Road to Vostok is an upcoming hardcore survival shooter that has slowly built attention over several years.
Developed by a single creator from Finland, the game focuses on realism, planning, and high-risk survival rather than fast-paced action. With Road to Vostok early access in April 7, 2026,, here is everything you need to know about Road to Vostok.
What is Road to Vostok?
Road to Vostok is a single-player survival FPS that takes place in a post-apocalyptic border zone between Finland and Russia.
Your mission involves dangerous tasks because you need to survive while collecting resources and executing detailed plans to reach Vostok, which operates under permanent death rules.
The game adopts a different approach from extraction shooters but maintains shared elements with Escape from Tarkov and similar games.
Your character loots locations while you manage resources and trade with merchants to progress through more hazardous territories which lead to your eastern advancement.
Early Access Release Date and Price
Early Access Trailer | Road to Vostok
A hardcore single-player survival game set in a post-apocalyptic border zone between Finland and Russia.
Launch date: April 7, 2026
Launch price: 14,99€ (after 25% launch discount)Wishlist now on Steam! pic.twitter.com/pnUygOneXH
— Road to Vostok (@roadtovostok) January 30, 2026
Road to Vostok will enter its early access phase on April 7 2026.
The game will launch at €14.99 because of a 25% discount which will remain active for two weeks. After that period, the price will increase to €19.99. The game will be available on Steam, where it can already be wish listed.
A free demo is available which has attracted tremendous interest because it has been downloaded more than one million times and received approximately 600,000 wish lists to date.
The Developer Behind the Game
The game is being developed entirely by Antti Leinonen, a solo developer from Finland. Before working full-time on Road to Vostok, he served in the Finnish armed forces and later taught visual game design.
Development has been public and ongoing for years, with multiple demos showing steady improvements in systems, visuals, and gameplay depth.
Core Gameplay and Survival Systems
Road to Vostok focuses on methodical survival. You are not meant to rush. Every action requires preparation, and mistakes can be costly.
You must manage:
- Hunger and thirst
- Health and injuries
- Inventory space
- Medical conditions
Weapons use realistic handling, and combat is dangerous rather than heroic. Avoiding fights is often smarter than engaging.
Maps and Progression
The world exists as a collection of interconnected maps which represent actual geographical sites. Each map presents a unique set of challenges to players.
The Vostok area presents two main obstacles which include stronger opponents and higher danger levels and better treasure rewards. The system establishes an explicit evaluation system which shows how dangerous situations become during the planning process.
Shelters and Saving Progress
Players can use shelters as protected areas which enable them to store their valuable items and organize their gear. Players need to use these shelters because they serve as the only method to save their progress in the game.
Players can easily find shelters because they exist in multiple sizes with different design possibilities yet all shelters remain available after discovery.
Traders and Economy
Players can conduct business activities with in-game traders through buying, sellin,g and trading of various items. Traders use a system that evaluates trades based on their value to determine whether they will accept or reject offers.
Traders also provide services such as:
- Medical treatment
- Weapon repairs and maintenance
This system supports long-term survival instead of quick profits.
Dynamic Events and Weather
The game world includes random events that can change each run. The game includes various elements, which range from crash sites to ambushes, airdrops and special trading events.
Weather conditions create an impact on the situation. Rain and storms together with changing light condition’s create challenges to visibility which particularly affect night travel.
The Border Zone and Vostok
A physical border divides the world into two separate regions. You need to use designated crossing points to move across the border because each point comes with its own dangers and operating procedures.
Vostok serves as a permanent death zone that players enter. The area requires permanent loss of all items upon death, including:
- Your character
- Shelter items
- Save data
This makes entering Vostok a major decision rather than a routine task.
What to Expect at Launch
When early access begins, Road to Vostok will offer a fully playable single-player survival experience with its core systems in place. The complete game will launch in April 2026 which serves as the baseline of the game although developers will add additional content and make improvements during the early access period.
If you enjoy slow, tense survival games where planning matters more than reflexes, Road to Vostok will become one of the most exciting hardcore shooters to watch in 2026.
