 launched later on August 25, 2026 at $9.99 (20% off through September 8) on Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and Microsoft Store. Read this page for what March actually shipped, then the 1.0 notes for Hellscape and Forest Strength.
The game stayed single-player. Starters stayed Shroomba and Ersa. Steam Deck Verified players were a named audience: the blog showed Deck performance comparisons and later listed larger fonts for handheld UI.
CPU swarm work
Players had reported late-game freezes when the produce army filled the screen. Stairway spent months on the core swarm simulation. Official summary: massive swarms feel smoother, frame drops recover faster, long freezes should no longer happen, and even chaotic moments recover within one to two seconds. If Egglosseum or Hellscape still chugs, drop the new Quality Preset before you assume the patch missed you.
Bug fixes in the same changelog targeted VFX FPS hits and sudden drops when Dragonfruit spawned certain attacks. That is a Lava Jungle-specific save, not a metaphor.
Graphic Quality Presets and QoL
Settings gained a Quality Preset so a laptop can breathe. That is the supported way to hold the system requirements 720p30 floor on a GTX 960-class card.
Four extra toggles shipped:
- Damage Number Speed — slow the popcorn when Flaming Slice Burn ticks stack.
- In-Game Cursor — TV and stick players get a pointer that is not the OS arrow.
- Enemy Outline — fruit silhouettes stop vanishing into Carrot Farm dirt.
- Enemy Ground Splatter — hide or show the mess so breakables stay visible.
These toggles are why the controls page tells you to open settings once on console and Deck.
Banish rework
Stairway captioned it therapy for bad RNG. Banish no longer immediately ends the level-up. You may banish multiple cards, then pick. Level-up concludes when you select an upgrade or when all remaining options are banished. That change feeds Starpath hunting and Commoncap decks alike: you can dump the off-element Epic and keep the Common that pays.
Related: the level-up panel no longer appears when everything is maxed; you gain +20 Dew immediately instead.
Breakables, chests, evolution shrines
Dew, Shroom, and XP returned as breakable objects instead of shrines. Each needs three hits from any source. Clutteroni still likes exploding pots. Chests evicted Common drops: minimum rarity is Rare.
Funguy Evolution Shrines gained a progressively increasing spawn chance that resets after you claim the shrine. January had moved evolutions onto shrines; March made the spawn rate a snowball instead of a guess.
Fuzzbug, grapes, axe, skills
Fuzzbug now spawns one pixie per Night card (was one per two), pixie damage scaling 15% to 35%, orbit radius 300 to 500, orbit speed 180 to 140. Night-plus-Beast debuff decks got louder.
Throwing Grapes: Volcanic Grapes burn chance 5% to 10%. Watermelon Axe: Flaming Slice burn chance 5% to 30%. Those numbers belong on the weapons page and in Lava Jungle Burn farms.
Flower Power can spawn multiple flowers before the first returns. Savage Fists cooldown 8s to 6s, damage 34 to 40, Common damage upgrade 3.5 to 5, Clapped mutation hit requirement 20 to 8. Water Snek initial damage 40 to 60, Common speed upgrade 85 to 100.
Relics and Treelings
Diamondcap now affects Shrines as well. Hellcap now halves HP spawn chance instead of putting a six-second timer on hearts. Commoncap counts all Common cards including Weapon, Skill, and Passive.
Protectron no longer starts you with Stone Heart as its whole identity; it grants 1 Armor every 15 / 13 / 10 levels. Bounty no longer levels random skill cards after elites; it grants a Level Up after an elite kill. Elite hunting on Egglosseum became a progression verb.
What March did not ship
Key rebinding and more arenas were listed as next. Do not write a 1.0 controls guide as if custom binds exist. More arenas still means five rings: Carrot Farm, Frozen Pond, Lava Jungle, Egglosseum, Hellscape.
Soundtrack DLC at $1.99 did not come from this patch. 112 Steam achievements and 63 extra Starpath quests came from 1.0, not from March. The Optimization Update is the reason the swarm can be 974-plus Very Positive without melting a Steam Deck in Chicken Caesar’s ring.
After March, go play. Turn outlines on, practice multi-banish, smash three-hit pots, and only then open How to Play if you still think dash is a jump.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to common questions about Funguys Swarm.
When did the Funguys Swarm Optimization Update ship?
Stairway Games published the March 2026 Optimization Update as the fifth major update, with the official blog dated around March 12, 2026. It is an Early Access performance and systems patch, not the August 25, 2026 1.0 launch.
Did March 2026 add key rebinding?
No. The blog listed key binding and more arenas as next work. Quality Presets shipped. Custom key maps did not. 1.0 still uses default WASD, Space dash, and Escape pause on PC.
How does Banish work after the rework?
Banish no longer ends the level-up immediately. You can banish multiple cards first. The screen ends when you select a card or when every remaining option has been banished.
What happened to breakables and chests?
Dew, Shroom, and XP spawn as breakable objects again instead of shrines, and each takes three hits from any source. Chests drop cards with a minimum rarity of Rare.
Which relics and Treelings were reworked?
Diamondcap now also affects Shrines. Hellcap halves HP spawn chance instead of timing out hearts. Commoncap counts all Common Weapon, Skill, and Passive cards. Protectron grants armor every 15 / 13 / 10 levels. Bounty grants a level-up after an elite kill.