In Astroneer, you're a 25th-century astronaut digging up resources on alien worlds to build bases. The base game's solar system holds seven worlds to explore, five planets and two moons, and the Glitchwalkers expansion adds an eighth called Aeoluz. Each one has its own resources and hazards. There are no enemies to fight, so the real dangers are running out of oxygen, harmful plants and rough weather.
Learning how to play starts with the Terrain Tool, which digs into the ground and reshapes it. Digging gathers basic materials such as Compound and Resin, and you craft those into items at your backpack printer. You then use what you make to build bases and keep oxygen flowing, since your backpack tank only lasts about a minute away from a supply. Tethers are how you connect to that supply.
Research Items and Samples you collect turn into Bytes, which you spend to unlock items in the Research Catalog, from smelting furnaces to shuttles that carry you between planets. There's no fixed ending, so most players set their own goals, like building a bigger base or uncovering the mysterious structures and transmissions scattered across the worlds.
- Developer
- System Era Softworks
- Publisher
- System Era Softworks
- Release
- Full release: 2019-02-06 · PlayStation 4: 2019-11-15 · Nintendo Switch: 2022-01-13 · PlayStation 5 port: 2025-11-20 · Steam Early Access: 2016-12-16 · Xbox One and Windows Store Game Preview: 2016-12-16
- Platforms
- Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
Game data
Resources and Gases
Resources and gases are the raw materials that nearly everything in Astroneer is made from. Solid materials are dug from the ground or made from soil, and gases are pulled from the air by an Atmospheric Condenser. Smelting Furnaces and Chemistry Labs turn them into refined and composite materials, and printers craft the finished items. Research turns many of them into Bytes, which unlock new schematics.
Planets
Astroneer's base game has a full solar system to explore, and Aeoluz arrives with Glitchwalkers. Sylva is the starting world, and Desolo and Novus are moons that orbit Sylva and Vesania. Each world has its own layers, biomes, power conditions, and resources, and gateway chambers link them across the solar system.
Collectibles
Vehicles
Vehicles in Astroneer carry you across planet surfaces, between planets and along rail lines. Most are built at a Printer once you unlock their schematics with Bytes, while a few come free as mission rewards. Rovers, shuttles and rail vehicles all need power or fuel to run, and many also supply nearby players with oxygen.
Seeds and Plants
Seeds and plants are the living part of Astroneer's planets. Plant a seed and it grows into the same kind of plant, and most plants give you something back, such as seeds, Research Samples or Organic. Some are dangerous, some are safe to tap, and a few, like Fractal Roses, are made for farming. Harvestable plants came with the free Megatech update, while the Biodome, Museum and Mega seeds come with the Megatech expansion.
Astroneer Controls
| Action | Desktop | Console |
|---|---|---|
| Move | W, A, S, D | Left stick |
| Jump | Space | A (Xbox), Cross (PlayStation), A (Switch) |
| Sprint | Hold Shift while moving | Press the left stick (L3) |
| Rotate camera | Hold right mouse button and drag | Right stick |
| Open or close backpack | Q | B (Xbox), Circle (PlayStation), B (Switch) |
| Open or close Terrain Tool | E | X (Xbox), Square (PlayStation), Y (Switch) |
| Dig or reshape terrain | Left mouse button | RT (Xbox), R2 (PlayStation), ZR (Switch) |
| Switch Terrain Tool mode | C, V | LB, RB (Xbox), L1, R1 (PlayStation), L, R (Switch) |
| Use selected item | F | Y (Xbox), Triangle (PlayStation), X (Switch) |
| Place tether | T | D-pad Down (Xbox and PlayStation) |
| Open Research Catalog | Tab | Back (Xbox), Touch Pad (PlayStation), Minus (Switch) |
| Open menu | Esc | Menu (Xbox), Options (PlayStation), Plus (Switch) |
Astroneer gameplay tips
- Place a tether before you wander far from base. A bundle of tethers costs a single Compound, and each one goes down with T, or D-pad Down on Xbox and PlayStation. Sprinting empties a full tank in about 45 seconds instead of 72, so walk back to a tether as soon as your oxygen bar starts to drop.
- Follow the early missions and collect item rewards at a Landing Pad. Planetfall hands you an Oxygenator and a Small Printer, and the next missions teach you oxygen and tethers step by step. Item rewards can only be claimed at Landing Pads, Logistics Depots, or the Sun Room, so claim them at one of those.
- Put Research Samples into a Research Chamber. You can research a Sample right away, but a Research Chamber turns it into even more Bytes. Build the chamber early so it's ready when you start finding samples.
- Switch between Excavate, Elevate, and Flatten with C and V. Excavate fills your canisters with the soil you dig, Elevate builds up ground using that stored soil, and Flatten smooths a slope into a ramp. Elevate and Flatten together make ramps and walls, and you reuse soil you already dug instead of hunting for more.
- Keep a backpack slot open while you mine. Resources that don't fit in a full inventory drop on the ground behind you, and a big haul can be lost that way.
- Build a Field Shelter for a base away from your main one. The Field Shelter has built-in oxygen, so you don't need a separate Oxygenator, and you can pick it up and move it later. This lets you set up a working spot far from home without running a line of tethers back.