Once Human October Update Isles of Abyss Turns the Ocean Into a Living Monster
The update treats the ocean environment itself as the threat rather than adding sea creatures, and pairs it with a flexible ship-building system where cannons, speed, and cargo trade off against one another.
Reporting from 1 source: 4Gamer.net.
At gamescom 2026, Once Human Head of Operations Derek Qiu detailed the October major update Isles of Abyss, subtitled Ocean Expansion. The update reworks the ocean itself as a hostile living creature, adds a ship-building system from simple raft to sea fortress, and introduces five sea regions, blueprint sharing, and land-sea progression loops.
The ocean is the monster. Starry Studio's survival game Once Human will make players cross the body of a giant creature while sailing, with something on the seafloor able to shift weather and deal lethal damage. Every sea creature is part of that living ocean, and the team built the environment itself as the antagonist.
The counter is a ship-building system that starts from a single wooden plank and can grow into a floating fortress. Ships act as research facilities and armories, but cargo limits force choices, and loading cannons trades speed for firepower, which matters when meteor showers arrive. Blueprint sharing lets players build matching ships from friends' designs, including an Eastern wooden style and a crystal palace style.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.