Once Human’s Isles of Abyss Will Launch on October 21 PT With Shipbuilding and Deep-Sea Survival
The PvE scenario runs on a roughly 21-day cycle of shipbuilding, hazardous waters, and a late-phase Sunken Lord fight, while PS5 adds DualSense features and the launch bundle remains claimable through November 8.
Correction, October 20, 2026: The published version listed November 12 as the expected opening date for the Isles of Abyss permanent server. Starry Studio’s October 20 schedule now gives November 18 (PT), and confirms that advance sign-ups will not be available. The article has been updated with the revised date and server-entry details.
Once Human’s Isles of Abyss opens after the October 21, 2026 (PT) version update, sending players from the mainland into an ocean scenario built around custom ships, island survival, and deep-sea expeditions. The October 21 update notice schedules maintenance for 4:00 PM PT, with an estimated three-hour duration. The actual server opening time may differ.
Players can claim the Isles of Abyss celebration supply from their mailbox after the update through November 8 at 2:00 PM PT. It includes 10,000 Starchrom, the Legendary Weapon Blueprint SOCR – Cosmic Visitor, the Legendary Gear Blueprint Snowline Elite Vest, a 30-day Meta Pass trial, and Howler weapon skins for the DE.50, MP5, and EBR-14. Standard maintenance compensation includes 1,000 Starchrom, 100 Mitsuko’s Mark, one Stardust Secret Crate·S15 (Epic), and 30 Colorful Badges.
PS5 adds controller and loading features
The PS5 version is scheduled for October 22. PlayStation’s PS5 launch and feature details describe DualSense haptics for the Sunken Lord’s rumble, waves, storms, and ship-hull impacts. Adaptive triggers add resistance when firing naval cannons or launching grappling lines, while the console’s SSD supports transitions between land exploration, ship command, and underwater trenches.
North America and Europe will each receive four servers in the first batch. South America, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and HK & MO & TW will each receive two. All are scheduled to open immediately after the October 21 version update. Advance sign-ups will not be available. Starry Studio may add servers as capacity requires, and players should check in-game for the live opening time.
| Regions | First batch | Server names |
|---|---|---|
| North America, Europe | 4 | Isles_Abyss-X0001 through Isles_Abyss-X0004 |
| South America, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, HK & MO & TW | 2 | Isles_Abyss-X0001 and Isles_Abyss-X0002 |
Every server has 12 worlds. Players who want to leave their current scenario untouched can create a new character, skip the New Player Experience, then choose an Isles of Abyss server through Scenario Selection and Other Scenarios.
A character can transfer from an existing scenario once that scenario reaches its Rest Period. Use Menu, Scenario, then Go to Sign Up. The character’s level, supplies, and other scenario data will be settled and restarted in the new scenario. Character Cosmetics, Blueprint Level, and Mod Level are shared across characters and will not be cleared.
Friends can form a Scenario Squad through Menu, Scenario, and the Sign Up Interface, then agree on a server. Once servers open, the squad leader can sign up and the group is guaranteed to enter the same server. Only characters with sign-up enabled can join a squad, each character can join only one, and a character with a permanent-server merge reservation must cancel it before joining. If a permanent-server character cannot join, leaving the Hive and trying again is a workaround the development team says it is fixing.
If a friend’s server is full, they can share a Special Invitation Code from Player Info. Xbox players can also invite friends through the console’s friend list. The feature is still in development for PS5.
Isles of Abyss will launch without a Vision tag. Its Vision World is planned to open alongside the S5 Vision release. The permanent server is now expected to open on November 18, 2026 (PT), before the first batch of scenario servers closes.
The live scenario has a core cycle of about 21 days. Phase I lasts roughly 5 to 10 days, with its length decreasing as server purification advances. Phase II runs for 11 days, followed by a rest period. The Sunken Lord encounter unlocks during Phase II when purification reaches 100%. The live cycle differs from the 22-day pioneer test that began on September 16, a September 16 test plan.
