The awkward questions, answered first.

Frequently asked questions

What is Dead Water?

A modern-day crime game about smuggling by sea. You run cargo through a fictional archipelago while a task force builds a case against you, then try to turn what you made into money you can actually spend. A persistent online world, first person.

Who is making it?

NoQuarterLabs LLC, a small studio that builds and operates its own products. Dead Water is self-published, which is why there is no publisher logo on any of this and no marketing schedule anyone else set.

When is it out?

We do not know, and we are not going to make up a date to look busy. Right now there is a prototype whose only job is to prove that driving the boat is fun. The roadmap shows what has to be true before anything ships.

What platforms?

PC first, through our own launcher, and we are looking at Epic. Consoles are unlikely at launch. See the next answer for why the obvious one is missing.

Why is there no Steam page?

Because the design includes a blockchain component, and Valve does not allow games that issue or exchange crypto or NFTs on Steam. That has been their policy since 2021. It is not an oversight on our end, it is a trade we made deliberately, and the cost of it is that we have to build an audience directly instead of borrowing one from Steam. That is what the email list on this site is for.

Is there a token? Can I buy in early?

There is nothing to buy and nothing to buy into. No token, no ticker, no contract, no presale, no ICO, no whitelist, no allocation and no round. The economy exists on paper and none of it is real yet. We are not announcing specifics until they are actually settled, because half-announced crypto is exactly how people get robbed. When there is something real to say, it gets said here first.

Is it pay to win?

No, and the rule is specific rather than a vibe: nothing that affects combat is purchasable or tradeable. A boat somebody bought handles exactly like a boat somebody earned. What money buys is provenance, looks, property and access. A player with a bigger wallet does not get a bigger gun, because there are no bigger guns.

Are there NFTs?

The design has ownership for things where ownership is genuinely the point, like a boat that carries the record of what it has done. We are holding ourselves to three rules: never stats, never required, and always earnable by playing. The specifics are not final and we are not going to pretend they are.

There are drugs in this game.

You move product. You never use it, and there is no on-screen consumption. Production is menus and logistics, distribution is boats and routes. Every substance, brand, cartel and place in the game is invented, including the region it happens in. It is aimed at adults and it is going to be rated that way.

Can I play it alone?

Yes. Solo boats are scaled for one person and the whole game is playable that way. Crewing up is meant to feel like a relief rather than a requirement, so working the wheel and the radar and the deck by yourself is deliberately a bit awkward.

Is there PvP?

Eventually, and it is opt in rather than forced. The plan is that declaring what you are carrying raises what it pays and marks you at the same time. Nobody gets jumped for existing.

How do I play early?

Get on the email list. When there is a demo you will hear about it, and playtesters who actually play get first look at everything after that.