The Short Answer
Starry Studio has branded 2026 "The Year of the Monsters" for Once Human, and the roadmap backs it up: a new island-themed PvE scenario with multiple themed islands and a deep-sea abyss boss, a long-requested full first-person shooter mode coming to Raid Zones and every Scenario, quarterly Raid Zone updates, four seasonal Visional events, a fresh IP crossover, and a PlayStation and Xbox launch landing this year. In short, the survival-horror shooter is getting more monsters, more ways to fight them, and a lot more players once it hits console.
This is a HostedGG news breakdown. The details below come from Starry Studio's official 2026 roadmap; exact release windows for individual features can still shift as the year plays out.
"The Year of the Monsters"
The 2026 theme is not just marketing. Starry Studio is framing the whole year around new monsters, new Deviations, and new scenarios, which speaks directly to what makes Once Human distinct in a crowded survival space: its Lovecraftian bestiary and the Deviation companions you tame from it. If you are new to that system, our Once Human beginners guide explains how Deviations and the core survival loop work before you tackle the new content.
The New Island Scenario
The centerpiece is a brand-new island-themed PvE scenario. Instead of a single continuous map, this chapter is built from multiple islands, each with its own theme and challenges, capped by an end-boss area set in a deep-sea abyss. Mechanical monsters feature heavily, a shift in tone from the fleshy horrors that defined earlier maps.
Scenarios are Once Human's answer to seasonal resets: fresh maps and rulesets you play through on a cadence, carrying forward account progress while starting the world anew. This island chapter continues that model and pushes the setting somewhere it has not gone before: out onto the open water and down into the deep. If you enjoyed the changes that came with the last big seasonal push, our Season 4 Riftwalker breakdown is a good primer on how these scenario updates reshape the moment-to-moment game.
A Full First-Person Shooter Mode
This is the feature the community has asked for since launch: a fully developed first-person mode, releasing in 2026 for Raid Zones and all Scenarios. Once Human has always had strong gunplay hiding inside a third-person camera, and moving to first person changes how combat feels at a fundamental level, tighter aiming, more tension in a monster ambush, and a more immersive read on the horror atmosphere.
For a game whose identity is equal parts survival, base-building, and shooter, this is a genuine pillar addition rather than a cosmetic toggle. Expect it to change how the community approaches the harder content, and to matter a lot when the game reaches console players raised on first-person shooters.
Endgame: Quarterly Raid Zones
On the endgame side, Starry Studio has committed to updating Raid Zones quarterly with new maps and mechanics, including a new ocean island-based Raid Zone already in development. Raid Zones are the cooperative, high-difficulty crucible where geared squads test their builds, so a reliable quarterly cadence gives endgame players something concrete to plan around. Knowing your build is sharp before you queue matters here; our Once Human tier list ranks the weapons and Deviations worth investing in for exactly this kind of content.
Seasonal Events and a New Crossover
Across 2026, expect four unique Visional events spaced through the year, the limited-time seasonal content that keeps the calendar full between major scenarios. Starry Studio is also lining up a new IP crossover with X Days Till the End, a popular Chinese web novel, continuing the game's habit of tying its dark setting to outside fiction.
The Big One: Console Launch
Perhaps the most consequential item on the roadmap is the PlayStation and Xbox release in 2026. Once Human has lived on PC and mobile so far, and bringing it to console opens the game to a massive new audience of survival and shooter fans, especially with the first-person mode arriving in the same window. A console launch is the kind of moment that resets a live-service game's playerbase and gives lapsed players a natural reason to return.
What This Means for Players
- Lapsed players: 2026 is a strong year to come back. A new scenario, a new camera perspective, and quarterly endgame refreshes add up to a meaningfully different game from launch.
- Endgame veterans: The quarterly Raid Zone commitment and the ocean island zone give you a real reason to keep your roster sharp. Lean on the tier list to prioritize upgrades.
- Console and shooter fans: This is your entry point. Wait for the console launch and the first-person mode, then start fresh with our beginners guide.
Once Human keeps proving that a live-service survival game lives or dies on its content cadence, and a roadmap this dense is a healthy sign. Whether the first-person mode and the console launch land as cleanly as promised is the story to watch across the rest of the year.
Sources: Once Human 2026 roadmap details via MMORPG.com's roadmap report and Sportskeeda's roadmap breakdown.
