The ocean in Once Human’s Isles of Abyss is not just space between islands. Starry Studio built it as an active threat that watches, disrupts survival and eventually reveals itself as a living organism. The expansion arrived on Xbox Series X|S on October 21, and the studio calls it the largest free expansion in Once Human history. Its Xbox Wire account of the design traces the idea back to one image, a lighthouse in the wrong place.
Drawing inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth, the designers turned a familiar symbol of safety into something unsettling. Rather than guiding sailors toward shelter, the lighthouse’s strange beam feels watchful and intrusive. That eye-like presence suggested a living body behind it, The Sunken Lord, which makes the sea itself more than a backdrop. Ghost ships Sworn Never to Port and No Return Voyage drift like parts of that larger organism, while anomalous lighthouses track passing crews.
Five marine sectors put survival at risk
Each of the five marine sectors threatens different parts of a player’s survival routine. Visibility, sanity, bearings, equipment and solid footing can all be compromised, forcing players to adjust how they prepare and move through each region.
The endgame gives that living-ocean idea a physical form. In a four-player raid, a squad breaches The Sunken Lord’s outer perimeter, fights through tentacles and alien chambers, then presses into its heart instead of attacking the leviathan from a distance.
Ships connect the surface to the seabed
Shipbuilding makes the ocean more than a route to cross. Each vessel can serve as a mobile shelter, workshop, diving platform and artillery battery, whether players build a nimble skiff or a multi-deck fortress. Island exploration and underwater resource hunts feed into the same progression loop, connecting the expansion’s shipbuilding and deep-sea survival systems.
The expansion is free on Xbox Series X|S. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can still claim its launch bundle through the Perks gallery until November 18, 2026.
Which part of Isles of Abyss sticks with you most, the watchful lighthouses, the floating fortresses or the Sunken Lord raid? For more on the scenario’s shipbuilding and deep-sea survival systems, stay connected on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam and Telegram.
Once Human
Developed by Starry Studio
Once Human is a multiplayer open-world survival game set in a strange, post-apocalyptic future. Unite with friends to fight monstrous enemies, uncover secret plots, compete for resources, and build your own territory. Once, you were merely human. Now, you have the power to remake the world.
- Genre Shooter, Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Adventure
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5
- Perspective Third person
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)
- Release July 9, 2024
- Publisher Starry Studio, NetEase Games
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