Starry Studio today unleashed Isles of Abyss, the largest free expansion in Once Human history, now live across PC, XBOX Series X|S, PlayStation®5, and mobile. Trading dry land for a predatory strange Living Ocean, the update challenges survivors to master high-freedom modular shipbuilding, brave an interconnected survival loop across open waters, islands, and the seabed, and unite in server-wide progression to awaken the ultimate horror of the deep.
Once Human Ocean Expansion: Isles of Abyss Launch Trailer:
In Isles of Abyss, that horror is the sea itself – a gargantuan, sentient organism known as The Sunken Lord. Across this haunted seascape, lonely lighthouses pierce the fog like unblinking eyes tracking your wake, while wandering ghost ships – vessels that have forgotten how to make landfall – drift through the gloom as severed organs of an ancient titan.
Alongside the launch, Starry Studio also confirms Once Human as the first game signed on to Green Game Jam 2027 — the annual environmental initiative run by Playing for the Planet and facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme — opening the campaign with Mr. Wish’s Driftpost, a community resilience story initiative running from October 21 to November 20.
Surviving a Sentient Sea: Hazards, Monoliths, and Ghost Ships
- Five Hazard Zones – Collect the Crisis to Craft the Cure: After learning basic seamanship in the starting plains, players brave four deadly marine sectors governed by a closed ecological loop: every region turns its own hazard into its own resource. Whether facing vision-stealing Mist of Deceit, sanity-draining Schwarze Flut, gear-corroding Time Rain that hyper-accelerates crop growth, or volcanic Skyfire meteor storms, survivors must harvest the anomalies themselves to craft the tech needed to endure them.
- Towers of Calamity: Guarding each region is a massive biomechanical lighthouse thrashing with glowing tentacles. Crews must coordinate naval cannon fire and firearms to sever these weak points and topple the monolith – unlocking higher crafting tiers and the next region, before the towers mutate into deadlier Abyssal Lighthouses in Phase 2.
- Wandering Ghost Ships: Preserved by the sea as monuments to lost human voyages, 5 distinctive ghost ships prowl the mist. Crews can cripple their propulsion with broadsides, board the decks, and defeat corrupted mariners to plunder rare blueprints and modules.
One Server, One War: Community-Driven Progression & The Sunken Lord
Isles of Abyss introduces a unique, server-wide community rhythm across a 21-day, two-phase cycle where triggering the endgame demands everyone’s collective effort.
In Phase 1, the faster players conquer the five regions and Towers of Calamity, the sooner Phase 2 erupts with random Corruption Zones and bosses like the Doom Owl. Every purged anomaly feeds a shared server progress bar, rallying the entire community to awaken The Sunken Lord – unlocking a climactic four-player co-op raid where squads breach the leviathan’s hide and fight through its internal chambers to strike directly at its beating heart.
Architects of the Deep: Modular Warships & Fleet Co-Op
To survive waters that want to swallow you whole, ship crafting goes far beyond basic rudders, anchors, and sails. A parallel oceanic tech tree lets you upgrade from canvas sails to fuel and electric propellers, mount tiered cannons and harpoon turrets, and install automated fishing nets, smelters, generators, and workbenches directly onto your deck – turning your vessel into a self-sustaining mobile fortress built to weather environmental hazards.
This engineering freedom shines brightest in Fleet Co-Op, where cross-platform squads combine different roles and strategies to overcome oceanic crises, bombard Towers of Calamity, and conquer endgame raids together.
Command the Winds & Seasonal Events
Players can also capture Duet – the first environment-manipulating Deviant capable of shifting musical movements to alter weather and wind directions for favorable sailing – alongside floating greenhouse public events and the limited-time “Halloween Meets the Abyss” festival featuring exclusive login cosmetics, candy-craving anomalies, and mutant pumpkin buffs.
Real-World Impact: Once Human × The UN-Backed Green Game Jam 2027
Once Human is also proud to open the 2027 Green Game Jam as its first confirmed title. The Green Game Jam is an annual challenge run by Playing for the Planet, a membership alliance of over 50 games industry organisations facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme. Now in its 8th year, the Jam harnesses the reach and cultural power of games to bring the message of environmental action to an annual average of 100 million daily users all over the world.
Running alongside the ocean expansion from October 21 to November 20 on Discord, the debut activation – Mr. Wish’s Driftpost – invites survivors each week to read a real-life story of resilience from another player and send their own out to sea. Heartfelt stories earn in-game rewards from Mr. Wish, with the most-loved entries featured across the community.
‘We’re excited to welcome Once Human players as the Green Game Jam’s first participating game for 2027,’ said Lisa Pak, Head of Operations Playing for the Planet. ‘When enough players share their personal stories of resilience and a game like Once Human shares these with their player community, they can inspire each other to do more than they could alone. One story can inspire one person, but hundreds of stories can inspire a community.’
The ocean connects islands. Stories connect people.
Once Human: Isles of Abyss is available now for free on PC, XBOX Series X|S, PlayStation®5, and mobile, with additional launch bundles claimable via XBOX Game Pass Ultimate Perks.
