THE DEAD WE KNEW: Open World Survival Hits Steam Early Access With 13% Positive Reviews

MAY19 STUDIO released THE DEAD WE KNEW: Open World Survival in Steam early access for PC on October 23, 2026. On its first day, the game had 338 Steam reviews with 13% positive, giving it a "Very Negative" rating, according to gamespark.jp.

The game supports solo play and online co-op for up to four players, and it includes Japanese language support. It is currently 15% off at 2,678 yen, a sale that runs until November 6.

Reviewers cited unclear crafting instructions, no visible quick slots, crashes at launch, an inability to fight zombies bare-handed, and clumsy combat and zombie behavior.

Planned updates

MAY19 STUDIO plans an early access period of about one year. Planned additions include new weapons, vehicles, fishing and new exploration areas, along with improvements to existing systems and optimization.

Before release, the game's wishlist registrations passed 350,000, according to a banner image in a prior article. In pre-launch posts, the developer apologized for insufficient community engagement and information sharing and said it would answer questions on forums and gather feedback going forward.