Classic ASCII game NetHack debuts version 5.0 just 11 years after last major release
NetHack, the classic ASCII-based roguelike game, has released version 5.0 after an 11-year gap since its last major update. The new version includes updated features such as new monsters, magic items, and support for the Arm architecture. It also complies with the C99 programming standard and introduces accessibility improvements.
- ▪NetHack version 5.0 was released on May 2, 2026, marking the first major update since 2015.
- ▪The update adds new gameplay elements including five new monsters, royal jelly egg revival, and a wet towel that reduces poison damage.
- ▪The game now complies with the C99 standard and includes accessibility features for broader user access.
- ▪Development of NetHack has continued since its 1987 debut, with the project moving to GitHub in 2018.
- ▪The default configuration for compiling the game remains SysV/Sun/Solaris2.x, reflecting the developers' historical environment.
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Personal Tech Classic ASCII game NetHack debuts version 5.0 just 11 years after last major release New monsters! New magic items! An Arm port! And compliance with a dead C standard Simon Sharwood Tue 5 May 2026 // 06:32 UTC Antiques Code Show Admirers of Roguelike games have a new distraction: Version 5.0 of NetHack dropped last weekend. NetHack and its ilk trace their origins back to Rogue, a game for Unix systems launched in 1980 that took the DNA of very early text games like Star Trek and Colossal Cave Adventure and mashed that up with tropes from Dungeons & Dragons. The result was a game in which players roamed around a multi-level dungeon filled with monsters, treasure, magic items – all represented with ASCII characters.
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