A new open-world survival shooter from former Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan is taking players back to the Gold Rush, but this is far from a traditional recreation of 19th-century California.
The Legend of California is an upcoming multiplayer action-survival FPS set on a mythical version of California portrayed as an enormous island during the Gold Rush era. Players are dropped into an untamed frontier filled with wildlife, hostile settlements, valuable resources and other players as they attempt to establish themselves in the wilderness.
The game is being developed by Kintsugiyama, the independent studio co-founded by former Blizzard veterans Jeff Kaplan and Tim Ford. Kaplan is best known for his work on World of Warcraft and for serving as the original game director of Overwatch before leaving Blizzard in 2021.
At first glance, The Legend of California has elements that may feel familiar to fans of games such as Rust and Red Dead Redemption. Players can gather resources, craft equipment, hunt animals, explore different biomes and build their own ranch, but the developers are placing a particularly strong emphasis on first-person combat and exploration.
Ranches act as a player’s permanent base of operations, with the ability to construct mines, stables and additional crafting stations as progress is made. Players can also travel across the world on horseback and take on hostile encampments and other PvE encounters scattered throughout the map.
Despite being built around persistent multiplayer servers, players are not required to join a large group. The entire game can be explored while playing alone, while those looking for a cooperative experience can create a Company consisting of up to four players in total. Company members can share buildings, resources and progression.
PvP is also part of the experience, although Kintsugiyama says encounters with other players are designed to be optional rather than constantly forced upon everyone exploring the world.
Development has continued steadily throughout 2026, with several public playtests already taking place.
The game’s fourth Alpha test ran from September 17 until September 21 and introduced another major batch of new systems and improvements. Among the additions were the Rattlesnake Junction stronghold, improvements to mining, updated weather, additional challenges and the beginnings of the game’s endgame progression.
Alpha 4 also introduced Sangre Élite Invasions, item quality tiers, more than a dozen legendary items and the game’s first dedicated PvP server ruleset, giving players another glimpse at how the long-term multiplayer experience could eventually work.
Kintsugiyama has described itself as a small independent studio built around The Legend of California, with the project already having spent several years in development. The team has also been unusually open about showing unfinished versions of the game, including lengthy developer livestreams and repeated public testing periods.
There is currently no confirmed release date. The Steam page simply lists The Legend of California as “Coming Soon”, with players still able to request access to future playtests. PC is currently the confirmed platform.
With its combination of FPS combat, survival mechanics, ranch building, mining, horses and a fictional Gold Rush frontier, The Legend of California is shaping up to be a particularly unusual addition to the increasingly crowded open-world survival genre.
Following the conclusion of Alpha 4, attention will now turn to what Kintsugiyama adds next as development continues toward a wider release.