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Explore a vast underground ocean in your customised steamship! A PC & Mac game in glorious 2D from the creators of Fallen London.

Sunless Sea

Lose your mind. Eat your crew. Take the helm of your steamship and set sail for the unknown! A PC & Mac game in glorious 2D from the creators of Fallen London.
Lose your mind. Eat your crew. Take the helm of your steamship and set sail for the unknown! A PC & Mac game in glorious 2D from the creators of Fallen London.
Buy now on Steam
Created by
Failbetter Games
Failbetter Games
4,271 backers pledged £100,803 to help bring this project to life.
Rewards Campaign Updates 88 Comments 556 Community
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Zubmariner comes out in 18 days! | Sunless Sea text and UI resizing now available

It’s only 18 days until Zubmariner comes out! That’s not long at all. 

Between now and then we’ll be releasing the zee-plumbing, heart-pounding launch trailer, and discussing Zubmariner live from... Read more

10 likes

Zubmariner will be released on 11 October, 2016!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37hpX1hWFQY

Zubmariner brings an entire second layer to Sunless Sea, including new cities and ports to explore, packed with our trademark: agonising choices presented in beautiful prose. 

“Beneath the Unterzee... Read more

1 Comment 10 likes

Zubmariner News for July

Zubmariner Beta Update  

Work continues apace on this new and more intense layer to the game! Beasties, animations and new ports are being added to the beta. Your correspondent... Read more

7 likes

Zubmariner News for June: we're in beta!

ZUBMARINER IS IN BETA!  

Hooray! The first expansion for Sunless Sea, Zubmariner, is now in beta. Thank you to the hundreds of you who signed up to test! We’ll... Read more

9 likes

Zubmariner News for May

Hello and welcome to your update for May! We’re working on a new zee-beast, looking at the different ways the environment will help or hinder you beneath the Zee, and... Read more

11 likes

Zubmariner will come out in Autumn 2016!

Hello delicious backers,

Currents, Fragility and Zee-Beasts

We presented at EGX Rezzed this past weekend, where we went into some more detail about what you can expect in Zubmariner, and... Read more

6 Comments 17 likes

Zubmariner: The Zee-floor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzYcxT1WVmM

A new video from primary developer Mac, talking about light, shadow and different types of terrain on the zee-floor. 

Current and sonar 

We've now got ocean-wide currents in place,... Read more

2 Comments 12 likes

The Surgeon's Child is here!

1 like
For backers only

Tell your delicious friends they can try Sunless Sea for free right now!

We're celebrating Sunless Sea's first birthday on 6th February! It seems like only yesterday it was gamboling around the playpen, tentacles a-quiver with excitement. 

The Free Weekend ends at 1pm PST... Read more

1 Comment 10 likes

First footage of Zubmariner, and early alpha access for backers!

10 likes
For backers only

Sunless Sea "the most memorable release of 2015"

We're so excited that Simon Parkin has named Sunless Sea the most memorable release of 2015 in the New Yorker.


This has been a defining year for Failbetter. We've launched... Read more

2 Comments 16 likes

Zubmariner Update: Unknown Depths

Hello, delicious backers! 

We present a further look into the depths of the Unterzee! 

Zubmariner will be the first major piece of DLC for Sunless Sea. Equip a zubmersible add-on... Read more

1 Comment 15 likes

A first look at Zubmariner

Hello delicious friends!


You’ll know that we’re working on our first piece of DLC for Sunless Sea: Zubmariner, which all backers will receive for free (and those who bought Sunless... Read more

6 Comments 27 likes

A Piratical Bug: Vanquished!

3 likes
For backers only

A Piratical Bug

2 likes
For backers only

The Pirate Poet and the Merciless Modiste!

Her clay lips break into a smirk. "Think you’re worth a verse?"

Captains, beware! The Pirate-Poet now zails the zee, seeking a worthy rival. The pirates of Gaider’s Mourn tell... Read more

8 likes

Modding Sunless Sea is now easier

It is now much easier to mod Sunless Sea!  


We've added a new directory called addon to your game, which will give you a safe place to store modded... Read more

2 Comments 14 likes

Fallen London comes to iOS in 2015

You’ll know Fallen London as the browser game which spawned Sunless Sea, and the whole universe of the Neath. 


Fallen London now contains over 1.2 million words of stories -... Read more

12 Comments 18 likes

Soundtrack now available!

We are delighted to present the official soundtrack to Sunless Sea, 21 pieces guaranteed to inspire haunting dreams, wistful reveries for captains lost, and sea-sickness. 

The soundtrack is now available... Read more

3 Comments 14 likes

Zubmariner art and Soundtrack listing!

This week, art director Paul Arendt has been looking at the bottom of the Zee... 

New Zubmariner concept art is posted at his Tumblr first, if you're keen.

