...
Browse GamesSteam news
Full Steam announcements and update articles for this title.
We’re excited to bring you the Calmer Waters update, a highly requested relaxed game mode where you'll still encounter hazards, but they'll always appear at their lowest severity, and there will be a much longer gap between each one. It's designed for players who want a gentler, more laid back experience, while still keeping a little bit of challenge in the waters.
We've also been working on some optimisations, including improvements to the audio system, alongside a collection of highly requested quality of life features, like a filter for turning off the harvestable ring and more.For more details check out the patch notes below. A lot of what’s in this update comes directly from community feedback, so thank you for taking the time to report issues and share suggestions!We hope you enjoy a calmer experience and can just go with the flow while things are a little less… stormy out there.Hey Reef Guardians!
We are pleased to share an update resolving issues some players have been experiencing - we are so sorry and thank you so much for flagging the issues so quickly.
Fixes include:
Corrupted zone temperatures / acidity now autocorrects.
Gift of the Abyss no longer crashes the game if it tries to spawn more gifts than there are valid tiles
Full internal storage now changes water parameters
Thanks again for supporting Life Below!
Hey Reef Guardians!
We have been working hard to make sure bugs are fixed and looking at more balance feedback we've received. Again, we can't thank you all enough for all the bug reporting and wonderful reviews and feedback.
Have a great weekend!
Fixed an issue where a Growth could occasionally become stuck while being researched. If this happens, the Growth will now autocorrect and allow research to continue.
Fixed an issue where the Lionfish and Moray Eel hazards did not correctly register their respective achievements when the hazard ended.
Fixed an issue where Coral Refineries and Coral Infusers could become stuck with no Sprites working on them.
Fixed an issue where Seahorses could take tasks from Sprites that were able to complete them faster, causing resource gathering to slow when a large number of Seahorses were present.
Fixed an issue where Sprites and Seahorses could become stuck outside the playable space.
Fixed an issue where Sprite Carrying Capacity could revert to 1 at maximum level.
Fixed an issue where the glyph cache was not properly cleared when switching to or between Japanese and Simplified Chinese.
Fixed a crash that could occur when loading a game in Japanese or Simplified Chinese.
Fixed an issue where Moray Eels could break the game if they spawned in a zone without a chasm.
Fixed an issue where Growth Essence and Coral Plates counts in the Growth menu could incorrectly display the Coral Matter value.
Adjusted the cost and upkeep of Chill Coral, Heat Coral, Acid Coral and Alkaline Coral:
Coral Matter cost reduced from 120 to 100.
Coral Plates cost reduced from 40 to 35.
Energy upkeep reduced from 10 to 8.
Adjusted Sun Coral:
Pearl cost reduced from 90 to 80.
Construction time reduced from 90 to 80.
Shiny Lures now have a higher chance of attracting uncommon and rare wildlife.
The Sea Urchin hazard now spawns fewer initial Sea Urchins.
Sea Urchins now have a cap on how many can spawn in a single tick.
Increased the Infused Coral cost of the upgraded Seahorse Coven and upgraded Octopus Den:
Infused Coral cost from 10 to 20.
Thank you so much everyone for all your feedback since launch!
It's been really incredible to see everyone getting into the game and your screenshots. We really appreciate that you want to spend time with this underwater world we've created, and we're excited to give you an update here where we've made some changes based on your feedback (and of course bug fixes).
We've in particular made some changes to how severe and when certain hazards can show up, based on the feedback that has been posted here on Steam and in our Discord server. Balance for things like this is of course really important for games like this, so we really appreciate the feedback.
We'll continue to tinker with this, and will do our best, thank you so much again for your feedback and support!
The key rebinding menu now supports keys on the right-hand side of the keyboard.
Temperature and pH levels are now shown in red or blue in the zone purchasing panel.
Xbox input prompts no longer appear when using DualShock gamepads.
Gamepad zoom is now less sensitive.
Fixed an issue where the loading screen could hang on computers using certain locale settings, such as Turkish.
The developer console is now less likely to be opened accidentally.
Garbage Collection now runs in Sustained Low Latency mode during main gameplay.
Fixed an issue where the “structure getting disabled” message could appear constantly, causing the game to stutter.
Heatwave now has a lower maximum magnitude, bringing it in line with Coldwave values.
Evolved Clams are now cheaper and produce more pearls.
