Once Human is an open-world survival game set in a post-apocalyptic future. Developers from the studio behind the multiplayer title, Starry Studio, were kind enough to answer some of our questions, especially the ones related to future content plans for the game, and even spoke about some out-there subjects, like cross-platform multiplayer for the smartphone release of the game. Questions were answered by Woody Wu, Lead Game Designer for Once Human.
How big of a jump was the seasonal label system for Once Human in terms of development time and planning?
Before addressing this question, it’s important to clarify the difference between our “scenario system” and a traditional season system. In many games, a season requires all players to achieve certain fixed goals within a specific period, with progress reset at the season’s end.
"Before fully committing to the scenario system, our development team conducted research, multiple rounds of testing, and collaborated with players to make the decision."
In contrast, Once Human offers multiple scenarios featuring different themes and storylines that players can choose from. After completing a scenario, all of the players’ resources are stored on Eternaland, and they can carry those items forward based on the resource transfer rules when starting a new scenario.
Before fully committing to the scenario system, our development team conducted research, multiple rounds of testing, and collaborated with players to make the decision. The key reasons were:
- “Unrestricted Gaming Experience”: We found that many survival games tend to focus exclusively on either PvP or PvE, leaving some survival game enthusiasts’ needs unmet. A parallel scenario system provides a richer range of choices.
- “Fairer Gaming Environment”: In both PvE and PvP, as players’ stats inflate over time, the gap between new and veteran players can widen, potentially disrupting the server’s balance. By offering scenarios of different lengths, certain stat-based progressions are renewed after a scenario is completed, while accumulated resources are retained—allowing new players or friends to start the next adventure on a more level playing field.
- “Easier Return Experience”: Our research showed that players who return after a hiatus often feel overwhelmed by the volume of updates and the growing stat disparities, which can discourage them. Our scenario design lets returning players start fresh, reducing the anxiety of trying to catch up.
What can you tell us about plans for future seasonal content?
At our annual streaming event last December, we unveiled the 2025 development plan. This includes the upcoming Visional Wheel S1 version launching in April, along with three additional Visional Wheel themes later in the year:
- Code: Purification: One of the major PVE scenarios for 2025. In this scenario, the pollution ravages Nalcott, Metas must work to decontaminate the wilderness and eliminate Original Entities to restore balance to the world.
- Code: Broken: A PVP-focused scenario where players will experience higher-intensity player-versus-player combat.
- Code: Deviation: Another major PVE scenario for 2025. In this one, players take on the role of experts in deviations, capturing and researching them, as well as fusing them in their territory to create stronger deviations.
"Gameplay details will differ between scenarios, depending on the experience each scenario aims to provide."
Will seasonal content bring sweeping changes to Once Human‘s status quo in terms of gameplay features?
In general, no. The main reason is that Once Human was originally designed with the scenario system, where gameplay includes scenario objectives, achievements, and different endings, so players can experience unique gameplay in different scenarios.
Gameplay details will differ between scenarios, depending on the experience each scenario aims to provide. For example, in The Way of Winter, players need to focus on how temperature affects survival. In some PVP scenarios, we have opened up more raiding permissions and combat modes for competitive players to enjoy.
How important do you believe is balancing between PvE and PvP combat? Does one affect the other?
A fair game environment is one of the most important aspects for both the development team and players. This is why we use the scenario system to avoid unfair mechanics often found in survival games.
Fairness in PVP is self-explanatory—stat balancing, build balancing, and social dynamics all impact the player’s combat experience. Our team continuously optimizes the stats and engages with the community to enhance the fairness of the experience.
In PVE, we focus heavily on “stat overflow,” as we don’t want the game to become a grind. We aim to maintain consistent combat pressure by regularly introducing more difficult content like master-level dungeons for advanced players to challenge.
In Once Human, key currencies, such as Starchorm, carry over across scenarios. We also focus on “currency fairness” to ensure that both PVP and PVE players experience fair time investment and reward outcomes.
"In PVE, we focus heavily on “stat overflow,” as we don’t want the game to become a grind."
Are there any plans to bring Once Human to PS5 and Xbox?
Yes, absolutely! While our current focus is on mobile development, the mobile version will be available in April, so don’t forget to pre-register! We will provide updates on console versions as soon as we have more information.
Now that Once Human is following a seasonal content cycle, are there any plans for major content releases through bigger expansions?
This is an interesting idea. From the developer’s perspective, large expansions or major scenario updates are just different forms of content release. The specific format will depend on the scale and content of the update. What we care most about is the content itself—engaging and fun gameplay is key to attracting players. Of course, I can assure you that all our updates will be available for free!
When the iOS and Android versions of Once Human are released, can we expect to see crossplay?
Definitely! Once Human’s PC and mobile versions will feature cross-platform data synchronization, so your progress will be shared between both platforms. We look forward to more players joining us on the Nalcott continent to meet new friends and embark on fresh adventures!
