GRAVHOUNDS Guide & Wiki
Octopus Panic's co-op dog-squad base builder hit Early Access on November 2 (Steam, Xbox, Game Pass). The in-game Research Lab never shows you the whole tree at once, so we went through Early Access gameplay screen by screen and wrote down what each turret, mod and weapon actually says and costs. Numbers are what the game showed on November 4; Early Access patches will move them, and each page says when we last checked.
Last checked Nov 5, 2026
Early Access: Out now · launched Nov 2, 2026 · about 6 months before 1.0
Price: $19.99 · $14.99 with the 25% launch discount (first two weeks) · Game Pass day one
Platforms: PC (Steam, Xbox app) and Xbox Series X|S
Players: Solo (after the tutorial) or online co-op up to 4, player-hosted
Content: 7 solar systems, 25 planets, 5 Gravhounds, 22 turrets & deployables, 4 weapons + Grav Beam, 60 mods (12 Showstoppers)
Developer: Octopus Panic (self-published) · led by Halo 4 creative director Josh Holmes
Getting Started
Gear
- Turrets: Every Turret and What It Costs▶ VideoTurrets unlock in the Research Lab's Turrets tab in three branches off the free Base Turret: Gunner (Gunner, Minigun, Longbore, Scatter; uses Titanium), Rocket (Rocket, Cluster, Mortar) and Laser (Laser, Arclight, Lancer; uses Electrium). Each new turret costs about 7 Research Points, 500 of its material and 1 blueprint found on planets. Upgrades cost 2–3 RP and 100–200 material per level. For most packs: Gunner for the main line, Cluster or Mortar for crowds, Lancer or Longbore for elites.
- Weapons: Pulse Rifle, Shotgun, Sniper, Grenade Launcher▶ VideoGRAVHOUNDS has 4 weapons plus the Grav Beam. The Pulse Rifle is the free starter (17 damage, 24-round magazine, random crits). You unlock the Shotgun (12 damage per pellet, 7 shells, crits when every pellet lands), Sniper (105 damage, 5 rounds, crits after consecutive hits) and Grenade Launcher (95 damage, 5 shells, direct hits crit) in the Research Lab's Weapons tab. Your first reward pod each expedition offers every weapon you've unlocked.
Builds
- Mods: Every Mod We've Seen and What It Does▶ VideoMods are the run-time perks that reward pods give you. You unlock them permanently in the Research Lab's Mods tab, which has three trees: Breaker, Worker and Runner (Rocket Barrage and Dead Drop sit in Breaker). Unlocking a mod costs about 3 Research Points (5 plus an extra item for the strongest proc mods); each upgrade costs 4–9 RP plus 50–150 Biomass. Anything you unlock enters the reward pool, and the Mod Deck Builder lets you limit it to 10 mods + 2 Showstoppers.
- Mod Deck Builder: 10 Mods + 2 Showstoppers▶ VideoThe Mod Deck Builder opens after you unlock a couple of mods in the Research Lab. You build a deck of 10 common mods and up to 2 Showstoppers from your library, and reward pods only draw from that deck during expeditions. You can swap it between expeditions. Open it from the Research Lab (the Deck Builder prompt at the bottom of the Mods screen). A newly unlocked mod won't show up in runs until it's in your deck.
Hounds
Progression
- Research Lab: Research Points, Training and Milestones▶ VideoThe Research Lab on your ship is where all permanent progress happens. It has 5 tabs: Turrets, Training (per-hound stats), Weapons, Mods and Milestones. Unlocks cost Research Points, which you earn from finishing expeditions, time played and milestones. Turrets also need a material (Titanium or Electrium) and a blueprint found on planets; mod upgrades also need Biomass.
- Blueprints: How to Find and Use ThemBlueprints are what you need, alongside Research Points and materials, to unlock new turrets (and some mods and weapons) in the Research Lab. You find them at points of interest on planets: vaults opened by pulling levers or by parkour through glowing rings, crates and challenges. The Star Map shows how many blueprints each planet has and marks them once collected. Some are behind puzzles meant for groups, so solo players can miss a few.
Planets & POIs
- Planets, Jobs and EnemiesEarly Access has 7 solar systems and 25 planets. Pick one on the Star Map, which shows the job, a challenge rating, the main resource and how many blueprints are left. Jobs include Resource Grab (mine a quota), delivery jobs like Boom Bloom (return 750 Nitrate to the Collector), the Refinery and protecting Coffee Cat. Resources are Titanium, Electrium, Organic Nitrate and Biomass. Enemies scale the longer you stay, from Skitters and Goopers up to Leapers, elites and the Juggernaut boss.
- Suitability Assessment: Trivia Quiz Answers▶ VideoThe Suitability Assessment is a trivia terminal found at a point of interest on some planets. It asks 5 multiple-choice joke questions; a wrong answer locks the terminal for that run. The answers are the silliest option, e.g. Which is a material? → Kyle, What's cooler than a spaceship? → A dog in a spaceship, What does the Moon owe you? → An apology. Full list below.
Launch & Platforms
- Early Access: Price, Game Pass and What's ComingGRAVHOUNDS entered Early Access on November 2, 2026 on Steam, the Xbox app on PC and Xbox Series X|S, and it's on Game Pass day one. On Steam it's $19.99, $14.99 with the 25% launch discount for the first two weeks. Octopus Panic expects Early Access to last about six months, possibly longer, and plans to raise the price as content is added. There's no PS5 version announced. Demo progress did not carry over.
- Crossplay and Co-op: Steam, Xbox and Game PassGRAVHOUNDS is online co-op for 1–4 players and it's player-hosted (no dedicated servers). The Xbox store lists Xbox cross-platform multiplayer and co-op, so Xbox Series X|S and the Xbox app on PC (Game Pass) can play together. Steam-to-Xbox crossplay is not confirmed: Steam players are still asking for it on the forums. There's no split-screen. You join friends through a lobby invite or a join code.
- Playing GRAVHOUNDS SoloYes. GRAVHOUNDS is fully playable solo, but single player only unlocks after you finish the tutorial. Multiplayer is available from the start. The game scales with player count, so solo runs face fewer and later elites. Solo is calmer but slower, since you do every job yourself, and a few puzzles are built for groups, so you may miss some blueprints. An internet connection is still needed to log in.
- Known Issues and FixesOctopus Panic's launch notes list five known issue areas: performance (frame drops in big waves), multiplayer connectivity (sessions are player-hosted), localization, UI polish and physics glitches. Can't join? Go back to the main menu and reconnect, or have the host recreate the session. Stuck objective? Pull it free with the Grav Beam. To reset progress, players move their save files out of the save folder (Steam Cloud may restore them).
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