Vent Coral and Evolved Vent Coral now produce twice as much energy.
Garbage Patch now drops fewer garbage pieces.
Oil Spill now covers fewer buildings with oil.
Oil Spill now damages structures more slowly.
Garbage Patch and Sea Urchin hazards no longer appear unless you have a biome their solution can appear in.
Workers no longer play their harvesting animation while waiting for other workers at a boulder.
Fixed an issue where the animation for throwing trash into lava could start from a different position than the trash carried by the worker.
The Lure Material harvesting animation is now correctly aligned with the worker’s harvesting animation.
Flatfish no longer T-pose.
Workers can now clean silted lava nodes again.
Heatwaves no longer fluctuate after reaching target temperature.
Dolphins added in the WDC DLC are no longer visually affected by secondary effects.
Lost Spirits no longer break if the game is saved and loaded while they are being moved.
Lionfish and Moray Eels no longer eat fish outside the zone they are targeting.
Whale visit no longer breaks if there are no comfortable zones.
Corrected Japanese Kanji characters that were incorrectly displayed using Simplified Chinese glyphs.
All achievements now indicate and update progress correctly
Build Upgraded Buildings achievement now unlocks correctly
We’re incredibly proud to announce that Life Below has launched and is all yours!
Restore fragile ecosystems, grow vibrant coral reefs, and bring life back to the ocean in this atmospheric underwater city builder. Guided by a heartfelt narrative written by Rhianna Pratchett, every decision you make shapes the future of a world beneath the waves. The ocean is counting on you!
Plus, the WDC Supporter DLC is available now, featuring new dolphins and supporting Whale and Dolphin Conservation with net proceeds going to their work!
Check out the launch trailer:
Reef Guardians! With just 8 days until launch, we’re excited to announce a partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) to make a special supporter pack available on launch day alongside the game.
This charity pack adds three new visitor species to your reefs, including:
Common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis)
Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)
Watch them swim through your coral ecosystems and learn more about each species in the in-game guidebook, inspired by real marine biology.
And the best part? 100% of net revenue from the pack will go directly to supporting WDC and their marine conservation efforts.
If you haven’t dived into Life Below yet, the demo is now available as part of Steam Ocean Fest! So get ready to explore the reef and try the game before launch on May 26th.
We’re excited to reveal the ultimate way to dive deeper into Life Below!
This special edition celebrates the world you’ve helped shape and the creativity behind it. We have put a lot of effort and love into creating the ultimate package for those seeking to dive deeper into the world of Life Below. Here’s what’s inside:
• Full game
• Original soundtrack by Julie Buchanan who’s mastered the music of the game into this special musical journey true to the game’s atmosphere.
• 170 page Art of Life Below book takes renders on a true deep dive into the art of Life Below.
• Four exclusive wallpapers
• The Coral Quartet - these are the first four sprites spawned on your reef, and will remain throughout your journey including one named by you, our community!
We're so excited for Life Below to be yours on 26th May 2026, don't forget to wishlist today!
Hey Reef Guardians!
We’re excited to announce that Life Below is launching exclusively for PC on 26th May 2026!
Check out the brand new trailer for a closer look at the dangers you’ll be encountering beneath the waves:
Life Below is a fresh take on the city-builder genre, where you’ll grow your reef, attract wildlife, and build a thriving underwater ecosystem. However, survival won’t be easy - you’ll face challenges like coral bleaching, invasive species, pollution and more as you fight to restore balance.
We’re also thrilled to be taking part in the upcoming ‘Earth Appreciation Festival’, where we’ll be hosting a developer livestream on 25th April. Join our Discord to submit your questions and have them answered live on the stream!
Wishlist now and prepare to become a heroic reef guardian!
Reef Guardians, we are back again to share updates on what’s been happening beneath the waves!
We were super excited to share the playtest with you last month and we’re extremely happy with how it was received. We were genuinely blown away by how positive and constructive the feedback was, and you were all extremely helpful in identifying and squashing bugs. While we’d done plenty of internal testing, this was our first large public test without, as Megapop’s CEO says, ‘controlling transmission.’ It was hugely motivating to see how players engaged across gameplay, videos, and streams (yes we watch it all, especially what’s shared in Discord!). Most importantly, we’ve been digging into the common themes and smart suggestions you shared to help improve the experience.
After the playtest wrapped, we invited our Discord community to send Megapop their burning questions about the game:
From Cravone, “What were some of the biggest takeaways from the demo feedback?”
