Game: GRAVHOUNDS
Developer: Octopus Panic (7 full-time devs)
Publisher: Octopus Panic — self-published
Genre: Co-Op Action Builder
Early Access: November 2, 2026
Platforms: PC (Steam) · Xbox Series X|S
Game Pass: Day one
Players: 1–4 co-op
🎪 Playable at Gamescom This Week — Xbox Booth, Hall 7
If you’re at the show, GRAVHOUNDS is on the floor right now at the Xbox booth in Hall 7.
There’s also a broadcast showing: the game features on the Xbox @ Gamescom livestream at 3pm CEST on Wednesday, August 26.
📍 Xbox Booth, Hall 7
📺 Wed 26 Aug, 3pm CEST
🕹️ Playable build
🐕 GRAVHOUNDS enters Early Access on November 2, 2026, on PC and Xbox Series X|S — day one with Xbox Game Pass. It’s a 1–4 player co-op action builder about bio-engineered dogs doing extremely dangerous work on hostile planets.
🎯 Halo 4’s Creative Director Is Making a Seven-Person Indie
Octopus Panic was founded by veterans of 343 Industries and DICE, with development led by Josh Holmes — Creative Director on Halo 4 and former Head of Halo Studios.
The studio has seven full-time developers, is self-funded and self-published, and GRAVHOUNDS is its debut. Going from running one of the largest shooter franchises in the industry to a team of seven is a considerable move — and co-founder Scott Sims is unusually direct about why.
Blue-collar dogs. Far side of the galaxy. Still expected at work.
Drop onto a hostile planet as a pack, build something that might hold, and get out before you become alien chow.
GRAVHOUNDS is a frantic co-op action builder for one to four players, casting you as bio-engineered canine workers built for dangerous planetary operations. You drop in as a pack, deploy fortifications, gather what you came for, and extract before the swarm closes.
It was revealed during Gamescom Opening Night Live, and it’s out on November 2.
Greed Is the Difficulty Setting
⏱️ The Longer You Stay, the Worse It Gets
This is the system everything else hangs off. The longer a pack decides to stay and push for high-value materials, the deadlier and more aggressive the alien swarm becomes.
That turns every shift into a negotiation between four people about when to leave — and the answer is never obvious, because your own capability is escalating too. You unlock abilities and upgrades mid-shift, stacking bonuses as you go, so the question isn’t just “can we survive another minute” but “are we getting stronger faster than they are?”
Difficulty isn’t something the game imposes on you. It’s something you choose, repeatedly, while your teammates disagree.
It’s a smart way to make a co-op extraction game generate its own drama. Nobody has to script a tense moment when four players are arguing over whether one more haul is worth it.
🌀 Bend Gravity
The Grav Beam flings objects across the battlefield and sends enemies flying. Octopus Panic’s own disclaimer notes that moving volatile materials may result in “unforeseen loss of Gravhounds.”
🏗️ Build to Survive
Deploy turrets, generators and fabricators, and run pipeline networks across hostile terrain to power the base and keep your escape route alive.
🚀 Move Fast, Die Last
Boost in any direction, hover, and reposition under fire — to reach a teammate in trouble or make a last-second dash for materials.
🐺 Pack or Lone Wolf
Split up to expand the operation, or hold together and stand your ground. Each Gravhound brings different strengths.
The pipeline networks are the detail that separates this from a straightforward horde-defence game. Building infrastructure that has to physically span dangerous ground — and stay intact — means your base isn’t a single defensible point but a fragile system with a lot of exposed length.
It’s a Game About Work
🔧 “Shifts,” Not Runs
The framing is consistent and it’s the best thing about the premise. These aren’t heroes or soldiers — they’re workers. You do shifts, not runs. You’re expanding an operation. The dogs are bio-engineered for dangerous planetary operations, which is a job description rather than a destiny.
Josh Holmes puts it plainly: a crew of blue-collar dogs stranded on the far side of the galaxy, still expected to show up for work.
Extraction games usually frame their risk as heroism. Framing it as a shift you’re contractually obliged to complete is funnier, bleaker, and rather more relatable.
GRAVHOUNDS started with a simple idea: a crew of blue-collar dogs stranded on the far side of the galaxy, still expected to show up for work. For us, the best co-op moments are when things unexpectedly go off the rails, and somehow you still pull it off together.
— Josh Holmes, Co-Founder, Octopus Panic
Seven People, Self-Funded, On Purpose
We founded Octopus Panic with the desire to get back to the heart of development and spend our time making games again. With a team of seven full-time developers, we’re all hands-on with every part of development, can iterate quickly without overhead, and, most importantly, stay close to the players. Being self-funded and self-published gives us the freedom to build GRAVHOUNDS the way we believe it should be built.
— Scott Sims, Co-Founder, Octopus Panic
“Spend our time making games again” is the line worth noticing. It’s a quietly pointed statement from people who’ve operated at the top of AAA development, and it explains the shape of the studio — small enough that everyone touches everything, self-funded so nobody outside the team gets a vote.
Early Access fits that philosophy rather than contradicting it. Sims is explicit about wanting to work alongside the community through the process, which is a more convincing reason to launch early than most.
🤝 Co-Op
🏗️ Base Building
🎒 Extraction
🌀 Physics
👽 Sci-Fi
🐕 Dogs
Who’s Making It
🐙 Octopus Panic
A small independent studio making games “with enough freedom for players to surprise us,” built around experimentation, improvisation and the stories players end up telling each other. Founded by 343 Industries and DICE veterans, with Josh Holmes — Halo 4’s Creative Director and former Head of Halo Studios — leading development. GRAVHOUNDS is their first game.
GRAVHOUNDS enters Early Access on November 2, 2026 on PC and Xbox Series X|S, day one on Xbox Game Pass.
Hi there! I’m Marie, also known as CtrlQueen. I’m passionate about keeping up with the latest in gaming news and sharing my insights. RPGs steal my heart with their rich narratives and immersive worlds, but I also love unwinding with fun, casual games. Whether you’re here for deep dives into game mechanics or just to chat about your favorite casual game, you’ve found the right place! Let’s game and explore together.
