Gravhounds launches in Xbox Game Preview on November 2, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC. It will be available through Game Pass on day one and supports solo play or co-op for up to four players. A Steam Early Access page is live but still says Coming soon, and Octopus Panic has not announced the final 1.0 date or launch price.
Gravhounds release details at a glance
- Game Preview date: November 2, 2026.
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on November 2; Steam Early Access is confirmed but its store page does not show an exact date.
- Game Pass: yes, on the first day of Game Preview.
- Players: one to four; solo play and online co-op are confirmed.
- Developer and publisher: Octopus Panic, a seven-person independent studio.
- Game type: a third-person co-op action-builder with shooting, resource extraction, base construction, and escalating swarms.
- Full release: no 1.0 date is confirmed; the studio expects Early Access to last roughly six months or longer.
- Price: not announced; Steam says the price may rise as the game grows toward 1.0.
Is November 2 the full Gravhounds release?
No. November 2 is the start of Xbox Game Preview on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, not the finished 1.0 release. Steam confirms an Early Access version but currently lists it only as Coming soon. The preview will include the core loop for solo players and teams of up to four: take jobs, explore hostile worlds, gather resources, build and defend an operation, fight the swarm, and escape alive.
Octopus Panic says it expects the Early Access period to last roughly six months, potentially longer. That estimate is not a fixed 1.0 date. The studio plans to use playtests and player feedback while adding more Gravhounds, jobs, worlds, enemies, weapons, upgrades, and progression. It also expects the price to increase as the game expands, but no starting price is listed yet.
How solo play and four-player co-op work
Every player controls a bio-engineered working dog stranded on the far side of the galaxy. Your shipboard AI supervisor, COSMO, continues assigning industrial jobs even while the crew tries to get home. A player can go alone, split from the group to extend the operation, or stay close to combine each Gravhound’s strengths during a defense.
The design asks teammates to move equipment, rescue one another, protect different parts of the base, and decide when the reward is worth another risk. It is not simply four players firing at the same target. One dog may carry resources while another places defenses and the rest hold back the swarm.
What you do during a Gravhounds shift
A shift begins with a job on a hostile planet. Objectives can include recovering alien technology, extracting valuable materials, or establishing infrastructure. The crew lands, builds an operation, completes the objective, and tries to leave with its resources and every Gravhound still alive.
Danger rises as the team stays longer and pushes farther from safety. Extra time can produce better materials and upgrades, but it also means more pipeline to defend and stronger enemies to fight. The useful decision is therefore not only how to finish a job, but when to stop collecting and escape.
What the Grav Beam can do
The Grav Beam is the shared industrial tool at the center of the game. It can grab resources, carry equipment, position Build Kits, and manipulate objects. Teammates can pass heavy materials across a battlefield or throw a health pickup to a dog who cannot reach it in time.
The same tool works in combat. Smaller creatures can be pulled out of a fight, nearby objects can become projectiles, and volatile materials can be moved into useful or dangerous positions. The official footage shows multiple players holding the same resource with separate beams, which makes coordination part of the physics system.
Pipelines, turrets, generators, and fabricators
Building happens during the action. Pipelines carry power across the planet and create positions for structures. Extending a line can open access to distant resources and objectives, but every added section also creates another route that enemies can attack.
Confirmed structures include turrets, generators, and fabricators. Players grab the necessary equipment, place it, power it, and return to the fight instead of entering a separate building screen. Keeping an escape route powered can matter as much as protecting the main base.
Reward Pods, upgrades, and movement
Fighting, building, gathering resources, and contributing to the job awards Reward Pods with randomized weapons and upgrades. A player can stack bonuses around movement, firepower, defense, or unusual combinations during a shift. Longer-term progression will unlock new Gravhounds, weapons, and upgrade paths.
Each dog also wears a propulsion rig for directional boosts, jumps, hovering, and quick repositioning. Jumping onto a powered pipeline supercharges the rig and allows high-speed grinding with unlimited boost. That movement can bring a player back to a damaged defense or a teammate who needs help across the map.
Game Pass, Xbox Play Anywhere, and crossplay
Xbox says Gravhounds will join Game Pass when Game Preview begins on November 2. The Xbox Store lists Xbox Play Anywhere, cloud saves, achievements, 4K, HDR10, and 60fps+ support. Steam is a separate PC storefront whose current page says Coming soon, so the official Xbox date should not be treated as a confirmed Steam date. The announcement does not include PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch 2 versions.
The Xbox Store lists cross-network multiplayer and co-op inside the Xbox ecosystem. Octopus Panic has not published a clear policy for Steam-to-Xbox crossplay, so players should not assume that every PC version can join every Xbox lobby until the studio explains account and matchmaking support.
Current Gravhounds PC requirements
- Minimum operating system: Windows 10, 64-bit.
- Minimum processor: Intel Core i5-7600K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600.
- Minimum memory and graphics: 8 GB RAM with a GeForce GTX 1660 or Radeon RX 590.
- Recommended processor: Intel Core i5-10600KF or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X.
- Recommended memory and graphics: 16 GB RAM with a GeForce RTX 2060 or Radeon RX 5600X.
- Storage and API: 10 GB available space and DirectX 12 for both tiers.
What Octopus Panic has not confirmed
- Starting price: no Xbox or Steam purchase price is listed.
- Final 1.0 date: the roughly six-month Early Access estimate may change.
- Other consoles: no PlayStation or Nintendo version has been announced.
- Full crossplay policy: Steam-to-Xbox matchmaking and account requirements are not explained.
- Complete launch content: the studio has named planned categories of additions, not a final count for worlds, jobs, weapons, or playable dogs.
The Gravhounds game page keeps the official trailer, release status, platforms, images, and future Pixel Twelve coverage together as the preview approaches.
