Once Human is a free-to-play open-world survival game from NetEase Games and Starry Studio, available on PC, mobile, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The next major content release, the ocean-themed Isles of Abyss update, is set to launch on October 22.
Once Human expanded from PC and mobile to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S in August 2026, adding first-person view, cross-play, and cross-progression. The free-to-play survival game launched with over 300 hours of content, PS5 DualSense haptic feedback, and Xbox Game Pass member benefits. Pre-order packs on both console stores marked the start of monetization for the console versions.
NetEase Games and Starry Studio then turned to the game's largest update since launch. At gamescom 2026, Head of Operations Derek Qiu described Isles of Abyss, also called the Ocean Expansion, which reworks the ocean as a hostile living creature rather than adding sea monsters. The update adds a ship-building system that runs from a simple raft to a sea fortress, five sea regions, blueprint sharing, and land-sea progression loops.
The ocean itself is the threat. Qiu said in an interview that the sea is designed as a single gigantic life form, with ghost ships and strange lighthouses, and that ship building forces trade-offs among cannons, speed, and cargo. The sea was planned from the start of development, he said. The update arrives on October 22 with a maritime map, a ship to steer, islands to explore, weather and day-night cycles, randomly generated combat areas, a server-wide Calamity Tower objective, Voyager ships, and a four-player dungeon boss called The Sunken Lord.
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NetEase Games announced that the ocean-themed update Isles of Abyss for Once Human will launch on October 22. The survival scenario adds a maritime map with a ship to steer, islands to explore, weather and day-night cycles, randomly generated combat areas, a server-wide Calamity Tower objective, Voyager ships, and a four-player dungeon boss called The Sunken Lord.
NetEase Games and Starry Studio's survival game Once Human is getting its largest update since launch in October, the ocean update Isles of Abyss. Head of Operations Derek Qiu told Game Spark the sea is designed as a single gigantic life form, with ghost ships, strange lighthouses, and ship building that forces trade-offs, and said the sea was planned from the start of development.
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.
NetEase Games released the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of the supernatural open-world survival game Once Human on August 26, 2026. The console versions follow the PC and smartphone editions and offer over 300 hours of content at launch. First-person perspective, cross-play, and cross-progression support were added, along with PS5 DualSense haptic feedback and Xbox Game Pass member benefits. A large ocean-themed expansion, Forbidden Island, arrives in October across all platforms.
NetEase Games and Starry Studio have announced that the free-to-play open-world survival game Once Human will launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on August 25, 2026. The console version includes over 300 hours of content, a new first-person view, crossplay and cross-progression support, and enhanced controller features. Pre-order packs are now available on both stores.