NetHack 5.0 Released!
Yesterday the Devteam (it is always THE Devteam) released **version 5.0 of legendary and venerable rogueike compuer game [NetHack](https://nethack.org/)**. *It is 39 years old*.
Nethack (I am more used to writing it without the capital H) is a venerable roguelike computer game, and by some measures the greatest roguelike of them all. Long before [Caves of Qud](https://www.cavesofqud.com/) or [Dwarf Fortress](https://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/) it was, and still is, a game of surprising depth, and for many years no other games were anything close to it. Even today, few games do.
The history of the game is recounted on the excellent [Nethack Wiki](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page). (unaffiliated with Fandom, yay!) It got its start as a remake of Jay Fenalson’s Hack (1981), itself a recreation of Rogue (1980), and which was remade by Andries Brouwer (1984). The first version of Nethack ”NetHack,” was 1.3d, posted to Usenet by DevTeam leader Mike Stephenson in June 1987.
[Nethack 3.0](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.0.0) (July 1989) saw major changes to the gameplay. [Nethack 3.1](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.1.0) (January 1993) greatly changed the dungeon, and in large part all following versions are modifications and elaborations upon it. In the time since sometimes there have been great pauses in its history. [Nethack 3.2](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.2.0) arrived April 1996; [Nethack 3.3](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.3.0) in 1999; [Nethack 3.4](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.4.0) in 2002; [Nethack 3.6](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.6.0) in December 2015; and now, Nethack 5.0 on May 2, 2026.
[Here is a list of major changes](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_5.0.0), though it contains significant spoilers, and a note tells us that this is a renamed changelist from 3.7. With 3.4 the Devteam switched to a Linux-style numbering system: even minor numbers (like 3.6 and 5.0) are releases for wide play, and odd minor numbers (like 3.5 and 3.7) are development versions mostly intended for work and bug testing. Even so, as with all major versions of Nethack, bugs almost certainly exist in this version. Nethack jumped past version 4.0 probably because a notable fork called itself [Nethack 4](http://nethack4.org/).
Three major architectural changes made in this version: the code now supports C99, bringing its source to the cusp of the 21 century. Much better support for cross-compiling exists now, building it on a system it’s not intended to run on. And the old yacc/lex special level construction system has been replaced with Lua. This make Lua a build requirement.
Nethack (I am more used to writing it without the capital H) is a venerable roguelike computer game, and by some measures the greatest roguelike of them all. Long before [Caves of Qud](https://www.cavesofqud.com/) or [Dwarf Fortress](https://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/) it was, and still is, a game of surprising depth, and for many years no other games were anything close to it. Even today, few games do.
The history of the game is recounted on the excellent [Nethack Wiki](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page). (unaffiliated with Fandom, yay!) It got its start as a remake of Jay Fenalson’s Hack (1981), itself a recreation of Rogue (1980), and which was remade by Andries Brouwer (1984). The first version of Nethack ”NetHack,” was 1.3d, posted to Usenet by DevTeam leader Mike Stephenson in June 1987.
[Nethack 3.0](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.0.0) (July 1989) saw major changes to the gameplay. [Nethack 3.1](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.1.0) (January 1993) greatly changed the dungeon, and in large part all following versions are modifications and elaborations upon it. In the time since sometimes there have been great pauses in its history. [Nethack 3.2](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.2.0) arrived April 1996; [Nethack 3.3](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.3.0) in 1999; [Nethack 3.4](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.4.0) in 2002; [Nethack 3.6](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_3.6.0) in December 2015; and now, Nethack 5.0 on May 2, 2026.
[Here is a list of major changes](https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/NetHack_5.0.0), though it contains significant spoilers, and a note tells us that this is a renamed changelist from 3.7. With 3.4 the Devteam switched to a Linux-style numbering system: even minor numbers (like 3.6 and 5.0) are releases for wide play, and odd minor numbers (like 3.5 and 3.7) are development versions mostly intended for work and bug testing. Even so, as with all major versions of Nethack, bugs almost certainly exist in this version. Nethack jumped past version 4.0 probably because a notable fork called itself [Nethack 4](http://nethack4.org/).
Three major architectural changes made in this version: the code now supports C99, bringing its source to the cusp of the 21 century. Much better support for cross-compiling exists now, building it on a system it’s not intended to run on. And the old yacc/lex special level construction system has been replaced with Lua. This make Lua a build requirement.