Forever Skies Ongoing Development Update | September 2025
Greetings Scientists,
A few weeks have passed since our last development update, and we’re back to share more about the upcoming changes and features we are working on for Forever Skies. As always, much of this work is inspired by the feedback you’ve shared with us about what would make the game feel richer and more rewarding.
If you missed our previous post from July 2025, you can catch up here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1641960/view/538859776497418258
For those looking for a quick reminder, back in June 2025, we announced that through community feedback, we’d pinpointed 4 core areas that we want to focus on in making the game even better.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1641960/view/538855247335918021
These were collected from comments, reviews, and overall sentiment research from your feedback.
So, with that all said, let’s jump into this month’s post and take a look at some of the fun things we’re adding to the game based on your feedback.
[h2]1. Points of Interest - It Feels Like People Lived Here[/h2]
One piece of quite regular feedback we saw from many of you was the desire for more environmental storytelling. Things that gave clearer hints about how life and society unfolded above the dust.
![]()
To build on this, we’re expanding the variety of Points of Interest (POIs) that can be generated across our map. These new, notable locations are designed to make the environment feel more diverse and, most importantly, more lived in by people. The idea is that full generations survived in the clouds, and with that comes the notion that people, once they had sorted out the basics like food and shelter, would start to build more subtle human comforts.
So now, among the locations you already know you’ll soon come across:
Here's a little preview of the football field - work in progress
[carousel]![]()
![]()
![]()
[/carousel]
Each of these spaces is meant to tell a story. They hint at how people once gathered, traded, or tried to bring back pieces of “normal life” even while society was slowly falling apart, above the dust. Exploring them should help you better imagine the many lives that came before yours and those of the people now on The Ark above orbit.
Some of these POIs will also include small gameplay surprises waiting to be uncovered, while exploring these areas will also reward you, something that’s covered in the next point.
[h2]2.1 Intricate Side Quests - Chasing Interesting Stories[/h2]
Another major area we are focusing on is the inclusion of side quests. While Forever Skies already features story elements through lore tablets, we wanted to create something more interactive and layered for players who enjoy digging deeper into the world.
The new side quests will be more intricate and story-driven, often involving multiple steps and objectives that unfold as you progress. Rather than being one-off tasks, these quests are designed to feel like smaller narratives about the world, adding onto the idea that you wanted a better sense of how and what people did while living above the dust.
Many of these quests will be directly tied to the new Points of Interest introduced earlier. For example, arriving at a Soccer Field or a Cemetery might trigger a chain of events that draws you into a story about someone alive when these areas were still filled with people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgwIEZTVASY
We’ve also introduced a variety of new mechanics, unique puzzles, and, in some cases, brand-new rewards designed specifically for these quests. The goal is to make these missions feel distinct from the main game. In addition to adding more depth to the world, they are meant to change the pace for players who want to slow down and explore rather than push through the main storyline without pause. Because these quests are optional and unlocked through exploration, players can decide when and how they want to shape the pace of their adventure.
[h2]2.2 How Will You Find These Quests?[/h2]
Quests will appear in various ways, but the general way is from exploring the world.
If you have built the radar, most of these quests will eventually appear on your radar with a new icon telling you that this location has a new side quest. It’s then up to you to go to the location, explore it and try to find the exact item/area of interest to get the quest.
We’ve also reworked our HUD options to allow you to track and untrack any active quests you have. By going into the TO-DO LIST menu, you can now decide which main and side quests you want displayed on your sidebar and also on your radar display. It's all about player freedom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG7Wq3ymD6w
[h2]3. More Stories About Actual People[/h2]
The third area we want to highlight is how these locations and side quests will be built around more personal stories of people connected to the world of Forever Skies.
Up until now, much of our lore has been presented through notes, logs, and environmental storytelling, often focusing on the collective struggles of those who once lived above the dust. While this broad perspective has set the stage, many of you have asked for more depth about the individuals and groups who then went on and lived in our world.
So with our side quests, we’re building them around stories that can be divided into 3 groups
[h3]Survivors searching for more than survival[/h3]
Eventually, not everyone living above the dust was simply trying to avoid starving. Some tried to build a life, create a community, or went on an adventure of their own making to live a little. Their efforts and struggles will now be reflected in the quests and environments you discover, and will hopefully give those of you asking for more insight into the personal lives of people above the dust.