The Sunless Sea... Read more

3 Comments 18 likes

Zubmariner concept art!

As you may remember, Zubmariner will be our first piece of DLC for Sunless Sea. 

It was funded by you, kind and generous backer, and anyone who backed us or... Read more

5 Comments 18 likes

ERIK arrives!

ERIK is here, introducing new items which you can use to instigate combat with some of the Unterzee's deadliest beasts! 


Take one of these items to zee with you and... Read more

5 Comments 11 likes

MAGELLAN and the Pirate Poet!

We’re happy to announce that the MAGELLAN update is here, bringing a fix for the stuttering bug which has been a real nuisance for some of you.

 
A big... Read more
13 Comments 12 likes

New in Sunless Sea: the Traveller Returning

Delicious backers! 

Another week and more new content: 

"The traveller is always returning. One who does not is no traveller."  

Another advanced Ambition is now available. It cannot be... Read more

11 likes

New in Sunless Sea this week!

First things first: a new ambition for your captains! 

Found a colony at the world's end, in a place of beauty and searing danger. Grow it slowly over time. Claim... Read more

3 Comments 14 likes

What's next?

We can hardly believe it's been a week since launch.

What are we working on?

We’ve been inundated with helpful tickets this week. A big thank you to all of... Read more

7 Comments 21 likes

LAUNCH DAY!

Delicious backers,

Today is the day. At 5:30pm GMT, Sunless Sea will leave Early Access!

Already we've been hugely excited to receive a rare 10/10 score from Eurogamer, and another... Read more

10 Comments 19 likes

Memory Lane

HELLO DELICIOUS BACKERS. Alexis here.  


Sunless Sea is leaving Early Access this Friday, 6th February. This is a good while after our expected delivery date, but the game has... Read more

9 Comments 32 likes

ONE WEEK TO GO!

Delicious backers,

Launch is almost upon us! Sunless Sea will leave Early Access at 5:30pm GMT on 6 February!

We'll save the ugly-crying and emotional speeches for launch day, but:... Read more

3 Comments 18 likes

TWO WEEKS TO GO!

It’s just over two weeks until launch! 

Today's update covers some functions which you’ve been waiting for and introduces a great deal of monkey business to the Unterzee...

STORIES

"Somewhere... Read more
16 likes

Three weeks to go!

Hello delicious backers,

It's three weeks until launch. We're busy packing Sunless Sea full of content and polishing it to a high shine for you.

New this week: Romance your... Read more

8 Comments 11 likes

SUNLESS SEA LEAVES EARLY ACCESS ON 6 FEBRUARY, 2015!

The official release date for Sunless Sea is 6 February, 2015.


Over 200,000 words of story. Hundreds of illustrations. Seven months in Early Access. We’re almost there!

Our final... Read more

12 Comments 27 likes

DIAMOND IS HERE!

SUNLESS SEA leaves early access in early February. Here’s DIAMOND, a delicious update which brings us tantalizingly close to the finished article.


GAMEPLAY

  • Weather!
    There is now a chance of... Read more
2 Comments 13 likes

THE HOME STRETCH!

2 Comments 17 likes
For backers only

Your physical backer rewards are in the post!

1 like
For backers only

Three updates and some Advent treats

Three updates for you today:


Rewards

We’re a few days behind on dispatching the physical rewards. We’re awaiting one final piece of packing material (poster tubes, crucially) from our supplier,... Read more

2 Comments 7 likes

SAPPHIRE IS HERE!

American friends: Happy Thanksgiving! Everyone else: Happy Thursday!

A multi-faceted update: new stories, new gameplay and a feast of new artwork. V0.6.3.1751 is live on Steam now, Humble will follow later today. ... Read more

2 Comments 11 likes

Zail to Visage

"All visitors must pass, one by one, through a room guarded by a person in the mask of a Moon-Moth..." 

The isle named Visage is now open, if you are... Read more

9 likes

Come to the The Isle of Cats

Here, an invisible tiger stalks and deadly roses grow. Unravel a tale of memory, cruelty and desire, with the King's Claw, the Lady of the Cages, and a mystery from... Read more

8 likes

The Waters of Adam's Way are perilous...

Delicious backers,

Today we release a small patch including these features and fixes:

FEATURES

  • The waters of Adam's Way are perilous. Sailing upstream is more perilous still.
  • Visiting The Surface... Read more
3 Comments 10 likes

Sunless Sea Final Release Date

A big announcement, folks! Sunless Sea will leave Early Access in February 2015.

We’re nearing the end of a long, exhausting and creatively fulfilling journey, one that has been shaped... Read more

5 Comments 16 likes

A Halloween update (featuring spiders)

Later today we release Carnelian, which has been tweaked slightly from the roadmap, but which is replete with new content and improvements to combat:


Visit Saviour's Rocks, seat of the... Read more

1 Comment 11 likes

Yosemite update and the Tree of Seasons

Delicious backers, an urgent update for Mac players: updating to Yosemite will wipe your Sunless Sea save games, and probably save games for other games you own that were built... Read more

6 likes

Story update: the Fathomking's Hold

Hello, delicious captains!  

