DREADMOOR Opens Its First Public Playtest On Steam, Records 200,000 Wishlists

DREADMOOR, the post-apocalyptic dark fishing adventure from developer Dream Dock and publisher Digital Vortex Entertainment, has opened its first public playtest on Steam today as part of Steam Ocean Fest. Until now, the game was only playable at in-person events; this is the first time anyone with a Steam account can actually get on the boat.

The milestone comes as the game crosses 200,000 wishlists, and the playtest introduces several features that have never been seen before, including a full day/night cycle and nighttime tentacle attacks.

What the Playtest Introduces for the First Time

Previous closed playtests gave early access to the core survival loop: scavenge the Submerged Lands, catch mutant fish, upgrade your hull and gear, sell your catch at the bait shop on the back of a gargantuan crab, then go after deadlier prey. The Steam Ocean Fest build adds a layer of things the public hasn't seen.

The day/night cycle changes the texture of every outing, and nighttime means tentacles in the water. New systems include radio frequency puzzles for scanning the environment, lockpicks for accessing forbidden zones, generator refueling, water flow puzzles, and the Mastery system for learning recipes and progression unlocks.

It is a significant jump in content for a game that has been building quietly since Dream Dock announced a publishing partnership with Digital Vortex Entertainment. We've previously covered that publisher announcement when Dream Dock and Digital Vortex first teamed up, and the game has nearly doubled its wishlist count since then.

A Fishing Game That Has Other Ideas About What Counts as Bait

DREADMOOR is set in a bayou wrecked by an evil plague, and the core loop is built around the grim logic of a post-apocalyptic fisherman: take the boat out, catch what you can, come back before something larger treats you the same way. The Submerged Lands have mutant fish in the shallows and considerably worse things in the deep, and the upgrade system is what separates a profitable run from a disaster.

Dream Dock is a three-person studio from Kyrgyzstan, founded by developers who previously worked at Playrix, MY.GAMES, Saber Interactive, and Owlcat Games. Digital Vortex Entertainment, their publisher, is a newer label whose team has credits on Atomic Heart, Lost Ark, and PUBG Battlegrounds.

"We've been hard at work making DREADMOOR into the dark fishing game of our dreams, and the player feedback we've received during our past playtests has been a huge part of making that happen," says Dream Dock Games CEO Rotislav Fedorov. "This is just a first peek at what DREADMOOR has in store for the more than 200,000 people who have wishlisted, but once you've gotten a taste, well, you'll be hooked."

The full release is currently targeting Q4 2026. The playtest is live now on Steam.

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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 12:50 PM.