Closed Beta Testing Kicks Off August 31, Sign-Up Now at playtest.playnautus.com
In Development from Magic Design Studios, the Indie Studio Behind Have a Nice Death & Unruly Heroes
LOS GATOS, Calif. – Aug. 24, 2026 – Arc Games, a leading publisher of AA and indie titles for PC and consoles, and Magic Design Studios, the indie developer behind acclaimed titles Have a Nice Death and Unruly Heroes, are excited to announce that NAUTUS, the recently announced charmingly quirky underwater adventure, will soon have a Closed Beta Playtest via Steam, with sign-ups available now via playtest.playnautus.com.
The Closed Beta Playtest will begin Monday, August 31, at 7 AM PDT. Magic Design Studios is looking for fans of Dave the Diver, Subnautica, Terraria, and SteamWorld Dig to join the playtest and provide valuable feedback via Discord to help shape the game and be part of its development journey from the very beginning.
Sign Up for the Closed Beta Playtest: playtest.playnautus.com
Excited to jump into this adventure? Follow and wishlist the game today on Steam!
ABOUT THE CLOSED BETA PLAYTEST
Sign up for the Closed Beta Playtest and get ready to dive into NAUTUS for the first time ever via Steam starting on Monday, August 31, at 7 AM PDT! This playtest gives players a proper introduction to the game to experience its unique dual-layered gameplay loop:
- On the Surface: Catch your breath, meet and help quirky amnesiac locals, customize your tropical home base, manage resources, and engineer specialized submarine upgrades.
- Below the Surface: Pilot your upgradeable submarine into a beautiful yet dangerous underwater abyss, encounter mutant marine life, navigate environmental hazards, and gather rare materials to craft advanced machinery and gear.
During the playtest, you’ll create your own character, step into the world of NAUTUS and begin your adventure. You’ll meet eccentric locals, like the mayor and Mr. Golden, unlock your own submarine, explore the game’s first biome, tackle main and secondary quests, and dive deep into core progression systems. Players can brave the ocean depths entirely on their own, or team up with up to three friends in four-player online co-op to uncover the mysteries of NAUTUS together!
ABOUT NAUTUS
From the indie studio behind Have a Nice Death and Unruly Heroes comes NAUTUS, a quirky underwater adventure where the surface is your cozy sanctuary, but the ocean floor is a whole different beast. Explore the abyss in your upgradable submarine, face strange creatures, gather resources, and recover mysterious artifacts to uncover what happened to the N.A.U.T.U.S. research team and your missing uncle. Return to the surface to craft, build, and befriend its eccentric inhabitants before diving even deeper — solo or with up to three friends in online co-op.
Game Features
- Explore the Deep Unknown: Navigate breathtaking coral reefs, sunken pirate shipwrecks, and uncharted underwater anomalies that even the local N.A.U.T.U.S. scientists refuse to approach. Make sure to be ready to fight and capture strange creatures that should never have existed!
- Pilot Your Own Upgradable Submarine: Craft specialized modules, protective equipment, and vital weaponry as you take control and update your own submarine. Advance your tech to dive deeper into hostile trenches and defend against aggressive, mutant marine life.
- Adventure Solo or Dive into Online Co-Op Multiplayer: Uncover the mystery of NAUTUS and brave the ocean depths entirely on your own, or team up with up to three players in four-player online co-op and dive into this offbeat adventure together.
- Meet, Befriend and Uncover the Mysteries of a Quirky Cast of Inhabitants: Meet eccentric, amnesiac locals like a tanning-obsessed diver and a quirky expedition chief. Collaborate with them on unique and useful projects and recover lost artifact stones to cure their bizarre phobia of the ocean and restore them to their true selves.
- Solve a Sunken Mystery: Investigate the sudden disappearance of your uncle, Bernard Torpedo, by hunting for ancient relics, hidden clues, and secrets buried in the abyss. Will you uncover the mysteries of your uncle and this mysterious island?
- Develop and Customize a Unique Outpost: Transform a secluded tropical outpost into a thriving home base of your own. Set up vital crafting machinery to refine rare materials gathered from the deep, manage your resources strategically, and build the essential infrastructure needed to fuel your next sub-aquatic expedition.
NAUTUS is available to follow and wishlist now on Steam. For more information, please visit playnautus.com.
ABOUT ARC GAMES
Arc Games is a leading independent publisher of AA and indie video games — including premium and live-service titles — across North America, Europe, and Asia. Originally founded in 2008 as Perfect World Entertainment, the company later rebranded as Arc Games and continues to expand its presence as a global publisher. Known for bringing beloved titles such as Neverwinter and Star Trek Online to players around the world, Arc Games has also delivered a strong portfolio of original releases, including REMNANT II, Remnant: From the Ashes, the Torchlight series, and Fellowship, as well as distinctive indie experiences like Order of the Sinking Star, Frosthaven and Have a Nice Death.
Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with offices in Amsterdam and Shanghai, Arc Games is dedicated to supporting talented game creators and delivering high-quality, memorable gaming experiences. For more information, please visit www.arcgames.com.
ABOUT MAGIC DESIGN STUDIOS
Magic Design Studios is an indie game studio located in Montpellier, France — a mecca for video game developers in France. Originally established in 2015, the studio’s mission is to build exciting worlds and offer unforgettable experiences for players. The core development team has decades of experience in the video game industry, after working on titles like Assassin’s Creed, Ghost Recon, Raving Rabbids, Rayman, and Splinter Cell with Ubisoft. Magic Design Studios launched its flagship game, Unruly Heroes, in 2019. This award-winning platformer was inspired by the Chinese novel Journey to the West. The studio then launched the critically acclaimed and award-winning darkly charming roguelike Have a Nice Death in Steam Early Access in March 2022, then officially launching it in 1.0 in 2023.
