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.