Nested Lands launches in Early Access for PC on January 23 [Update: Delayed to February 25]

Survival settlement RPG Nested Lands will launch in Early Access for PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG, on January 23, META Publishing and developer 1 Million Bits Horde announced. Console versions are planned for the full release.

Here is an overview of the game, via META Publishing:

Nested Lands is a medieval survival-settlement RPG set during the Black Death. Players start with nothing and must work to build a functioning village by gathering resources, enduring nasty plague outbreaks, and protecting their people from roaming bandits and unstable plague-twisted foes. Every choice affects the settlement’s future, and the world in-game reacts to the player’s choices accordingly. Between the responsibilities that come with leading a village, surviving a deadly outbreak, and the question of the main character’s own mental state and personal hygiene, what could go wrong?

The Early Access version brings an expanded set of mechanics shaped by community feedback:

• A deeper plague system with multiple stages and tactical consequences.
• Reworked combat and stealth.
• Smarter villagers, improved management tools, and clearer automation.
• A broad set of quality-of-life improvements across building, user interface, and progression.

In the coming weeks, players will be able to check out the updated demo, which features cooperative mode for up to four players, allowing them to explore a slice of the game’s world before its release.

Watch a new trailer below.

Early Access Release Date Trailer

Update 01/22/26: META Publishing and 1 Million Bits Horde have delayed the Early Access launch of Nested Lands to February 25 “in order to add some crucial new features.”

The publisher said in a press release, “Apart from implementing some wacky environmental storytelling and additional immersive elements that make the game more fun to play with friends, the developers are also hard at work (pun intended) at adding the most crucial character creator feature of them all: a genital slider. Because even in a country plagued by the Black Death and marauding bandits, some things simply have priority.”