Permafrost drops you into an Earth locked under endless ice, ten years after the Moon fell apart and dragged the planet into a permanent winter. You survive as a lone scavenger with a German Shepherd at your side, fighting cold, hunger, and ruined cities rather than any single villain. It’s a survival game built by Space Rocket Games and published by Toplitz Productions.
Quick answer: Permafrost is a PC survival game on Steam, set a decade after the Moon shattered and froze the world. It launched into Early Access on October 9th and is playable now.
What Permafrost is and how it plays
The setup will feel familiar if you’ve played survival games before, but the whole thing is tuned around a deep freeze. You manage warmth, scavenge for supplies, and rebuild shelter while the frozen environment works against you at every turn. Former cities are now snowed-under ruins, with icebound skyscrapers and camps kept alive by open barrel fires.
Your dog is part of the survival loop, not merely a pet in the background. In the trailer, a survivor reaches a camp wearing bulky yellow winter gear and carrying an ice axe along with an oversized pack; a German Shepherd in a utility harness keeps pace. The two of you facing the ice capture the heart of the experience.
How the world froze in Permafrost’s story
The disaster starts quietly. Unexplained signals arrive from the Moon before anything visibly goes wrong, opening over a calm night in New York with the full Moon glowing above the Statue of Liberty. Nothing about the scene warns you what’s coming.
At sunrise, the shoreline near the Statue of Liberty is struck by violent weather, explosions, and enormous waves. New York’s skyline grows dark while its cities suffer rapid, severe destruction. Society soon unravels: rioters fill the streets, hospitals become overwhelmed, and flames consume shops and cars beneath the sound of sirens. Paris is hit as well; the damaged Eiffel Tower, broken halfway, looms above the rubble.
The crisis escalates as the Moon breaks into pieces while orbiting Earth. Those shards gather into a ring of debris, wrecking satellites and bringing global communications to a halt; a crossed-out Wi-Fi symbol and the words “NO SIGNAL” appear on screen. The ring also blocks the sun, bringing on the conditions for a deep freeze.
For about a year, governments collapse while people struggle to secure food, warmth, and shelter as burning debris fills the skies. Eventually, the cold becomes permanent. A blinding storm of snow locks whole cities in ice, burying their streets and skyscrapers beneath heavy snow and ice.
Surviving ten years into the winter
A decade later, winter still has no end in sight. Snow covers the old major cities, while animals from the Arctic range through them; a solitary polar bear prowls the frozen streets of a once-populated city.
People have survived, making do in makeshift camps arranged around fires. A survivor steers a shopping cart piled with firewood toward a burning barrel tucked between frozen buildings, reflecting the ongoing effort to find fuel and stay warm. This is the environment you live in, with your dog beside you at every turn.
Permafrost developer, publisher, and platform
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Developer | Space Rocket Games |
| Publisher | Toplitz Productions |
| Platform | Steam (PC) |
| Release type | Early Access |
| Release date | October 9th |
Permafrost is available on PC through Steam, where it launched in Early Access on October 9th. Purchasing it gives you access to a work-in-progress build that is still growing, rather than a completed release. Features and gameplay systems will keep evolving during development.
Permafrost is already playable on PC through Early Access; updates will continue to alter its systems and add or change content.
