Once Human, a free-to-play survival shooter, is now officially available on Xbox Series X|S. Since launching on August 25, the game supports full cross-play and cross-progression, allowing players to survive alongside friends across platforms. The game maintains a strict commitment to fair play with zero pay-to-win mechanics.

The game is available Day One with Xbox Game Pass, which includes exclusive membership benefits:

• an exclusive avatar
• a METAPASS Benefit Card (300 star sources, 30-day benefits, and 14+ outfit trials)
• a discount voucher bundle
• battle pass XP cards
• free outfits with monthly updates

The Strange Worlds of Once Human

Once Human is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a cosmic being called “Stardust” has transformed the planet into a supernatural landscape. Players, known as Meta-Humans, battle grotesque creatures called “Deviants,” establish personal territories, and uncover dark conspiracies.

The game's visual identity draws heavy inspiration from the “New Weird” literary genre—a blend of fantasy, science fiction, and horror that uses surreal, grotesque, and biological weirdness to transform the everyday into the uncanny. Key influences include Jeff VanderMeer's “Annihilation” and China Miéville's “Perdido Street Station.”

The design philosophy centers on making the “strange within the familiar” to evoke psychological resonance. Creatures like the Devourer—a massive biomechanical worm disguised as a subway train—and the Wanderer—a bus walking on giant human arms—turn ordinary objects into living anomalies. The Mother of Life, a hybrid retaining human traces like a tattered white dress fused with an alien jellyfish head, embodies the horror and residual beauty of being “once human.”

This aesthetic extends throughout the game's environments and mechanics. Stardust Pollution Zones mirror transformative reality shifts, while dynamic events like the Endless Dream scenario and the Blood Moon alter the open-world atmosphere and gameplay rules. Areas like the Securement Silos feature mind-bending spatial dislocations and illusionary reflections that push the genre's visual boundaries.

Creature-Catching and Survival

Players can catch and tame anomalous beings called “Deviations” to assist in combat and survival. Some provide levitation abilities for traversing rough terrain, while others serve as defensive tools for player territories. This creature-catching mechanic combines with the New Weird aesthetic to create unexpected moments during exploration, building, fighting, and taming.

Xbox Optimization and First-Person Perspective

Once Human has been optimized for Xbox Series X|S to deliver a seamless living room experience with controller integration and 4K resolution. The console release brings the highly requested First-Person Perspective to consoles, allowing players to dynamically toggle between first- and third-person views at any time.

The Ocean Expansion

The game currently offers over 300 hours of content. This October, Once Human will launch its biggest content update: the Ocean Expansion. This expansion introduces a revolutionary survival experience spanning islands, the ocean surface, and the deep sea, where players will encounter gazing lighthouses, ghost ships, and mechanical behemoths. Players can build an Exclusive Sea Fortress, upgrading from a simple wooden raft into a mobile maritime sanctuary.