- Brazilian 3-person developer Pequi Studio … incorporates homages to local culture and the development team throughout the game
- Beyond gathering and crafting, to taming animals and managing a farm… A survival system that interacts with the world
Pequi Studios, a three-person indie game development team from Goiânia, Brazil, will officially release the open-world survival game ‘Mayday: The Survival Island’ on Steam on November 2.
The release date was revealed at PAX West. The game can be played at booth 316 on Indie.io until September 7, and gamers who could not attend the event can also play the game in advance via the Steam demo.
‘Mayday: The Survival Island’ is an open-world survival game that creates a unique atmosphere by utilizing hand-drawn top-down pixel art instead of high-end 3D graphics. In particular, it is set to showcase unique gameplay that combines exploration and survival, set against the backdrop of 24 islands created by the development team rather than a procedurally generated world.
24 islands completed by hand instead of procedurally generated
One of the biggest features of ‘Mayday: The Survival Island’ is that the developers personally designed all 24 islands.
We excluded the procedural generation methods typically used in open-world games and implemented each island individually using top-down pixel art, and even the environments and details were designed in-house to support the player’s natural growth and exploration.
This production method was also applied to character animation. The work was so detailed that over 1,000 individual animation frames were created one by one to portray a single main character.
However, it does not provide the same pattern every time. Because random elements are applied to the distribution of resources and the location of islands, you can experience different situations and the thrill of challenges every time you play, even within a world created by yourself.
An independent survival system that goes beyond gathering and crafting
Based on elements familiar to the survival genre, such as gathering, crafting, farming, cooking, exploration, and combat, the game adds various systems that allow players to actively utilize the surrounding environment.
It is also noteworthy that you can find new ways to survive by interacting with the world, such as processing resources obtained from nature into potions, taming sheep to raise them in a herd, or bringing water buffalo to a farm.
Each system is designed not to operate individually, but as an interconnected structure. This is a system where a single discovery leads not only to new methods of survival but also opens up possibilities for new exploration.
A narrative chasing the truth of the crash, and traces of the development team
Hidden throughout the island are not only resources necessary for survival but also various secrets and stories.
In the process of searching for hidden treasures and unexplored areas, the reason the protagonist crashed on the island and the truth behind the accident are gradually revealed. As they venture deeper into the island, new regions appear and the dangers increase, but along with this, they get closer to the truth of the incident.
The journey that began for survival gradually expands into a story that uncovers the island’s secrets and the protagonist’s past.
Daniel Siqueira, an artist and narrative designer at Pecqui Studio, said, “The part we are most proud of is how the gameplay and story intertwine, and the fact that players can choose when and where to advance the story.”
Cerrado’s 3-person studio, together with the local indie ecosystem
Pequi Studio is a three-person independent development team based in Goiânia, in the Cerrado region of Brazil. The studio’s name is also derived from pequi, a representative local fruit of the region.
The development team is paying attention not only to game production but also to activities that support the local game development ecosystem. By conducting playtests with SESI Goiânia students, they provided future game developers with the opportunity to directly experience the production and testing processes of commercial games.
The development team’s affection for the region is infused into the game. They have placed homages to the pop culture they encountered while growing up throughout the game, and have even hidden characters modeled after the developers themselves.
Pequi Studio, which started as a small-scale personal project in 2017 and has steadily built up its expertise, has challenged the global market with this new title by combining a self-made pixel art world, a survival system, a deep story, and exploration elements.
Capturing the firm philosophy and individuality unique to small development companies Their aspiration to make known the true value of indie games Attention is focused on what kind of impact it will have on the global stage.
‘Mayday: The Survival Island’ supports single-player mode and is available in English and Portuguese (Brazil). The demo is currently playable on Steam, and you can add it to your wishlist before release.
Information regarding ‘Mayday: The Survival Island’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Pequi Studios |
| Publisher | indie.io |
| Genre | Open world survival, adventure |
| platform | PC (Windows) |
| Release date | November 2, 2026 |
| language | English, Portuguese (Brazil) |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
