Nearly a year after teasing an ‘unannounced survival game’ that looked suspiciously like The Long Dark 2, developer Hinterland’s has officially unveiled its snowy survival sequel. It’s called Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2 and it’s coming to Steam early access in 2026.
While our first tease of The Long Dark 2 in January didn’t go much beyond a slow pan across a slightly ramshackle room, Hinterland’s The Game Awards announcement trailer shows considerably more, with the wilderness action of its predecessor now expanded to cover towns and even cities gripped by the apocalyptic winter.
“A year has passed since the Aurora first appeared in the sky, rendering all technology inert, with survivors just starting to emerge to face their new reality in its aftermath,” Hinterland explains on Steam. “Surrounded by a majestic, rugged wilderness, encounter the remnants of an isolated society still coming to terms with how the world has just been forever changed. How will you choose to survive?”
Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2 announcement trailer.
Blackfrost can be played solo, with lone adventurers able to rely on NPC communities as they explore the world. Alternatively, co-op is supported, enabling friends to help each other, combining their efforts and skills to stay alive in the face of dangerous wildlife, harsh weather events, aurora storms, and even the titular radioactive Blackfrost.
“Build your own survivor,” continues Hinterland, “customise traits and skills, collect scars and stories, and experience a life as a survivor in this beautiful yet dangerous world.” There’s even a new Permalife mode to complement the original’s returning Permadeath, where players can turn “every death into a new adventure” by facing their fears, overcoming their downsides, and strengthening their survivors story – whatever that means.
The Long Dark 2 enters Steam early access in 2026, when it will “launch without the game’s complete planned world or feature set” and will be “built a piece at a time”. Hinterland can says this’ll help it “work towards strength in community-informed iteration and development”. But given the studio is still to deliver the final episode of the original Long Dark’s story mode – originally supposed to be the focus of the game when it was Kickstarted over 11 years – series fans might not be so accommodating with Hinterland’s approach a second time around.
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