Huge Steam survival game hits 1.0 after four years of early access (2024)

One of Steam's biggest survival games has just launched its 1.0 update - heralding its arrival out of early access.

After first launching on Itch.io all the way back in 2016, Raft then arrived on Steam in early access form a few years later in 2018. Now though, a grand total of four years later, Raft: The Final Chapter is here at last, launching the survival game out of early access and into the hands of eagerly awaiting fans.

Developer Redbeet Interactive officially announced the launch of 1.0 for Raft earlier this week on June 20 on the Steam forums. "It is the culmination of more than five years of development and the grand finale to the Raft story line," the blog post reads. "It is The Final Chapter, and it is ready to be played."

For Raft: The Final Chapter, which is the biggest update in the game's history, there's three brand new locations heading up the launch: Varuna Point, Temperance, and a third surprise destination for players to uncover. Raft's overarching story has actually been rewritten and finessed into one coalescing story with the Final Chapter update, so you can now play through the whole thing smoothly.

There's also plenty of new enemies to fend off while you're out exploring the open ocean. As you might've guessed from the title. Raft puts you on a small float and tasks you to survive in the middle of the ocean, and now you'll be going up against the likes of polar bears, hyenas, and even anglerfish.

It's a monumental update for the Raft community, and brings in even more additions like trading posts, new characters, community items, and more. Six years after it first launched, the end is now here for Raft, and it promises to be a great conclusion for long-time players and newcomers alike.

Check out our list of the best survival games if you're looking for something else to sink you're time into.