An alpha, still growing.
Features, balance and world generation are still changing. Expect rough edges and fresh starts between updates.
Updates can and will break older saves and worlds. We don't promise save compatibility and we don't migrate old worlds. Plan on starting fresh after an update.
A good place to get carried away.
A shelter becomes a home. A fishing trip becomes an expedition. There’s always something else to build, learn, or find beyond the next stretch of water.
Co-op gameplay (teamwork)
- Wash up with nothing
- Punch a tree
- Find things, learn recipes
- Build a base
- Raid a farm
- Build a raft
- Find a worse island
- Come home. Usually.
In developmentWe're reworking the Revenants around more reactive individual behaviour, a fear of light and a stronger day and night rhythm. Those systems are being built, not advertised as finished.
Inside Alpha 0.9.6
Our next test update is in development. These systems are implemented; we’re playing through them before packaging the build. The wiki has the current recipes and rules.
- ImplementedChoose your islands. Play the fixed Meridian world, generate one with our defaults, or tune your own. Pine forests, birch groves, tropical shores and marshes have different resources to bring home.
- ImplementedGather, craft, discover. Work up through benches, a loom, furnace, forge and gunsmith. Materials teach ordinary recipes; using a weapon or tool opens its next designs. Team knowledge is shared.
- ImplementedKeep your favourite gear. Name your bow, blade, club, tool or fishing pole and level that individual item through use. Your character grows separately across eight skills and their perks.
- ImplementedA home on land or water. Build and upgrade a base, furnish it, or put it on a raft with better engines and a fish finder. Keep several beds and choose your active spawn by sleeping in one.
- ImplementedFishing worth staying out for. Three rod tiers, 24 catches, food bait with different effects and five reusable lures. Land the big one, mount it, or choose a blade to butcher it.
- ImplementedA smaller fishing boat. One driver, two passengers, held throttle and a built-in fish finder. Bring fuel, bring a friend, and remember where you left the raft.
- ImplementedFood and growing things. Hunt, fish, cook and plant. Find regional crops, protect them with powered grow lights in winter, and see wild crops and fiber return in spring.
- ImplementedA changing year. Rain, thunderstorms, snow, blizzards, seasonal colour and accumulating snow. Clothes, food, shelter and wood fires help keep you comfortable when it gets cold.
- ImplementedWildlife with a life of its own. Eighteen land species, regional habitats, feeding and breeding. Capture animals, ride suitable adults, share their care with teammates—or release them into the wild.
- ImplementedPlaces and trouble to find. Search abandoned farms and survivor bases. Face the Revenants, and learn that the sheep are not always the safer option.
- ImplementedSolo, co-op and PvP. Make a life on your own, or host with friends. Work together, start a feud, even catch and ride one another. Dedicated server packages are being prepared separately.
Left out of the test on purpose
Some of these have internal groundwork; others are still plans. They are outside the current wilderness test.
- Held backTowns, cities and the roads between them. The test is wilderness only.
- Held backExtra game modes. The current focus is the open sandbox.
- Not builtLore and discoveries. More of the world’s past to uncover as the sandbox grows. Read the lore.
- Held backDedicated servers. They're built. We're holding them back until they're set up and tested for public use, on Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Not builtIn-game modding. Planned on top of ArTchie-ABS, our own creator toolkit, which isn't released yet either. None of it is in the game today. See what we're building ↗
Preparing Alpha 0.9.6. This page describes the upcoming test update; it is not a new download announcement. The roadmap and wiki cover the current systems and what’s still ahead.
Where this is headed The whole plan on one chart: what's in, what's next, and what's still a rumour. See the roadmap →From the development scrapbook (we kept the evidence)
Real screenshots from earlier dev builds. Some bugs deserved a photograph before a fix.
Tell us what broke
If something's broken, weird, or just not fun, we want to hear it. If it's broken and funny, we want a screenshot. The best ones go on this page. Copy this into your report and send it through our support page:
Build version: World seed: World settings (default or custom, and what you changed): Hosting or joining: What happened, and what you did just before: Can you make it happen again? How? Log file / screenshot:
Why the price?
We picked this price because we think the game is worth it, and because we want it to be affordable, so it's accessible to everyone.
Not on sale here. No release date is being promised. Regional prices, taxes and store availability will be confirmed at release.
If you really want to play this and honestly don't have the $7.99, email us and we can work something out. We're always looking for more testers to play with us on our completely serious game tests. See example here ↗
The honest bits
Is this a big-budget survival game?
No, and it isn't trying to be. Barely Civilized is an indie project from people who wanted this game to exist. Expect rough edges, odd bugs, and the occasional moment that's funnier than it should be. If you play it, tell us what works and what doesn't. Feedback is genuinely needed and appreciated.
Can I play it yet?
Nearly. An alpha public test is on its way to itch.io, and this page will link to it when it's up. It's a test: wilderness only, bugs expected, and saves that won't survive updates. A full release date has not been announced.
Is this a public-server MMO?
No. It's solo play, co-op and PvP, in worlds that players host themselves. Dedicated servers are built and being readied for public release, for groups that want to run their own. Final supported player counts are not being promised yet.
What about Mac and Linux?
Both are part of the game, and Mac is a first-class platform here, not an afterthought. We're testing on Linux and on an Apple silicon MacBook Air (M5) ourselves. What we can't test yet is older Apple silicon Macs, so if you have one, we'd like to hear how it runs.
Are modding and Steam Workshop ready?
No. In-game modding isn't available yet, and ArTchie-ABS, the toolkit it'll be built on, hasn't been released. Both are planned, along with Steam Workshop. We'll say so here, build by build, as they actually land.
Are these finished-game screenshots?
No. They're real captures from our development builds, September and October 2026, cropped and resized and nothing else. Some show towns, which aren't in the public test.
| Status | In development · Alpha 0.9.6 |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS and Linux. Mac is a first-class platform for this game. |
| Author | ArTchie Studios |
| Genre | Survival |
| Tags | Co-opPvPSingleplayerSurvivalBase BuildingCraftingSandboxOpen WorldZombiesProcedural GenerationFunny |
| Multiplayer | Solo, online co-op and PvP · player-hosted worlds and dedicated servers |
| Player count | Solo supported. Multiplayer limits are still being tested. |
| Links | Roadmap · Wiki · ArTchie Studios · Support |
All screenshots are real, from development builds (September and October 2026). Cropped and resized, nothing else. Some show towns that are not in the public test. Not representative of the finished game. We hope.