The main takeaway was that people really liked the core mechanics of the game, but also had some good notes around balance. That’s exactly what we were hoping to learn from the playtest, and it’s something we’ll definitely be tweaking.
We also spotted a few player communication things we need to improve. Sometimes when you’re deep in development you get a bit blind to what players do or don’t know, so seeing it from their perspective was super helpful. For example, we realised energy needs clearer communication, which we’re adding right now.
Overall the feedback was really helpful, positive, and constructive. We really appreciate everyone who took the time to play the beta and share their thoughts - thanks all!
From Lindatron, “Are the sprite names random or do they have meaning?”
Oh I love this! The sprite names are in fact a random combination of a list of first and last names. Some are references, like there’s some references to other games or media we like, and some are the names of the developers or our friends and family!
From David Robinson, “What is your true inspiration for Life Below?”
For me personally, the biggest inspiration for Life Below comes from growing up around the Oslo fjord archipelago, specifically Tønsberg. As a kid I spent my summers island-hopping with my grandparents, and my favourite thing to do was just watch life in the ocean. I’d spend hours looking down into the water at crabs, shrimp, seaweed, fish, and everything else living around the islands.
As I got older I got really into builder and strategy games like Frostpunk, The Wandering Village, IXION, and Prison Architect. Then Terra Nil really showed that you can flip the perspective from humans to nature, which was a huge inspiration.
When I first pitched the idea to the team, we realised a lot of us shared the same interests and really cared about the theme. So the inspiration for Life Below is a mix of my personal experiences growing up by the ocean, the things our team is passionate about, and the many amazing games that already exist in this genre.
From Planet Estefania, “Where did you take inspiration for designing the main characters of Life Below? Could you show initial designs and how they evolved into final characters?”
My first visual rule for Life Below was that I didn’t want anything to look “plastic.” It sounds a bit funny, but a lot of underwater visuals in games end up feeling shiny and artificial, with really strong colours on hard surfaces. We wanted it to feel much more natural than that.
So we spent a lot of time gathering real-world references — looking at actual ocean species and basing our designs on things that exist in nature. Visually, we’d often place characters and art somewhere on a Venn diagram between realistic, magical, and stylistic.
Thalassa, for example, is inspired by a mix of jellyfish and sea angels, while the water sprites lean more closely toward sea angel designs. There’s also a bit of inspiration from the movie The Abyss in there too.
We followed a similar process with the structures in the game, each one is based on a real coral species, but with some added magical flavour and stylistic interpretation. Our artists are incredibly talented, so it’s been really exciting to watch the world evolve as they’ve developed it.
So what’s next? Keep your eyes peeled for a brand new trailer, diving into the ocean’s hazards and volatility, where every decision could save or doom your reef! We also have an upcoming interview with Rhianna Prachett, the narrative mind behind Life Below, so stay tuned for a closer look at how the story is taking shape.
We’re so excited to share more between now and launch, make sure to follow us on socials and join our Discord server to stay in the know!
Calling all Guardians!
With the Playtest wrapped up, we want to hear from you!
Whether you are curious about the world, systems, narrative, or even the history of development of Life Below, this is your chance to ask the team directly! We’ll be selecting a range of questions from the form and answering them in February’s Dev Log where we’ll also be taking a deep dive into everything we’ve been working on this month.
Thank you from everyone at Megapop and Kasedo, we’re excited to answer your burning questions!
Guardians!
Thank you so much for taking part in the Life Below Playtest.
We received an incredible amount of feedback and we’re excited to carry this forward as we continue to develop the final game. Your bug reports have been hugely helpful, and we’ll be working hard to squash those.
We loved seeing all the different ways players approached the reef, from those building and exploring every environment, to those focused on creating a thriving home for their fish citizens or… Fishizens? We’d love to see your reefs as screenshots or any gameplay you captured during the playtest.
For those who took part and would like to share their final thoughts, you can find a short survey here. It’s a great way to share your experience with us and help guide the future of the game.
If you didn’t manage to join the playtest in time, don’t worry! We’ll be posting more updates and information soon, so keep your eyes peeled and fins flapping.
Thank you again for being part of this chapter!
It’s time for Episode 2 of our ‘Beneath the Reef’ Developer video series and in this episode we are chatting to Julie, the composer and sound designer behind Life Below, to dive into the fascinating process of creating the game’s audio.
