Surviving Ceres

Surviving Ceres

Released May 2025

Explore a handcrafted survival game with an emphasis on crafting and base building. Export manufactured goods to earn funding, manage colonists, defend against hostile aliens, and work towards terraforming Ceres from a frozen ball of ice to a tropical paradise.

87% positive · 141 reviews
Not yet
Released, but content still planned
High confidence
Content Planned
Not yet
Released, but content still planned
High confidence
Content Planned

Where to buy

Steam $9.99
Can't confirm — worth a look
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Evaluation

Surviving Ceres launched on May 2, 2025 as a solo-developer survival/base-building game. Since launch, the developer (Ryan Saunders) has shipped three major content updates: Update 1.4 on August 11, 2025 (adding a full drone automation system), the Customization Update 1.5 on September 22, 2025 (adding extensive base and colonist customization options, new gear, and alien sample mechanics), and an earlier Post-Launch Major Update 1 on June 9, 2025 (focused on building and crafting improvements). This demonstrates a consistent pattern of meaningful post-launch content across 2025. In a development status post on December 17, 2025, the developer explicitly confirmed future plans: a major visual overhaul update is next (described as a "2.0" level effort requiring 6 or more months of work), followed by an additional planet to terraform as free DLC, and controller support. The developer expressed enthusiasm for 2026 updates and described these plans as their active focus going forward. The most recent communication was a minor bug fix posted January 26, 2026, indicating the developer remains engaged. The roadmap communicated in both the September 2025 and December 2025 posts makes clear that significant work — particularly the visual overhaul — is still underway and has not yet shipped.
Evidence
Developer confirms the next major focus for 2026 will be a visual overhaul update, followed by an additional planet to terraform and controller support. Describes the visual update as a substantial, lengthy undertaking.
news post · Dec 17, 2025 source content planned
high
Customization Update 1.5 shipped, adding colony and base customization, alien sample mechanics, and new gear. Post-update notes also describe plans for a major visual/2.0 update and a subsequent free DLC planet.
news post · Sep 22, 2025 source content planned
high

Media

Details

Developer
Publisher
One Man Media
Achievements
40
Platform
Windows
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player

About this game

Hostile Environment

You have been sent alone to the dwarf planet Ceres. You must endure the harsh environment while you gather, craft, and build the basics required to stay alive. Build machines, facilities, and farms as you establish a foothold in this icy world.

Don't Struggle Just Automate

No tedious gathering of the same materials over and over. Once you acquire a material and locate deep deposits, you can build and use drills to automate collection.

Base Building

The modular base building makes building easy for players who are not creative, while place-able objects, decorations, and glass variations allow more creative players to go wild.

Export and Import

Export rare materials and manufactured goods back to Earth to earn funding. This funding is used to research new technologies and upgrades. You can also import supplies from Earth to supplement your needs.

Prepare For Company

Once you have established a viable base, including some colonist-specific modules such as the barracks, mess hall, and rec room, you can call in passenger ships with people to join your colony. Then, put your colonists to work on advanced facilities used to create complex goods, defend against hostile aliens, and perform other advanced functions such as terraforming and power generation.

Things Are Warming Up

Once you begin terraforming the planet, ice melts, giving you access to new areas. Here, you will find more advanced materials used to advance the terraforming process.

Defend Your Assets

As terraforming advances, you will need to defend yourself against attacks from hostile alien creatures on the ground and in the air. Eventually, you will take the fight to them by destroying alien nests and going on expeditions to eliminate all hostile life forms to make Ceres safe for humanity.

The higher the difficulty settings combined with how quickly you complete milestones or the terraforming of Ceres will determine how well you score on the leaderboards. Can you be efficient and reach the top spot?

So what are you waiting for?  Get in there and start terraforming the dwarf planet Ceres into a viable human colony today.

Last evaluated Jun 20, 2026
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