Gunman Contracts Release Date, Price and What Launched

Release date and status

Gunman Contracts - Stand Alone is out now. It went live on Steam on September 10, 2026 at 17:00 UTC. The store page no longer shows a countdown, and the listing price is $24.99 with no launch discount applied.

The regional table below is kept because it is still the quickest way to read the unlock moment across time zones.

The calendar date changes to September 11 in parts of Asia and Oceania even though the Steam store advertises September 10.

What launched on day one

The release build shipped with:

• Three connected story contracts: a safehouse outside the city, a syndicate-run harbor warehouse district and a mobster restaurant with a dark lower level.
• The Hive home base with gun wall, gun bench, range activities and holographic combat training.
• Two challenge modes—Takedown and Last Stand—across five available maps.
• Eighteen weapons to unlock with per-weapon attachments.
• A compound bow and knives.
• Steam achievements.
• Steam leaderboards for every contract, challenge and skill game, divided between VR and non-VR.
• Custom MP3 playback through the Gunman’s in-game smartphone.
• Unlockable cheats and an optional low-violence mode.

An older publisher page said the first two contracts would launch in Early Access. The release build shipped with three, which is what the Steam launch package advertised.

What Early Access means for this game

Early Access is the beginning of the campaign, not version 1.0. The developer’s stated plan is three additional story contracts through free updates, alongside new locations, weapons and features. That would bring the campaign to at least six contracts, but schedules and scope can change during development.

The launch price is $24.99. The developer has said the price is expected to rise as content is added, so anyone who wants the current three contracts at the current price is buying at the cheapest point the game is likely to have.

Should you buy now or wait?

Buy now if you are happy with the released package, want to play both score modes and accept that balance, performance and progression will keep changing through Early Access.

No patch notes have been posted since the September 10 launch. That is worth knowing going in: the game has been live long enough for launch issues to surface in reviews and community threads, but there is no published list of post-launch fixes yet.

Wait for later updates if your purchase depends on:

• A completed six-contract story.
• A specific weapon, map or difficulty feature that did not ship in the release build.
• Native Quest, PlayStation or Xbox support.
• Reviews of Steam Deck or headset-specific performance.
• A stable long-term weapon tier list or unlock economy.
• Additional interface languages.

The useful question is not “Will the game eventually be bigger?”—the developer says it will. The question is whether three story contracts, five challenge maps, the Hive and the released arsenal are worth $24.99 to you today.

First-session setup checklist

Before you install:

1. Install current GPU and headset software updates.
2. Confirm at least 20 GB free storage plus room for updates and shader/cache data.
3. For VR, verify that another OpenXR game launches correctly.
4. Decide whether your first session will be VR, desktop or Steam Deck so you can learn one control scheme.
5. Prepare custom MP3 files only if you understand where the released game expects them; the exact folder path should be read from the live instructions.

After installing:

1. Check the game version and first patch notes.
2. Open settings before starting a scored run.
3. Visit the Hive and complete a short warm-up.
4. Finish one story run before optimizing leaderboard times.
5. Re-check known issues if performance or controls behave unexpectedly.

Platforms and play modes

The confirmed release covers Windows PC in VR and non-VR, with Steam Deck included on the flat-screen side. VR uses OpenXR and supports standing or sitting according to the Steam requirements.

“Stand Alone” means separate from the Half-Life: Alyx mod; it does not confirm a native standalone-headset store release. The platform guide explains the difference.

Languages

The current Steam listing shows English interface/audio/subtitles and German interface/subtitles. Do not assume Chinese, Spanish, Japanese or other languages are included because players request them. Check the live Steam language table before buying if localized text is essential.

Violence and custom music options

The game is built around frequent action and mature criminal-underworld themes. The optional low-violence mode is described as disabling nearly all blood effects and splatter while keeping the action. It is useful for players who want the shooter mechanics with less graphic presentation, but it is not described as removing combat itself.

Custom music lets players use MP3 files through the Gunman’s smartphone. The release page confirms the feature, but final folder paths, file limitations and volume behavior will only be clear in the live build.

Still open after launch

A few things are not settled even now that the game is live: the installed size versus the download size, the final Steam Deck preset, and how leaderboard behaviour holds up once the population is no longer concentrated in launch week. Read the Steam client and the in-game settings rather than relying on forum estimates from before release.

The most reliable signal for what is still changing is the Steam announcements hub — with no patch notes posted yet, the next post there is the one that tells you what the first round of fixes targets.