Julie shares how real marine recordings create the atmosphere in the game, from the eerie quiet of the degraded reef to the vibrant sounds of a healthy one. Using everything from pretzels, seaweed and even her own voice, she has crafted all the unique fish and creature sounds to bring the ocean to life.
Watch Episode 2 now and discover how Julie has curated the sound of Life Below.
Don’t forget to wishlist the game and join us on socials or Discord as we’ll be sharing more developer interviews and sneak peeks in the coming weeks!
Guardians! Gaia has awakened and calls for you to join Thalassa and Pontus beneath the waves.
The playtest goes live today at 4pm GMT - so sign up now for your chance to experience as much of the game as possible!
If you haven’t registered for the playtest yet, you can do so on the Life Below Steam page.
You’ll still be able to sign up after the playtest has started and we’ll notify you if you’re successful, but it won’t be available forever and not everyone will get a chance, so dive in for this opportunity while you can!
Please note, this playtest is available in English only, however all previous supported languages will be included in the full release.
We’re incredibly excited to show you the next chapter of Life Below. Your feedback will directly shape the future of the game, so be ready to explore, experiment, and flourish in your new role as Reef Guardian.
Found a bug or got some feedback for us? Hit F11 and let us know so we can check it out.
You can also let us know your Discord handle here via the same menu, so be sure to join our server for exclusive roles, updates, and to talk directly with the team!
Have fun beneath the reef!
Reef Guardians - what a way to start 2026! The year has just begun and we have so many things to share, from exciting playtest news to fresh features we’ve added to the game.
Public Closed Beta - Dive in from 9th February!
We’re super excited to kick off our public closed beta and anyone can sign up to join! You’ll be able to experience new features and shape the future of Life Below.
What’s New?
Some of the new features we’ve added are:
We’ve completely reworked the onboarding and how mechanics are introduced. The learning curve should now be much smoother, no more getting tangled in the seaweed not knowing what to do next!
We’ve added new environments, fish and biomes. Each biome brings its own challenges and its own schools of colourful useful wildlife waiting to be attracted to your growing reef.
The growth tree has blossomed with brand new nodes, deep growth systems and advanced corals. These additions allow you to optimise production and adapt to the changing environments.
We’ve also added more story and events. As your reef grows, so do the threats around it. Gaia will expect more from you and there may be consequences if you don’t deliver…
This covers the major additions to the playtest version and we can’t wait to hear your feedback! You can sign up to the playtest here.
Behind the Scenes with Megapop
You might have also seen our brand new Q and A video series on YouTube with the developers, Megapop! The first episode dives into game design and programming with Lise, Thor, SIV and ITR, exploring what went into crafting Life Below.
We had so much fun getting to know more about the behind the scenes of making Life Below, check out our TikTok for outtakes and you can watch the full episodes here on YouTube.
What’s Next?
During the playtest we’ll be monitoring your feedback closely and making changes to the full game. We plan to relaunch the demo with those improvements, so even if you miss out on the beta you’ll still have a chance to experience Life Below early.
Thanks for being part of this journey, we can’t wait to share more!
Until the next tide,
Everyone at Megapop & Kasedo Games
Gaia is calling! Our upcoming playtest for Life Below goes live on February 9th, and anyone can sign up for a chance to dive in early and help guide the game’s development.
Whether you’re here for a challenge or a calm, creative reef-building experience, there’s something waiting for you beneath the waves.
Looking for a challenge?
Face new, unseen events and hazards as your reef expands
Adapt to the unknown and the mysterious inhabitants lurking beneath the depths
Study advanced corals and growths to tame the ocean and create the foundation for a resilient reef
Prefer a calmer experience?
Discover many new fish and wildlife as you explore
Build across diverse new environments and house your marine life
Encounter more positive events to help you along the way
Learn more about Thalassa and her grumpy guide Pontus as they uncover what caused parts of the reef to fall into ruin
While you wait, be sure to join our Discord server to get more updates, share feedback, and to chat to the dev team at Megapop!
Request access to the playtest directly on the Life Below Steam page.
With less than two weeks to go, don’t miss your chance to be a part of this next chapter.
We can’t wait to see you dive in.
Calling all reef guardians!
After an incredible response at Gamescom, Tokyo Game Show and Next Fest, we’ve taken on your feedback and we are ready to open up our Steam Playtest, welcoming you to play and help shape the future of Life Below.
