Online: 404 is an upcoming open-world survival game with a slightly different approach to the genre: instead of magically knowing how to craft everything, you may have to pull out your smartphone and search the internet for the answer.
Developed by Cornfield Games, Online: 404 is set within the abandoned and quarantined Leminsgale District, where players are left to survive using whatever they can find around them. The game can be played alone or cooperatively, combining survival, exploration, base building and a full story campaign.
The smartphone is one of the game’s biggest features. Players don’t simply open a traditional crafting menu containing everything they need to know. If you need to figure out how to make something, you’ll be able to search for information through an in-game version of the internet instead.
The phone also includes a map, flash light and weather forecast, but finding useful information won’t always be straightforward. The developers say the fictional internet contains adverts and unreliable information, meaning players may have to work out which advice they can actually trust.
It’s part of Cornfield Games’ attempt to make survival feel closer to what someone might actually do if they suddenly found themselves trapped in an abandoned modern-day district.
Rather than somehow learning to mine ore and construct increasingly complicated technology from scratch, players are encouraged to make use of what already exists in the world. If you need a solar panel for electricity, for example, the developers suggest taking one from an abandoned building rather than crafting one yourself.
The same idea extends to base building. Wood can be used to construct a shelter, but abandoned objects can then be repurposed to make it stronger. Players can rip doors and bonnets from old vehicles and bolt them onto wooden walls to provide additional protection against attackers.
Outside of building, players will be able to hunt, farm, observe wildlife, restore abandoned vehicles and potentially even adopt pets while exploring Leminsgale. Repairing a car can make travelling across the district considerably easier.
There is also something considerably more dangerous waiting in the district.
Leminsgale was sealed off years before the events of the game but was never completely evacuated. According to the developers, the people who remained eventually lost their minds and now wander the area. Discovering exactly what happened to them forms part of the game’s story.
Players can choose between four characters with different statistics and starting equipment before heading into the world. The story can be completed alone or alongside friends, while players who aren’t interested in following the campaign can simply explore and survive together.
The game has already attracted some early attention. Cornfield Games revealed that more than 60,000 people played its public demo during a two-week period in June 2026. The developer originally planned to release the game in September but subsequently delayed it by three weeks to allow additional time for polishing.
Online: 404 is currently scheduled to launch for PC through Steam on October 16, 2026. Its combination of familiar survival mechanics with an in-game smartphone and internet system could make it one of the more unusual additions to an increasingly crowded survival genre.