Aloft

As one of the most played demos at Steam's Next Fest in June 2024, and with over 300,000 wishlists, Aloft from Astrolabe Interactive and Funcom is ready to take off in Early Access.

Co-operation. Survival. Cosy. Developer Astrolabe Interactive and publisher Funcom have tapped into three very popular current trends in gaming, especially on the PC, and added farming with virtual alpacas to the mix. No wonder the game is on over 300,000 wishlists on Steam.

Aloft is a cooperative sandbox survival game set in a world of floating islands. Up to eight players can build a home and a rudder, transforming each island into a personal skyship to set sail for the ever-present hurricane in the distance. The skyship can be outfitted with sails, rudders and everything needed to harness the wind to explore the world. Players can also bring their own skyship with them when they join another player's world.

At the same time, Aloft features the basic pillars of traditional survival games: resource gathering, crafting and building. To these are added skyship sailing and gliding with a personal glider, as it is important to explore the world to find new resources and ancient technology, as well as seeds and animals to build a flying farm in the clouds. It's even possible to automate machinery and production using the wind. This is reminiscent of Raft, but without the water and in the sky. While activities on the skyship are rather cozy, the world is also threatened by a spreading corruption of fungal creatures, which must be defeated in battle to heal the islands and restore their ecosystems. Nevertheless, players should be aware that the survival mechanics are rather basic at the moment.

Aloft is being developed by Astrolabe Interactive, an independent developer and publisher of video and board games based in Montreal, Canada. Since 2018, the company has released titles such as Sacrifice Your Friends and Gaslands: Refuelled, but the studio also offers services such as porting board games to video games and vice versa, as well as game design reviews. It has a team of almost 20 employees.

"We are thrilled to help bring Aloft to players, a game that brings a fresh angle to the open-world survival genre, such as the perfect melding of concepts and mechanics in the use of wind and ecosystems. Collaborating with the talented team at Astrolabe has been a truly inspiring journey, and we can’t wait for players to explore their enchanting world in the sky." Ilya Salamatov, Publishing Director at Funcom

Publisher is Funcom, by far the largest gaming company in Norway. As a publisher, Funcom is very selective when it comes to third party titles. Their last published game was Metal: Hellsinger in September 2022 from The Outsiders, as well as the VR version and the April Fool's joke that came to life, Conan Chop Chop, from Mighty Kingdom. They have not released any other games this decade. The company currently operates the survival game Conan Exiles and is developing the AAA open-world survival MMO Dune Awakening, which is scheduled for release in early 2025. Founded in 1993, Funcom has released more than twenty games, including Secret World Legends, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, The Longest Journey, Anarchy Online and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. The company has been wholly owned by Tencent since 2020.

Aloft was released in Early Access on PC on 15 January 2025. It includes single and multiplayer modes with a private joining system and public lobbies, three biomes to explore, a variety of enemies, hundreds of building and decor pieces, and lots of crops to grow and animals to care for. It will remain in Early Access for at least a year.

Conclusion

With customisable skyships set in a world of flying islands, Aloft has a solid selling point that sets it apart from other titles in the crowded genre.