Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition is finally coming in May as a free update

Sunless Skies' stellar locomotive is returning to the heavens above Fallen London with an overhauled Sovereign Edition, arriving as a free update on PC next month.

A "greatly enhanced edition" of Failbetter's trains-in-space adventure, Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition was first announced over a year ago. Now, the developer has announced that it'll arrive on May 19th, bringing sweeping changes to many of the game's systems.

Character progression has been upgraded with a completely redesigned interface featuring brand new facets (unlockable traits that improve your stats while defining your captain's story), though the selection you can choose from on level-up has now been limited. Reaching level cap is no longer the end of progression either—while you'll not be able to pick up more facets, you can continue improving stats indefinitely.

Starvation has also been completely reworked, and the game now features "new and probably inadvisable" meals of varying edibility. Sovereign Edition sports a more controller-friendly UI, too—and while this is largely for the game's upcoming Switch port, it should also make it easier to play with a gamepad on PC.

Locomotive equipment and weapon requirements are now less demanding, new trading opportunities have been added, alongside dozens of smaller additions listed over on the update's announcement page (with full patch notes to come later). 

Natalie Clayton
Features Producer

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.

Read more
Disco Elysium-inspired steampunk RPG Sovereign Syndicate is getting a director's cut
A lineup of different sprites created for Dwarf Fortress' Adventure Mode.
With Adventure mode squared away, Dwarf Fortress is entering a 'new era of development' as its devs shift focus toward future features
A gas giant planet in No Man's Sky
No Man's Sky is getting 'trillions of new planets,' some with oceans 'several kilometers deep,' plus explorable 'end-game' gas giants
Hades 2 key art
Need to relax? Grab a coffee, kick back and submerge yourself in the sound of Hades 2's narrator reading the patch notes for its latest massive update
Man holding gun up to approaching cannibal
Sons of the Forest's first patch in 6 months is a doozy, adding buildable rafts, a procedural wall system, and fixing more than 100 bugs
King wielding his axe against would-be assassins in Norland.
Medieval colony sim Norland is getting a 'damn big update' that completely overhauls the game's mechanics: 'We're rolling out some radical changes to the core gameplay'
Latest in Adventure
An image of a corpse with the text "You've been re-educated."
I played the lost videogame sequel to 1984, and came away more nostalgic than ever for gaming's awkward adolescence in 1999
Rosella encounters a satyr in a forest in King's Quest 4
Eagle-eyed streamer spots that Roberta Williams' portrait in King's Quest 4 is based on her author photo on the back of the game box: 'I never noticed it before.'
Myst puzzle game
'You’ve been asking, and we’ve been listening': Myst remake adds a whole new world to the classic adventure, one originally introduced in another overhaul from 25 years ago
The character takes a test in a school room.
Expelled! review
Max, protagonist of Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Double Exposure, stares with trepidation at something off-screen with her friend.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure reportedly a 'large loss' for Square Enix, says analyst, who adds: 'The company's IP fundamentally varies too much between good and bad'
Inside
Limbo and Inside studio demands compensation from co-founder Dino Patti for alleged 'unauthorized use of Playdead's trademarks and copyrighted works'
Latest in News
minecraft diamond level sword
Minecraft's never going free-to-play because as it stands it's 'the best deal in the world'
A Lagiacrus render from Monster Hunter Generations, photoshopped over a screenshot of Wilds' Scarlet Forest region.
Oh my God, it's happening: Monster Hunter Wilds is finally bringing a fan-favorite sea snake home from the war
A convoy of strange beings proceed across a desert in Caves of Qud key art.
After 17 years, devs of the only roguelike where players ask 'the best way to get the most limbs' can't believe its success: 'More people have bought Caves of Qud than are in this stadium, how do you reckon with that?'
A hunter digs in to some delicious dumplings in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds' first title update is overflowing with new stuff: A long-awaited Grand Hub, Arch-tempered Monsters, Arena Quests, and most importantly, fashion
Tony Hawk doing a kickflip or whatever the hell it is in the cover art for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4
Tony Hawk apparently intervened to get Bam Margera into Pro Skater 3+4: 'No, you're gonna do it'
The Lenovo Legion LOQ gaming laptop on a blue background
Okay, so it's not technically in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, but this is the cheapest RTX 4070 gaming laptop you'll find today