Sign-ups are now open and we are welcoming all players. The playtest goes live on 9th February so keep an eye out for updates as the date approaches.
This is your chance to dive in early and experience major upgrades and new content such as:
Refined game flow with rebalanced early gameplay
Polished visuals and audio - Immerse yourself with a truly reactive soundtrack
New evolved corals and advanced resources
New advanced fish and housing options
New events and narrative moments
Refined luring and fish management mechanics
Be sure to join our Discord server, as players accepted into the playtest will receive exclusive roles and channel access where you can freely discuss your experience, share feedback, and talk to the developers directly.
You can request access via the Steam page - we can’t wait to see what you think!
Hey Reef Guardians!
We’re super excited to share that we are launching a brand new developer interview series on YouTube taking you behind the scenes with the team.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sitting down with Lise, Siv, ITR and Thor, diving into sound design, narrative, accessibility, systems and mechanics all shaping the game.
Our first video is live now, where we explore how real marine science inspired Life Below’s core systems, and how those ideas were made into a game that’s fun to play.
Don’t forget to wishlist the game on Steam and follow us on socials as we share more developer interviews and sneak peeks soon!
We wanted to give you the heads up that Life Below’s demo will be coming down on 17th December, as we prepare for the next stage of development.
Over the past 6 months, we have had an incredible amount of comments and feedback that we’d love to start implementing into the build. We had such a great reception at Gamescom and Tokyo Games Show, and loved seeing everyone dive into Life Below! Thank you to everyone who played, posted, reported bugs and told us what you loved, your insights are already helping shape the future of Life Below.
Thank you again for being part of this journey - stay tuned for more updates!
Welcome Reef Guardians.
Something shifts in the cracks and crevices of the reef. Waiting to emerge...
We at Megapop and Kasedo Games wish everyone a truly spooky Halloween!
Whether you are exploring the dark depths of the ocean, or staying on land with a scary film indoors, join us over on our social media platforms for exciting news, updates, and more coming soon!
Discord: https://discord.gg/HjWS2xVWqE
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lifebelow.net
X: https://x.com/LifeBelow_Game
We look forward to seeing you in the reef! But remember. You arent alone down there...
Kasedo Games & Megapop are excited to bring Life Below to Gamescom 2025! We can’t wait for you to dive into our sub-aquatic reef builder at Hall 7.1, Booth A02. For the first time ever, the game is available in multiple languages: English, German, Japanese, French, Russian, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese (Simplified).
Explore, expand, and protect your reef as Thalassa, facing dynamic underwater challenges while discovering new wildlife.
Check out the gameplay trailer:
Swim over to our Discord for all the latest updates and make waves on Steam by wishlisting Life Below today!
Life Below blends realism with fantasy in a unique twist on the city-builder genre and you can be among the first to help restore the ocean at Gamescom, in Cologne later this month.
The ocean is on the brink. Coral reefs are vanishing, ecosystems are collapsing and the deep sea is struggling. As fledgling reef guardian Thalassa, you must restore balance, using the ocean floor itself as the foundation to build a new vibrant sea life.
In this underwater city-builder with elements of resource management and survival, you won’t be placing buildings and roads - instead you’ll strategically grow coral, create bustling reefs and attract diverse marine species to use their abilities and bring colour back into the depths of the ocean.
Experience Thalassa’s journey at Gamescom on 20-24th August. See you there!
Hey Reef Guardians!
We’re thrilled to announce that Life Below is part of Steam Next Fest, so the demo is now live!
This is your chance to experience our underwater twist on the city-building genre. As a reef guardian, you’ll be tasked with building and managing a sustainable habitat on the ocean floor, where every decision affects the delicate balance of the sea.
Play the demo now and grow coral, attract sea creatures and make sure the ocean survives and thrives.
Don’t forget to join our Discord, we’d love to hear your thoughts, see your screenshots and get your feedback on the demo.
Thank you for supporting Life Below, we can’t wait to hear what you think!
About
This page aggregates Steam news feeds, patch notes, and developer announcements for Life Below, sourced from official Steam community posts.
Major updates, balance changes, and seasonal events often correlate with player-count spikes — cross-reference announcements here with the live charts on the main Life Below statistics page.
Articles link back to Steam for full changelogs. SteamScope refreshes news entries as new posts are published to the game's Steam hub.