Another nugget of story - you can now explore the Fathomking's Hold (and pay him to recover the Outcast, the Campaigner and the Magician if you... Read more

1 Comment 7 likes

New content: the Merchant Venturer

We've just put a knot of new stories live. The Merchant Venturer will appear in London, early in the game. He'll ask you to find some unorthodox materials... and he... Read more

1 Comment 19 likes

STEEL is here!

Wonderful, delicious backers: Steel, our major combat update, is here!

This is a completely new combat system - intense, perilous and real-time.  Equip your vessel with multiple weapons, turn your... Read more

9 Comments 15 likes

Demeaux’s Navigational Chart of the Known Unterzee!

Hello, delicious backers.

We promised a desktop wallpaper at the £15 level, and a printed poster at the £100 level. Now that enough of the Unterzee is implemented, we've been... Read more

2 Comments 9 likes

Steel, Stone and Spiders

Hello all! We've been quiet, but we've been busy. Sorry for the quiet time - the good news is, this means we have a lot to tell and to show... Read more

13 likes

Map shuffling, smarter zee bats and the Iron Republic

Hi everyone! EMERALD, our first major update since the Early Access launch, is now live on Steam. The update will be available to owners on the Humble Store just as... Read more

1 Comment 14 likes

Sunless Sea on Steam!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/304650/

"This game will unlock in approximately 7 hours"

so uh 

actually this is almost as terrifying as the original Kickstarter. Steam is much easier to get on than it... Read more

7 Comments 13 likes

Countdown to Steam release

It's now less than a week until Sunless Sea is available to buy in Early Access on Steam.

Launch day is next Tuesday, 1st July. The game will go live... Read more

9 Comments 17 likes

Parabolan Panther available!

5 Comments 2 likes
For backers only

Sunless Sea Early Access release: Humble Bundle problems

Hi all - it looks like Humble haven't given access to all of the backer list yet.

We've mailed them to ask them to look at this urgently - we'll... Read more

23 Comments 9 likes

SUNLESS SEA in Early Access release!

So hey yeah er we are live OOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

excuse me. What I mean to say is this: SUNLESS SEA, in defiant capitals, is now available for purchase. It's an Early... Read more

22 Comments 11 likes

Amethyst update live!

Explorers, you can grab the latest patch from Humble Bundle now. The focus of this one is a drastically altered combat paradigm, but we also have four new areas and... Read more

2 Comments 4 likes

Roadmap and Backer Rewards

Hi, folks -

Six updates in one month! What can we say: we like you all.

We've just published the road map for ongoing Sunless Sea development. It takes us... Read more

1 Comment 17 likes

Sunless Sea Explorers' Beta 0.1.3(.1)

Afternoon, all. If you're an Explorer or up, you'll find the latest build of the Sunless Sea - including a sneaky extra patch - on your Humble Bundle download page.... Read more

2 Comments 2 likes

Sunless Sea trailer now on Steam Greenlight

Hello, delicious backers! We're delighted to reveal our debut trailer on Steam Greenlight. This is the first in-game footage of Sunless Sea, featuring perilous sea-beasts, towering stalagmites, sentient coral and... Read more

7 Comments 9 likes

Experimental Linux alpha build

Hello all!

We said we'd do what we could for a Linux version of the game - though we warned that Windows and Mac would have priority.

We're hard at... Read more

2 Comments 4 likes

Patch 0.1.3 coming soon

More here.

If you backed at Explorer level or better and haven't yet received an email with beta access information, do let us know at sunlessseagame@failbettergames.com - we've tidied up... Read more

3 likes

What's next for Sunless Sea?

The beta's been out since... Lordy, less than 48 hours. In that time we've had lots of very positive, very detailed, very useful feedback. People are loving the game, despite struggling... Read more

16 Comments 19 likes

Beta v1.1

A patch! Closed beta v.0.1.1 is now live at Humble Bundle for backers of Explorer level and above - the link in the HB email now goes to the new... Read more

19 Comments 5 likes

Battening down the hatches for the Explorer's Beta

We're just tying up loose ends over here - patching the hull, appeasing the nameless gods of the zee with small blood sacrifices, that sort of thing. The Explorer's Beta... Read more

8 Comments 17 likes

Light on the water

We're still on course for the beta next week! We'll be distributing it via Humble Bundle - we'll send out keys to everyone at the backer level.

