Dead Reckoning: The Long Drift

Dead Reckoning: The Long Drift

Early access since Jun 2026

A dream among the stars — or a nightmare. 1,000 colonists in the dark between stars. Every pragmatic decision rewrites who they are. Discover what your choices mean for humanity, for better or worse.

84% positive · 213 reviews
Not yet
In early access, content still planned
High confidence
Content Planned
Not yet
In early access, content still planned
High confidence
Content Planned

Where to buy

Steam $14.99
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Evaluation

Dead Reckoning: The Long Drift is in Early Access and remains in very active, transparent development. The game released into Early Access on June 25, 2026 and has received a steady stream of major updates since. On June 14, 2026, version 0.2.81 shipped a large batch of new content including individuated colonists (all 1,000 named and tracked), a new ending, a 20-event endgame deck (described as the first half of a planned 50-event deck), and completed localization across five languages. On July 30, 2026, version 0.4.0 promoted the full crew society system to the stable branch — eleven named societal identities, a genome/bloodline system, standing science projects, and an overhauled star chart and ship diagram. On August 24, 2026, version 0.5.10 added the full 100-year playable colony phase after landing, an interactive crew postings system, all twelve crew societies with colony-phase events and endings, and a new departure shakedown tutorial. The most recent communication, dated September 2, 2026 (today), is version 0.5.24, which adds mod support and two new game endings, alongside numerous fixes. Crucially, the developer explicitly states what comes next: two new writers join on September 7, 2026 to write colony events, and meta progression (persistent state carried between runs) is named as the next major system to be built. The endgame event deck's second half — Acts III–IV of a planned 50-event deck announced in June 2026 — has not yet shipped. The developer has maintained near-daily to weekly communication throughout Early Access and shows no indication of slowing down.
Evidence
Version 0.5.24 ships mod support and two new endings. Developer explicitly names what comes next: two writers joining September 7 to write colony events, and meta progression/persistent state between runs as the next major system.
news post · Sep 2, 2026 source content planned
high
Version 0.5.10 ships the full 100-year playable colony phase, all twelve crew societies with colony events and endings, an interactive crew postings system, and a new departure shakedown tutorial.
news post · Aug 24, 2026 source content shipped
high

Media

Details

Developer
Publisher
Selenodrome
Achievements
29
Platform
Windows, Linux
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player

About this game

A dream among the stars — or a nightmare.

1,000 colonists. One ship. A destination that may be fifty years away — or centuries. Some will land. Some will be born, age, and die in the dark between stars without ever knowing if the mission succeeded.

Inspired by John Ayliff's Seedship, Dead Reckoning is a game about the slow, invisible erosion of civilization across generations. Every decision you make is defensible in the moment. The horror is retroactive.

Manage food, power, and hull integrity across centuries of deep space. Navigate crises, uprisings, and failures that compound silently into irreversible outcomes. The crew that arrives — if they arrive — may not remember where they came from, what they believed, or what it means to be human. A society of clones. A ship that has become a cathedral. An AI that no longer needs to ask permission.

Five forces reshape your colony across generations: genetic drift, ideological fracture, AI integration, technological regression, and class stratification. Every choice nudges the needle. None of them reset. The faction that rises in year 200 was built from decisions you made in year 40.

Settlement. Extinction. Digital transcendence. A ship that turns back. A crew that ascends without landing. Every run tells a different story. What reaches that planet is the sum of everything you did — and didn't do — across centuries in the dark.

You may not recognize it. You may not want to.

Last evaluated Sep 2, 2026
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