Once Human: Isles of Abyss Gets a Release Date and Takes Survival to the Ocean

Once Human is getting ready to trade much of its contaminated wilderness for the open sea. NetEase has announced that Isles of Abyss will launch on October 22, 2026, bringing ship building, deep-sea exploration and a completely new survival scenario spread across islands and ocean.

Described as Once Human's biggest free content update yet, the expansion significantly changes the scale of exploration. Rather than simply adding another landmass, Isles of Abyss turns the ocean itself into a central part of survival.

Players won't have to wait until October to see how that idea works, either. The final Isles of Abyss test began on September 16 and will continue through October 8 for selected participants.

Isles of Abyss turns the ocean into a new survival world

The biggest difference in Isles of Abyss is how Once Human approaches the sea.

The new scenario introduces an archipelago of scattered islands surrounded by open ocean. Players will need to travel between them, gather resources, build facilities and survive threats both on land and at sea.

The environment also features dynamic weather and a day-night cycle, adding another variable to exploration and resource gathering.

It's a significantly different structure from Once Human's existing scenarios.

Instead of functioning primarily as a boundary between landmasses, the ocean becomes part of the core exploration and survival loop.

Building your own ship becomes part of progression

One of the expansion's biggest additions is a full ship-building system.

Boats aren't being positioned as nothing more than a faster way to cross the map. Isles of Abyss places ships at the heart of its maritime exploration.

That fits into NetEase's broader description of survival spanning islands, the ocean surface and the deep sea.

For Once Human, that's a substantial expansion of its exploration systems.

Players will no longer be thinking exclusively about bases and travel on land — surviving and moving across a much larger maritime environment becomes part of the equation.

There's much more beneath the surface

The expansion doesn't stop at sea level.

NetEase has confirmed deep-sea exploration, adding another vertical layer to Once Human's world.

That means resources, threats and discoveries can also exist beneath the surface.

The TGS trailer also hints at some of the stranger rules governing this forbidden sea. Ghost vessels can drift without living crews, the ocean itself appears hostile, and even entire islands may not be what they initially seem.

That's where Isles of Abyss retains Once Human's identity.

Despite shifting to a maritime setting, the game is still combining survival mechanics with supernatural threats and environments that don't necessarily follow normal rules.

New endgame bosses are waiting

Exploring the ocean will come with consequences.

Isles of Abyss will introduce new endgame boss encounters, although NetEase hasn't yet detailed every creature players will face.

That's an important part of the expansion because it prevents sailing from becoming little more than a visual novelty.

Ship building, island exploration and deep-sea expeditions need to feed back into character progression, and the new endgame challenges appear to be part of that structure.

The final Isles of Abyss test is already live

Selected players are already experiencing a near-complete version of the new scenario.

The Final Test began September 16 at 9 PM PT and runs through October 8 at 3 AM PT. It's limited to North America and includes PC and console participants.

NetEase has also opened a feedback program where valid bug reports and suggestions are reviewed by the development team. The top 20 contributors on the points leaderboard will receive an Advanced Edition Battle Pass voucher, while valid submissions also earn participation rewards.

The stated goal of this final test is to evaluate a more complete version of the scenario before public release.

When does Once Human: Isles of Abyss release?

Once Human: Isles of Abyss launches October 22, 2026.

The expansion will be a free content update and has been described as Once Human's largest additional content release to date.

On Xbox Series X|S, Isles of Abyss will be available through Once Human, which is also currently included with Game Pass.

Between ship building, underwater exploration, mysterious islands and new endgame threats, Isles of Abyss looks less like a simple map expansion and more like an attempt to add an entirely new exploration pillar to the survival game.

If that structure works, October 22 could mark one of Once Human's biggest changes yet.