The game is... Read more

19 Comments 17 likes

Beta date! and other snippets

Whoops! We made a blog announcement about the beta date last week, and neglected to post it here. But, yes, that date is 29th April! Catch up with our last... Read more

3 Comments 10 likes

Steaming towards beta

Hello, delicious backers. Not long now until the beta - and we thought you'd like to see the latest screenshots and hear the first snippet of our music...

http://sunlessseagame.com/steaming-towards-beta/

1 Comment 14 likes

Dev diary update: Rocking the boat (and other cheap tricks)

When we started working on Sunless Sea, we knew that we wanted it to focus on good gameplay and storytelling above all else. That said, we also want it to... Read more

1 Comment 13 likes

Dev Diary update: 2D, or not 2D?

Building the game has been interesting. It’s got a lot of Fallen London in its DNA, but it is a very different beast all the same. We’re finding that every... Read more

2 Comments 9 likes

Kickstarter Officers

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! 

We've got another update for you today: a collection of  portraits based on images supplied by the Officer Pack level Kickstarter backers. 

You'll be... Read more

5 Comments 37 likes

A Matter of Boats

A quick pre-Christmas update for you all! An in-engine peek at how the game is currently looking, and some commentary from Paul on the difficulty of drawing boats, roofs and... Read more

1 Comment 9 likes

Mapping the Sunless Sea

Hi everyone! We've got a new developer update on our blog here: http://sunlessseagame.com/mapping-the-sunless-sea-geography-spoilers/

It features Paul talking about the challenges of mapping the terrain of the Unterzee, and a glimpse at... Read more

2 Comments 12 likes

A rain of masks

Hello! We have a trio of treats for you!

Art and teaser information for some of the Sunless Sea officers. Who feature in the current Fallen London seasonal event. Which is beginning... Read more

4 Comments 13 likes

Logs of the Voyage part 1

Hello again, delicious backers!

A note on how we're going. We've now got the entire West wall of the Neath, in placeholder format, imported into SS: it's sort of fabulous... Read more

4 Comments 12 likes

There is a sea more sunless

...and we're making that one, as well as the basically sunless one. The Zubmarines stretch goal is FUNDED.

The final total, including pledges made off Kickstarter with Nex in Fallen... Read more

43 Comments 7 likes
Successfully raised £100,803 with 4,271 backers

With a wild surmise

We said no more updates before funding day! But yesterday we got a bigger surge than we expected from you fabulous lot, and the tide has lifted us...almost...into... reach of... Read more

42 Comments 2 likes

A Secret Light

As I write this, there are 48 hours to go before our Kickstarter deadline, so this will be our last update before the campaign closes and we raise a celebratory... Read more

21 Comments 1 like

Seven pieces of flotsam

Hello, all. There are things we wanted to say that don't fit coherently in the same update, so we would like you to treat them as if they had been... Read more

4 Comments 1 like

"Together, they hunt monsters."

Q. Where can I find out more about the Sunless Sea world?
A. Play this marvellously minatory free online game.
Q. Not my thing / already played it / want more... Read more

9 Comments 1 like

Nex Pledging now available

Delicious zailors. A very quick update: some of you have asked to pledge via either PayPal or Nex, the Fallen London virtual currency. It's possible to buy Nex with PayPal,... Read more

11 Comments 1 like

"And therefore we have sailed the seas and come..."

...not to the holy city of Byzantium. More to a city of green glass and shadowed basalt, nestled in the lee of a gallery-carved stalagmite. But that sound is the... Read more

24 Comments 1 like

Hello, delicious zailors

...we're nearly there. The lights of the port ahead are visible through the mist. Thank you so much for stoking the boilers and plotting the course with us! Without you,... Read more

15 Comments 1 like

“Turn on the dark! I’m afraid of the light”

[This is a greatly updated version of a post that first appeared on www.sunlessseagame.com.]

Did we mention that the Unterzee is dark? I think it may have come up. Once... Read more

4 Comments

Panthers, Poets and Pirates

Psst! Over here! Yes, you! Put your eye to this chink in the curtain! There's backer-only content beyond it! What do we have for you?

(If you're receiving an email,... Read more

57 Comments

Sea Stories

We put the prototype together in a hurry, and the menus, UI and HUD were more grown than made. Rather like coral. Which was sort of appropriate to the Unterzee,... Read more

16 Comments

Sunless Sea: where next?

Hello, delicious friends. We asked this question on the Failbetter forum and it got a great response: so here's an expanded and improved version with more teasers.

For the prototype,... Read more

150 Comments

Sunless Sea: new horizons and reckless tattoos

Hello! Thanks for checking in. We've had a great first three days. It's slowing down, as KS campaigns always do - so this is a critical time. Tap the person... Read more

11 Comments

"...cleft for me"

50% funding! This makes us extremely happy.If you've backed us, thank you! This will be epic. If you've told the world about us, thank you! Once again, this will be... Read more

9 Comments 2 likes

Hello... delicious backer.

13 Comments
For backers only
Project launched