Once Human just showed off its biggest expansion to date at Gamescom 2026, and Isles of the Abyss is not a simple map update. This is an entirely new way to play, built around an ocean that actively responds to how you move through it.
The expansion was still in development during the preview build, but the direction was clear enough to get genuinely excited about.
The ocean isn't just scenery
The most interesting design decision in Isles of the Abyss is that the ocean behaves like an opponent. As you sail through it, the world monitors your progression and escalates its response accordingly. That's not a passive environment, that's a threat system built into the terrain itself.
Derek Qiu, head of operations for Once Human, explained that the ocean was always part of the original world design. It was never a placeholder or an afterthought. Player feedback pushed the timeline forward, with a lot of players pointing out that the ocean felt empty and disconnected from the survival experience. The team took that seriously.
The goal wasn't to slap water on a map and call it content. The aim was to make the ocean feel like it belongs in the same world as everything else in Once Human.
Once Human Isles of the Abyss Expansion Preview Revealed
Your ship is your base now
The demo dropped players on an island and tasked them with driving to a ship docked nearby. From that point on, the ship functions as a floating fortress, not just a vehicle.
Customization is deep. You can build it out to be as functional or as elaborate as you want, and if base-building isn't your thing, template builds from other players are available to use as a starting point. That's a smart design choice that keeps the system accessible without dumbing it down for builders who want full control.
Here's the thing: a ship-as-base setup changes the entire survival loop. Your defenses, your crafting, your shelter, all of it moves with you across the water. That's a fundamentally different rhythm than the land-based game.
Once Human Isles of the Abyss Expansion Preview Revealed
Naval combat and the Sunken Lord
The preview's combat section put players against a mechanical sea creature with massive tentacles. Naval weapons are upgradeable, and the fight had actual structure to it. You couldn't just unload on the main body. The tentacles had to come down first before the core of the creature became vulnerable.
That kind of layered encounter design matters. It's the difference between a spectacle fight and one that requires you to think.
A creature called the Sunken Lord was revealed during the preview. The developers drew from various inspirations, including mythological sea beasts, but added their own elements to make the creatures feel native to Once Human's world rather than borrowed from somewhere else. The goal was immersion, not just spectacle.
Once Human Isles of the Abyss Expansion Preview Revealed
What this means for returning and new players
Once Human recently crossed 30 million users, and a console release is also in the works. Isles of the Abyss lands at a moment when the game is pulling in a much wider audience than it had at launch.
For players already deep into the game, the expansion adds a whole new progression axis. Naval weapons, ship upgrades, ocean-specific encounters, these aren't side systems. They look like a full second layer built on top of what already exists.
For players who haven't committed yet, the expansion makes the game a harder thing to ignore. A survival game where the ocean watches you and scales its response is a different pitch than what most of the genre offers.
If you're planning ahead for when Isles of the Abyss drops, brushing up on your best Deviants for combat and base building now will give you a head start on the new content. The full Once Human guides collection has everything you need to get ready.