Ships become vehicles and mobile territory
Players can build vessels from hulls, decks, railings, and other components, then use ships as both transportation and movable water territory. Propulsion develops from manual and sail power to fuel and electric systems. Route markers let Auto Cruise follow a planned course, while underwater teleportation, returns to a ship across worlds, and onboard respawns support trips away from the vessel.
Ships begin as basic wooden rafts and can be upgraded into mobile Sea Fortresses that serve as forward bases, workshops, and artillery platforms. Crews can coordinate different ship designs into fleets to tackle threats at sea.
Ship weapons serve different jobs. Harpoon Cannons are suited to marine creatures, Long Cannons hit decks and other structures hard, and Rapid-fire Cannons make it easier to target Calamity Tower weakspots. Enemy Voyagers bring their own weapons and defenses. Players can break key facilities, board their vessels, and search their holds for treasure. Giant Squid can also latch onto ships, forcing crews to focus fire on their tentacles to escape.
Each island brings a different survival hazard
The archipelago spans tropical shores, tundra, marshes, and volcanic islands, with Haywire Zones adding environmental threats. Mist of Deceit lowers temperature and visibility, and low health narrows a player’s field of view. Black Tide brings Stardust contamination, while gathering its clots consumes Sanity. Time Rain drains Energy and Hydration and wears down backpack gear, but it also speeds up crop and animal growth. Skyfire sends damaging meteors into the area and raises the surrounding temperature.
Diving adds ocean contamination, oxygen reserves, and hostile creatures to the preparations for exploring shipwrecks and underwater ruins. Bubble Fish provide oxygen-replenishing bubbles, while Anglerfish offer a safer pocket in contaminated water. On the surface, sharks pursue targets and jellyfish can shock swimmers. Players can capture and breed Bay Crocodiles, then ride them across the water. Their mount skill gives both rider and animal a damage backlash effect.
Tech progression leads to the Sunken Lord
Characters enter the scenario at maximum level, but Tech progression controls access to higher-rarity gear, ocean facilities, and survival tools. Exploration, resource gathering, and challenges advance Tech. Existing Blueprints and Mods can come along, though craftable gear rarity and active Mod attributes remain tied to Tech progress.
Players start on an island and can choose the order in which they explore the other four of the five oceanic regions. Progression runs between land and sea: resources gathered on islands support naval technology and ship weapons, while deep-sea materials improve terrestrial gear and base development.
The story follows a shipwreck survivor aided by Malla, a captain who senses memories of the drowned, and Ran, who investigates clues and environmental threats. Their search leads toward the Sunken Lord, the late-phase challenge at the center of the scenario’s endgame.
New Frost gear and combat options
SOCR – Cosmic Visitor can generate a Frost Vortex on weapon hits, with the first hit after reloading guaranteed to trigger one. After enough hits, it fires Ice Spears at targets. The Snowline Elite Vest activates a generated Vortex’s effects one extra time and increases Vortex damage, stacking up to five times for five seconds.
The update also adds First Person OTS. It offers a wider field of view than ADS, but bullets spread more, giving players a tradeoff between awareness and precision. Custom Dye options are coming to 23 fashion sets.
RaidZone servers and launch rewards
The main Isles of Abyss scenario is PvE. The launch also includes a separate RaidZone mode called Naval Core Contest, which puts players in the same waters without separate worlds, with scarcer resources and more frequent encounters. Isles of Abyss: RaidZone will have one server in each listed region, with a biweekly reopening cycle. North America and Europe will also have one console-exclusive server. Players can enter by switching to RaidZone mode in the upper-left corner of the character sign-in screen and selecting an Isles of Abyss server. More servers may open based on server performance.
Halloween Wonder Night runs from October 22 through November 11 (server time). Tasks award blind-box attempts. Each opening gives a random candy and has a chance to reveal a Hidden Edition. The update’s large client download includes resources for the new scenario and RaidZone map, so Starry Studio recommends leaving extra storage space on the device. The next update is scheduled for November 4 at 3:00 PM PT.
Which item in the celebration supply would be most useful for your character? Follow the PS5 rollout, server openings, scenario phases, and limited-time reward windows through 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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Age Rating
