Croatian indie developer Fearem has announced Anchor, a new open-world survival game. Between its post-apocalyptic underwater setting, crafting-rich gameplay loop, and the promise of 150-player servers, Anchor could potentially appeal to fans of Rust, Subnautica, or both.
Fearem describes itself as a "tech-focused" independent studio that has primarily developed multiplayer technologies for external clients since its founding in 2015. The Zagreb-based company has released one standalone title in the past decade: an asymmetrical multiplayer horror game called Daemonical, launched as part of Steam's Early Access program in August 2018.
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Anchor Promises Large Persistent Multiplayer Worlds
Fearem has now announced another standalone project in the form of Anchor. Built around always-on servers that keep evolving even while players are offline, the title aims to combine elements of Rust and Subnautica, promising a survival crafting experience with an emphasis on multiplayer, catering to people looking for PvP, PvE, or both. In addition to its persistent servers supporting more than 150 people, Anchor will also be playable solo.
The world of Anchor is presented as the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse that forced humanity to genetically modify itself to survive underwater. The titular Anchor is the name of a sizable region spanning 16 square kilometers, making it around 33% larger than the map of the first Subnautica. The game's underwater world is promised to be diverse, featuring confirmed biomes such as coral reefs, rocky terrain, and arctic zones.
Anchor Aims to Deliver Robust Crafting and Immersive Food Chain System
Anchor is an open-world survival experience first and foremost, with a gameplay loop revolving around exploration, resource gathering, and base building. One of its unique selling points is the so-called predator system centered on sharks, which will hunt and feed dynamically. Much like their real-life counterparts, sharks in Anchor will be attracted to blood, but they won't always be aggressive.
Exactly how this will work in practice remains to be seen. While feeding motivation matters, real-life sharks aren't territorial in the sense an animal like a lion might be toward a human, and their behavior is largely dictated by sensory cues like blood, vibration, and erratic movement rather than hunger alone. In nature, even satiated sharks may still investigate potential prey out of curiosity, which is the kind of behavior that could make Anchor’s vast oceans feel unpredictable and alive if translated well into gameplay. The game has so far only been confirmed for PC, with its Steam page already live. No pricing or availability details have yet been shared.