When is the Under a Rock release date? Explore an uncharted island filled with exotic wildlife, hostile creatures, and hazardous environments. Every time you start a new journey, the game generates a brand new island to ensure every adventure you experience is completely different.
Crafting games mixed with survival game elements is something we’ve seen plenty of in the past, but Under a Rock aims to do things differently with its colorful environment and deep character creator. You can also play with up to ten people, making it easy to explore undiscovered areas and build massive bases. Here’s everything you need to know about the Under a Rock release date so far, including the latest on early access, trailers, and more.
Under a Rock release date estimate
We expect to see Under A Rock sometime in early 2026, following an early access period. Under a Rock currently doesn’t have an official release date just yet and there’s nothing to suggest it will be out any time soon.
Under a Rock was first announced back in May 2022, revealing the game’s logo, the genres, and the game engine, Unreal Engine 5. A few weeks later, the devs launched the Procedural World Teaser video, showing off a number of the biomes in Under a Rock, including a beach, jungle, forest, and sandy environment.
2023 was filled with several Under a Rock development videos, but the biggest reveal of all was the official announcement trailer which was published on the Xbox YouTube channel.
Under a Rock early access release date estimate
The Under a Rock Steam page states that “Early Access is not yet open, and we are still a bit away from this happening”. This leads us to believe that the Under a Rock early access release date is going to take place around the end of 2024.
As mentioned earlier, the Steam page also says that the devs want to spend at least one year in early access to add all of the features they have planned for the game. Community feedback may lead to planned features being cut and new ideas being added, so be sure to join the game’s Discord channel if you want to have your say.
Under a Rock gameplay
You can expect the gameplay in Under a Rock to be reminiscent of open-world survival games like Minecraft and Valheim. Survivors must gather resources throughout the day to upgrade their equipment and build their base before it turns dark. Creatures play a large role in this game, from hostile animals that hunt at night, to tamable creatures that can be mounted to travel around faster.
While we don’t know exactly what goes on at night in Under a Rock, we fully expect hostile creatures to roam the land, forcing players into their base while they wait for the sun to rise. The devs plan to make the nights dangerous by giving the creatures unpredictable AI. There are no limitations to where you can build, but you do need to pay attention to the surrounding wildlife.
The dev blog on Steam also notes that there are traps dotted around the island, dangerous wildlife and creatures to worry about, bad weather conditions, a hunger and dehydration bar, as well as a resting and comfort bar. The game is playable with up to ten players, but you can switch your server to PvP if you’d rather fight against your friends.
Under a Rock base building
There are two types of building in the game: default mode and ghost-building. Default mode works like most survival games, allowing you to place constructions as long as you have the required resources. Ghost-building lets you plan your future base by using colors, all without having to spend any resources. You can assign your friends to a specific color in this mode, giving them the ability to help construct the perfect base.
If the worst happens to your base, the plans you created in Ghost-building mode can be saved as blueprints, allowing you to instantly recreate your home. Yes, you still need to find the resources to build your base, but you won’t need to waste hours recreating the base you used to have. The devs plan on making blueprints sharable between players, though this feature currently isn’t available right now.
Under a Rock movement options
Survival games can be pretty boring when it comes to exploring new lands, but this is where Under a Rock tries to do something different.
There are five movement options in Under a Rock:
- Gliding
- Grappling
- Climbing
- Swimming and Diving
- Riding Creatures
Gliding gives you the freedom to soar through the air, though your travel distance is limited by the amount of stamina your character has. Gliders must be crafted and they may need repairs depending on how often it’s used. With enough time, you can level up the glider to become more durable in certain weather conditions and general use.
There’s also a grappling hook that can launch you across the map, however, you do need to have a lot of stamina and a high-level hook before you can travel across great distances. It’s also worth pointing out that the grappling hook can be dangerous in the wrong hands as you can accidentally kill yourself if you aren’t careful.
You can always rely on your hands and feet to get you to where you need to go, simply walk up to a tall object and attempt to climb on it. Certain structures won’t allow you to climb on them, but trees and other plants are fair game. Similarly, you can swim through water without needing any additional equipment. That said, you can acquire equipment that will help make swimming considerably easier.
Finally, you can form a bond with certain creatures, allowing you to mount them and travel the island with them. Most creatures can be mounted, but you need to learn how to tame them using the correct items. We know that the Dodo, a Bee, and a Snugget can all be tamed and mounted.
And that’s everything you need to know about the Under a Rock release date. Sadly, Under a Rock isn’t available to play right now, but we have a list of the best games like Minecraft if you want to play something similar. We also have a list of the best new PC games if you’re searching for the latest and greatest.