On 7 December 2015, version 3.6.0 was released, the first major release in over a decade. While the patch did not add major new gameplay features, the update was designed to prepare the game for expansion in the future, with the DevTeam's patch notes stating: "This release consists of a series of foundational changes in the team, underlying infrastructure and changes to the approach to game development". Stephenson said that despite the number of roguelike titles that had emerged since the v3.4.3 release, they saw that NetHack was still being talked about online in part due to its high degree of portability, and decided to continue its development. According to DevTeam member Paul Winner, they looked to evaluate what community features had been introduced in the prior decade to improve the game while maintaining the necessary balance. The update came shortly after the death of Terry Pratchett, whose Discworld had been influential on the game, and the new update included a tribute to him. With the v3.6.0 release, NetHack remains "one of the oldest games still being developed".
On 7 December 2015, version 3.6.0 was released, the first major release in over a decade. While the patch did not add major new gameplay features, the update was designed to prepare the game for expansion in the future, with the DevTeam's patch notes stating: "This release consists of a series of foundational changes in the team, underlying infrastructure and changes to the approach to game development". Stephenson said that despite the number of roguelike titles that had emerged since the v3.4.3 release, they saw that NetHack was still being talked about online in part due to its high degree of portability, and decided to continue its development. According to DevTeam member Paul Winner, they looked to evaluate what community features had been introduced in the prior decade to improve the game while maintaining the necessary balance. The update came shortly after the death of Terry Pratchett, whose Discworld had been influential on the game, and the new update included a tribute to him. With the v3.6.0 release, NetHack remains "one of the old.est games still being developed".