![]()
[h3]Previous Expeditions[/h3]
Right at the start of the game, it’s made clear that your journey is not the first mission back to Earth. The main story already explores Noah’s actions on his expedition, but other crew members didn’t get much of a spotlight. On top of that, there are other expeditions that came even before this. Some of their fates, successes, and failures will now be made into stories through the expanded side quests.
![]()
[h3]The Cockroaches[/h3]
This group of survivors broke away with their own thoughts on what humanity needed to do to endure and what from the old world needed to be cast away for good. They are mentioned in the current game, but their role will now grow as we give them more exposure. Expect to learn a little more about their philosophy, fears, and the choices that set them apart from others trying to survive.
![]()
[h2]4. When are We Adding This All to Forever Skies?[/h2]
It’s safe to assume that many of you, after reading this and the previous post, will start asking when any of these changes will actually make it into the game, and we want to be clear about our approach.
The simple answer is, when it’s all ready and tested.
We want to get this right. So instead of introducing these as small incremental updates, we’ve decided to deliver all of the changes together as one big update, and that takes time. The main thinking behind this is that, beyond our own testing, we once again want to turn to you, our community. Player beta tests have, hands down, always been the most useful feedback we have gotten that has helped shape the game for the better.
By doing this as one big update, we’re able to offer a much more exciting and substantial experience that feels interesting for seasoned players to want to jump back in and help us put things through the ringer. And the more playtesters we have, the more valuable feedback we can gather to shape the future of this update together.
So if you’ve done this for us before or would like to be part of that process for the first time, we’d love for you to join our playtests. We don't have an exact date yet but to get notified early, you can sign up here:
[h3]https://forms.gle/9pbfgAWyaMaL5Aes8[/h3]
[h2]5. Hotfixes and Future Updates are Still Happening[/h2]
Keep in mind that this is just the first of many large content updates we plan to do. We got a lot of honest feedback from you guys back in April, which we appreciate. And this upcoming update won’t be the answer for everything. Instead, we hope that you will view it as a positive leap in the right direction.
Also note, we haven’t and won’t stop updating the game between now and the launch of this new content. For those unaware, we’ve launched 5 hotfixes between now and when we wrote our first feature outline in July 2025 about our ongoing work.
That’s all for this post. Thanks for reading, and let us know what you think in the comments.
- Team Far From Home
A few weeks have passed since our last development update, and we’re back to share more about the upcoming changes and features we are working on for Forever Skies. As always, much of this work is inspired by the feedback you’ve shared with us about what would make the game feel richer and more rewarding.
If you missed our previous post from July 2025, you can catch up here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1641960/view/538859776497418258
For those looking for a quick reminder, back in June 2025, we announced that through community feedback, we’d pinpointed 4 core areas that we want to focus on in making the game even better.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1641960/view/538855247335918021
These were collected from comments, reviews, and overall sentiment research from your feedback.
- Repetitive environments that hinder any sense of exploration and variety
- Some tedious gameplay mechanics that can become boring or lack meaningful engagement
- Technical issues that block your progress or break immersion
- Performance problems that break immersion
So, with that all said, let’s jump into this month’s post and take a look at some of the fun things we’re adding to the game based on your feedback.
[h2]1. Points of Interest - It Feels Like People Lived Here[/h2]
One piece of quite regular feedback we saw from many of you was the desire for more environmental storytelling. Things that gave clearer hints about how life and society unfolded above the dust.
To build on this, we’re expanding the variety of Points of Interest (POIs) that can be generated across our map. These new, notable locations are designed to make the environment feel more diverse and, most importantly, more lived in by people. The idea is that full generations survived in the clouds, and with that comes the notion that people, once they had sorted out the basics like food and shelter, would start to build more subtle human comforts.
So now, among the locations you already know you’ll soon come across:
- Improvised football/soccer fields
- Makeshift theatres
- DIY cinemas
- Patchwork marketplaces
- Cemeteries
- Parks
- Prisons
Here's a little preview of the football field - work in progress
[carousel]
Each of these spaces is meant to tell a story. They hint at how people once gathered, traded, or tried to bring back pieces of “normal life” even while society was slowly falling apart, above the dust. Exploring them should help you better imagine the many lives that came before yours and those of the people now on The Ark above orbit.
Some of these POIs will also include small gameplay surprises waiting to be uncovered, while exploring these areas will also reward you, something that’s covered in the next point.
[h2]2.1 Intricate Side Quests - Chasing Interesting Stories[/h2]
Another major area we are focusing on is the inclusion of side quests. While Forever Skies already features story elements through lore tablets, we wanted to create something more interactive and layered for players who enjoy digging deeper into the world.
