Frozen Ship The Frozen Earth Outside the Hull

Everything beyond the gangplank is trying to kill the expedition — and sometimes offering the only path forward. Frozen Ship sets you on a procedural frozen wasteland after a climate catastrophe, captain of a ship that never truly stops. You explore in first person, command roughly twenty crew back aboard, and weave economic strategy with survival when you meet settlements, traders, and rival groups. This World Hub ties together the three outdoor pillars: exploration, settlements and factions, and trade.

Early Access targets August 7, 2026 on Steam (app 3423990, Windows PC, single-player only). World systems will expand during Nionetix’s planned 1–2 year Early Access, but the core loop is already clear — leave with a plan, return before nightfall, convert loot into ship power.

World vs. ship

The Ship Hub covers buildings, crafting, and research. The world layer supplies inputs for those systems: metal, food, medicine, blueprints, and story beats. Neither layer wins alone. A maxed workshop still starves without routes from exploration; a perfect map of ruins still kills you if Hope collapses because trade deals stole food from the kitchen.

Link world plans to work assignments so gatherers bring what build priority needs next.

The day/night survival contract

Outdoor play obeys a strict clock. Stay out after nightfall and the cold ends runs — detailed in Return to the Ship and Survive the Cold. World content must respect that contract:

• Mark routes by round-trip time, not distance glamor
• Build supply caches only if mechanics support them
• Schedule faction visits so you are not miles away when traders arrive

Procedural wasteland

Marketing emphasizes procedural geography — new expeditions should feel fresh across saves. Landmarks, weather pockets, and resource nodes will vary. Keep personal notes or use the expedition checklist so you do not rediscover the same dead end twice.

Roadmap beats mention loot and location expansions plus weapon and hunting updates. Watch the Early Access roadmap when new biomes drop.

Settlements and human remnants

Humanity barely persists in enclaves with their own rules. Settlements offer quests, recruits, and political choices that feed back into crew management. Factions may compete — allying with one could close doors with another. The dedicated settlements and factions page covers reputation, diplomacy, and story risk.

Trade as lifeline

Resources mean life in official copy. Trade converts found goods into rare gear, food, and components you cannot craft yet. Merchants also gate pacing: a caravan might sell hospital supplies the day before an blizzard. Master timing on the trade page before you gamble expedition lives on dicey deals.

Narrative and survival mode

The story campaign sends you to find a place worth settling permanently. Afterward, survival mode continues the journey for players who want endless miles. World knowledge — who to trust, where nodes respawn, which routes are night-safe — transfers directly.

Starting outdoors

If you have not played yet, read Getting Started and How to Play before you chase distant map icons. The world opens gradually; overextension kills more saves than wolves.

Tools and official info

• Expedition checklist — pack list before leaving
• System requirements — PC readiness for open areas
• Official links — trailers and store pages
• Release timeline — demo history and EA dates

Resources and loot

Official Steam copy states that resources mean life. The wasteland supplies wood, cloth, plastics, food, and scrap through forestry, ruin scavenging, and hunting — each action carrying real hour-scale time costs while the ship keeps moving. The resources and loot page explains haul priorities, ruin types, and how expedition goods feed crafting and heating and fuel aboard.

Hunting and weapons

Store materials promise predators, firearms, and diplomatic or armed conflicts in a procedural open world. Early Access day one will not match the full roadmap vision — Nionetix lists weapons and hunting as a post-launch pillar — but understanding violence vs negotiation early prevents faction mistakes. Read hunting and weapons alongside settlements and factions before you shoot a trader you needed for medical imports.

Child guides in this category

• Exploration — routes, loot, hazards, and return timing
• Resources and loot — wood, scrap, ruins, and time budgets
• Hunting and weapons — combat, diplomacy, and roadmap depth
• Settlements and factions — diplomacy, quests, reputation
• Trade — merchants, barter, and economic survival