Derek Qiu, head of operations at Starry Studio, dropped a notable number at Gamescom 2026: Once Human has surpassed 30 million users on PC, and the game hasn't even launched on consoles yet.
That milestone puts the free-to-play survival game in rare company for a PC-only title. The game currently holds an 80% positive rating on Steam, which tells you the player base isn't just big, it's reasonably happy. For a game that launched without a massive marketing budget or a major publisher behind it, 30 million is a number that demands attention.
From PC survival game to something much bigger
When Once Human launched, the pitch was straightforward: post-apocalyptic open world, base building, crafting, and a seasonal wipe system that kept things fresh. It found its audience. Players kept coming back each season, grinding through the Memetic progression system and rebuilding from scratch every few weeks.
The console announcement changes the trajectory entirely. Bringing the game to new platforms means a fresh wave of players who never touched the PC version, and Starry Studio is timing it alongside the biggest content drop in the game's history.
Isles of Abyss is not a typical expansion
The Isles of Abyss expansion is the centerpiece of what comes next, and it goes well beyond a new map or a handful of added missions. The ocean becomes a fully realized gameplay zone, a living system that responds to where you are in your progression rather than just throwing the same content at everyone.
Here's the thing: you're not just sailing through it. Players build their own customizable rafts to navigate the sea, which is populated with mechanical beasts designed to make your trip uncomfortable. The ocean grind also feeds back into land progression, so time spent out on the water isn't isolated content, it connects directly to your broader character development.
Islands to explore, loot to pull, and a loop that rewards both directions of play. It's the kind of expansion that gives long-time players a reason to return and gives new console players a genuinely deep entry point.
What 30 million actually means for a free-to-play survival game
Free-to-play user counts can be inflated by people who download a game once and never return. The 80% Steam rating suggests Once Human has held onto enough of its audience to matter. Seasonal resets are a double-edged mechanic: they push some players away while pulling committed ones back in every few weeks. Thirty million users across those cycles points to something working.
The console launch and Isles of Abyss expansion are clearly designed to push that number higher. Whether the seasonal wipe model translates well to console audiences remains an open question, but Starry Studio has had enough time on PC to refine the experience before bringing it to a new platform.
If you're jumping in fresh or returning after a break, the Once Human beginner's guide covers the essentials on base building, Deviants, and how the seasonal system actually works. For players who want to make the most of each season before the reset hits, the Once Human leveling guide breaks down the fastest XP routes to hit the level 50 cap.