The new side quests will be more intricate and story-driven, often involving multiple steps and objectives that unfold as you progress. Rather than being one-off tasks, these quests are designed to feel like smaller narratives about the world, adding onto the idea that you wanted a better sense of how and what people did while living above the dust.
Many of these quests will be directly tied to the new Points of Interest introduced earlier. For example, arriving at a Soccer Field or a Cemetery might trigger a chain of events that draws you into a story about someone alive when these areas were still filled with people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgwIEZTVASY
We’ve also introduced a variety of new mechanics, unique puzzles, and, in some cases, brand-new rewards designed specifically for these quests. The goal is to make these missions feel distinct from the main game. In addition to adding more depth to the world, they are meant to change the pace for players who want to slow down and explore rather than push through the main storyline without pause. Because these quests are optional and unlocked through exploration, players can decide when and how they want to shape the pace of their adventure.
[h2]2.2 How Will You Find These Quests?[/h2]
Quests will appear in various ways, but the general way is from exploring the world.
If you have built the radar, most of these quests will eventually appear on your radar with a new icon telling you that this location has a new side quest. It’s then up to you to go to the location, explore it and try to find the exact item/area of interest to get the quest.
We’ve also reworked our HUD options to allow you to track and untrack any active quests you have. By going into the TO-DO LIST menu, you can now decide which main and side quests you want displayed on your sidebar and also on your radar display. It's all about player freedom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG7Wq3ymD6w
[h2]3. More Stories About Actual People[/h2]
The third area we want to highlight is how these locations and side quests will be built around more personal stories of people connected to the world of Forever Skies.
Up until now, much of our lore has been presented through notes, logs, and environmental storytelling, often focusing on the collective struggles of those who once lived above the dust. While this broad perspective has set the stage, many of you have asked for more depth about the individuals and groups who then went on and lived in our world.
So with our side quests, we’re building them around stories that can be divided into 3 groups
[h3]Survivors searching for more than survival[/h3]
Eventually, not everyone living above the dust was simply trying to avoid starving. Some tried to build a life, create a community, or went on an adventure of their own making to live a little. Their efforts and struggles will now be reflected in the quests and environments you discover, and will hopefully give those of you asking for more insight into the personal lives of people above the dust.
Right at the start of the game, it’s made clear that your journey is not the first mission back to Earth. The main story already explores Noah’s actions on his expedition, but other crew members didn’t get much of a spotlight. On top of that, there are other expeditions that came even before this. Some of their fates, successes, and failures will now be made into stories through the expanded side quests.
This group of survivors broke away with their own thoughts on what humanity needed to do to endure and what from the old world needed to be cast away for good. They are mentioned in the current game, but their role will now grow as we give them more exposure. Expect to learn a little more about their philosophy, fears, and the choices that set them apart from others trying to survive.
[h2]4. When are We Adding This All to Forever Skies?[/h2]
It’s safe to assume that many of you, after reading this and the previous post, will start asking when any of these changes will actually make it into the game, and we want to be clear about our approach.
The simple answer is, when it’s all ready and tested.
We want to get this right. So instead of introducing these as small incremental updates, we’ve decided to deliver all of the changes together as one big update, and that takes time. The main thinking behind this is that, beyond our own testing, we once again want to turn to you, our community. Player beta tests have, hands down, always been the most useful feedback we have gotten that has helped shape the game for the better.
By doing this as one big update, we’re able to offer a much more exciting and substantial experience that feels interesting for seasoned players to want to jump back in and help us put things through the ringer. And the more playtesters we have, the more valuable feedback we can gather to shape the future of this update together.
So if you’ve done this for us before or would like to be part of that process for the first time, we’d love for you to join our playtests. We don't have an exact date yet but to get notified early, you can sign up here:
[h3]https://forms.gle/9pbfgAWyaMaL5Aes8[/h3]
[h2]5. Hotfixes and Future Updates are Still Happening[/h2]
Keep in mind that this is just the first of many large content updates we plan to do. We got a lot of honest feedback from you guys back in April, which we appreciate. And this upcoming update won’t be the answer for everything. Instead, we hope that you will view it as a positive leap in the right direction.
Also note, we haven’t and won’t stop updating the game between now and the launch of this new content. For those unaware, we’ve launched 5 hotfixes between now and when we wrote our first feature outline in July 2025 about our ongoing work.
That’s all for this post. Thanks for reading, and let us know what you think in the comments.
- Team Far From Home