Once Human is entering an ambitious stretch. Developer Starry Studio and NetEase Games have framed 2026 as "the year of the monsters," a roadmap promising more scenarios, more Deviations, tougher challenges, visual upgrades and a bigger helping of narrative and PvE content — capped by a long-awaited console release on PlayStation and Xbox.
For a game whose whole identity is built on surviving a warped, monster-haunted apocalypse, leaning harder into creatures and scenario variety is a sensible bet. It also signals that the free-to-play survival title is far from settling into maintenance mode.
New Scenarios Lead the Charge
The scenario system remains Once Human's defining feature — self-contained survival chapters, each with its own rules, themes and progression. The 2026 roadmap makes clear that more of them are the priority, with new challenges and Deviations built to keep the loop from going stale.
One of the first new chapters is island-themed. It spans multiple islands, each with distinct themes and hazards, tasking players with surviving the water, gathering rare ocean resources and confronting the monsters lurking across the archipelago. It is a natural fit for a game that thrives on dropping players into unfamiliar, hostile environments.
A First-Person Experiment
Once Human is also testing a different way to feel the apocalypse. A survival scenario called "Isles of the Abyss" entered pioneer testing on June 10, 2026, with the trial running about seven days.
The pitch is immersion: reintroducing the apocalypse from a first-person perspective, gripping weapons directly, facing melee threats up close and exploring supplies and unknown regions with a heightened sense of pressure. Here is what the current 2026 push looks like:
- Island scenario — a multi-island PvE chapter centered on ocean survival and monster hunting.
- "Isles of the Abyss" — a first-person survival test that began June 10, 2026.
- "Year of the Monsters" — more Deviations, scenarios and PvE content across the year.
- Console launch — PlayStation and Xbox releases planned for 2026.
Consoles Widen the Door
Perhaps the biggest structural change on the horizon is platform reach. Once Human is set to arrive on PlayStation and Xbox this year, opening the survival experience to a large audience that has so far watched from the sidelines.
A console launch is more than a port; for a live-service survival game it is a fresh influx of players, new servers to fill and a broader base to sustain the scenario cadence the roadmap depends on. Pairing that expansion with a heavy content year is a coordinated move to grow the game rather than simply keep it running.
The Takeaway
Once Human's 2026 plan is refreshingly concrete: more monsters, more scenarios, a first-person experiment already in testing and a console release that broadens the whole player pool. The island chapter and "Isles of the Abyss" show the team is willing to vary the formula rather than repeat it. If you drifted away after the early game, the year of the monsters is shaping up to be the strongest reason yet to return — and console players finally get their invitation to the apocalypse.
