Permafrost enters Steam early access to mixed reviews

On 9 October 2026 SpaceRocket Games and publisher Toplitz Productions opened Permafrost in Steam early access. The survival sim was in development for about four years and is set after the Moon's destruction, with Earth locked in a glacial apocalypse. On premiere day the launch slipped by several hours so a day-one patch could land, adding key rebinding and performance fixes.

Steam reviews are mixed, with about 56% positive. Players report stutter, frame drops even on strong graphics cards, and crashes when changing graphics options or starting a session. Stability was already poor in pre-release testing, and the authors had said so openly. A temporary workaround is the -dx11 launch option, since the game holds up better on DirectX 11. Because of error 11c7, players are also turning off Windows smart app control.

Four-player co-op drew its own complaints. Sessions desync and drop, and the game can crash when a partner walks up to an NPC. In online play the dog is often visible only to the host, and quests can complete without the second player taking part. Jerky tree-chopping animation and simple animal behavior were called out as well.

What lands better is the heavy frost atmosphere and cold that can turn a short trip lethal. The early access build already includes an opening story of about seven hours, shelter building, two technology branches, hunting, and fights with the Moon Cult. The studio expects a long stretch of fixes with the community. The next four updates are set to bring reworked combat animation, a sledgehammer for breaking obstacles, more weapon types, and a frozen area called White Hell. Until 23 October 2026 the price is 1,439 rubles at 20% off, then 1,799 rubles. Permafrost on Steam.