What do you get when you cross colony management, shark attacks, and a world slowly slipping underwater? Oceaneers, the upcoming survival-crafting colony sim from Melbourne-based Barrel Smash Studios, announced today for PC via Steam. Early Access is set for 2026.
Set in a flooded world of unstable islands, Oceaneers puts you in charge of a scrappy colony trying to stay dry—and alive. You’ll scavenge debris, craft equipment, train survivors, and build workstations while balancing the essentials: food, water, and not drowning.
The game isn’t just about surviving on your little patch of land. You’ll construct a raft, venture out into the shark-infested waters, and explore island bunkers to uncover lost “Float-Tech” from a mysterious old-world corporation. Space is tight, resources are tighter, and the ocean is always ready to eat what you’ve built.
Developer James Thomas shared, “As huge fans of colony sims and crafting survival games, it’s been a fun challenge figuring out how to smoothly integrate story and objectives into these very sandboxy genres while still keeping replayability high.”
Inspired by Sierra and LucasArts games, Oceaneers adds a layer of quirk to the genre mix. The studio is aiming to blend narrative direction with open-ended survival gameplay.
A public playtest kicks off August 5. Interested players can register through the game’s Steam page and provide feedback via Discord or Steam forums.
