PS5 2026 RPG Accidentally Drops Early, Playable to Lucky Few

An upcoming RPG that is currently slated for release in 2026 was accidentally released on PS5 last week.

On Friday, some eagle-eyed PS5 users spotted that Starsand Island, a game that isn’t due to release until 1 February next year, was accidentally released early and made available for purchase.

The game was priced at $42.29, which is already quite an odd price, and was up for a short amount of time before its publisher Seed Lab realised the error.

Despite this, some players were able to purchase the game and download it onto their PS5 systems. They were even able to launch it and start playing, and there isn’t any indication that this version of the game is a demo or beta.

Starsand Island was made available for purchase early

As X (formerly Twitter) user @Renka_schedule reports, this early release of the game is a 9.25GB install, and includes Japanese language support.

There are also two graphics modes: Performance and Quality. That’s pretty normal for a current-gen game releasing on consoles, though.

In terms of what content was made available to them, they report that they were able to get into the character creation screen as well as the player home. For whatever reason, their home began with a double bed when it should have really started with a single bed.

The user also reports that they’re able to carry an axe for logging, and that they became friends with two NPCs, Azusa and Mio. They also noted how there are six different levels of affection with these NPCs.

Although Starsand Island was later made unavailable to purchase once Seed Lab had realised the issue, @Renka_schedule is apparently still able to access the game, according to this post. It’s not known yet whether Seed Lab will honour these early purchases, or eventually revoke and refund them.

Starsand Island is scheduled to launch fully on 1st February, 2026. If you’d like to try it out for yourself though, there is a demo available on Steam at the moment.

However, Seed Labs has said the demo will be expanding to other platforms in the future.

“Leave the hustle of the city behind and embrace life on Starsand Island,” reads the game’s official description.

“Fish, farm, raise animals, and befriend or fall in love with locals to learn their secrets. Customize your world with our DIY system, and invite friends to help build your dream paradise!”