Is it out yet?
Release date, whether it is unlocked, whether there was an Early Access phase, and whether every platform shipped on the same day.
Independent reference · not affiliated with tinyBuild
Graveyard Keeper 2
Lazy Bear Games' graveyard-management sequel. Out now since September 22, 2026 — no Early Access phase. Every fact on this site traces to a first-party source, each with a checked date.
Updated Sep 23, 2026 — 38 achievements · 11 languages
Palette sampled from the game's official key art. No official artwork is hosted on this site.
Status ledger
Read these six before anything else
Every value below comes from the Steam store API, a platform store page or the publisher's own site. Four states are used throughout: live · ended · removed · not announced.
Key factsChecked 2026-09-23 · sources
Release statusOut now · 2026-09-22Steam coming_soon=false; no Early Access flag on any store
PlatformsPC · PS4 & PS5 · Xbox One & Series X|S · Switch · Switch 2Steam lists Windows only; macOS and Linux both read false
PriceUS$24.99The −20% pre-order price of $19.99 ended on launch day
MultiplayerNoneNo multiplayer category on any store; no official announcement
ReviewsMetascore 73 · Steam 88% positive8 PC reviews; Steam users file it as Very Positive — both checked 09-23, review totals not pinned
Developer / PublisherLazy Bear Games / tinyBuildThe studio's previous game was Graveyard Keeper (2018)
Buy or wait
Worth buying right now? Here is the answer first
If you liked the first game's slow-burn management and black humour, $24.99 is as cheap as it gets — the launch discount is already gone, so there is nothing to wait for. If you wanted co-op or fast combat, this game does not have it.
Buy it if
- You played the 2018 original and want more of exactly that.
- You want a management sim you can leave running in the background.
- You want it on a handheld — Switch and Switch 2 both shipped day one.
Skip it if
- You want co-op or multiplayer — three store fields say there is none.
- You wanted the launch discount: it ended on 2026-09-22.
- You bounce off slow early pacing; the press split is mostly about this.
Steam user reviews 88% positive — Very Positive — Share of positive Steam reviews. The review total is deliberately not pinned here: it went from 782 to past 1,250 within a day of launch.
PS Store rating 4.3 of 5 — Aggregate concept-page figure across PS4 and PS5. The rating count is not pinned either — it kept climbing through the launch window; the individual PS5 product page read 4.16/5 one day earlier and the two are not interchangeable.
Press Metascore 73 — Across 8 PC reviews Metacritic sits at 73 — Mixed or Average. Try Hard Guides gave 90 and DualShockers 85; The Wand Report gave 40. The split is mostly about whether this is a proper sequel or more of the same.
High 90 — Try Hard Guides · Low 40 — The Wand Report
Coverage Coverage: the Metascore with 7 individual press scores, the Steam user-review summary and the PS Store rating are held here. Review shares and ratings are stated with the date they were checked rather than as a fixed count, because both move daily during the launch window. Metacritic's user score was still unavailable at check time, so it is deliberately not part of the verdict.
Change triggerA patch or DLC that changes the game's size, an official co-op announcement, or the Metacritic user score going live — any one of these rewrites this verdict.
Start here
Which page answers your question
Which platform, which version?
Steam, GOG, PS4/PS5, Xbox, Switch and Switch 2 side by side — plus where the pre-order bonus went and what you can actually do on each row.
Coverage This version ships 3 content pages only: home, /release-date/ and /platforms/. Demo, review roundup, multiplayer, the AI question, maps, the undead system, polished bronze and faith are answered in the FAQ below for now; each gets its own page once the launch window produces search signal.
What it actually is
What is Graveyard Keeper 2?
Graveyard Keeper 2 is a graveyard-management sim with a battle layer. You repair graves and run services, build production chains and automate them with an undead workforce, and when the zombie apocalypse reaches the Town you take the same undead troops into tower-defense battles as the Grand Inquisitor. It is developed by Lazy Bear Games, published by tinyBuild, and launched on September 22, 2026 for PC (Steam, GOG), PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Series X|S, and Switch and Switch 2.
The sequel's pitch over the 2018 original is automation and scale: the official Tech Tree lays the unlock chain out on wooden panels, zombies take over the hauling and crafting so you stop repeating yourself, and the Town itself becomes a second business to rebuild for profit. The store pages describe the tone the same way the first game's players remember it — unhinged humour, grotesque characters, and a twisted story.
What it does not have matters too: no multiplayer or co-op appears in any store listing, and the launch window has no published playtime figure. Where a fact like that would normally go, this site states the current official state, the source and the date it was checked instead.
DeveloperLazy Bear Games
PublishertinyBuild
Release dateSep 22, 2026
PlatformsPC · PS4 & PS5 · Xbox One & Series X|S · Switch · Switch 2
GenreSimulation · RPG · Adventure
Price$24.99as of 2026-09-23
Achievements38
Languages11 · English full audio
Steam user reviews88% positive — Very Positiveas of 2026-09-23
Metascore73as of 2026-09-23
PS Store rating4.3 of 5as of 2026-09-23
MultiplayerSingle-player onlyas of 2026-09-23
Coverage The Steam page lists 38 achievements and 11 supported languages; both numbers are the current store state, and this page is updated when either changes. Playtime, system requirements per store and region pricing are not held here yet.
The loop
The loop: bury by day, run the business by night
What actually separates the sequel from the 2018 original is automation and an undead workforce.
- Run the graveyard. Repair graves, hold services, and turn the church's take into resources.
- Automate production. Turn hand-made steps into a line — the official Tech Tree lays the unlock chain out on wooden panels.
- Put the dead to work. The undead take over hauling and crafting so you stop repeating yourself.
- Expand, then follow the story. The town, the tavern and NPC quest lines carry the mid-game — and the undead army defends it.
Coverage Coverage: only what the official store pages and official screenshots support. Yields, work times and unlock costs have no first-party source yet, so no numbers appear here.
Questions we keep getting
Seven answers that are not pages yet
These are answerable today but too thin to carry a page. Each one is written as: official current state + where it comes from + checked date + when it changes.
Is Graveyard Keeper 2 a sequel, and do I need to play the first game?
Yes, it is the direct sequel to Graveyard Keeper (2018), from the same studio and publisher. The story stands on its own — you start as the newly appointed Grand Inquisitor, and no store listing requires the first game. If you want both, the Steam bundle The Grave Deal pairs them for less than the sequel alone as of 2026-09-23.
Is there a demo, and how far does it go?
There was. A free demo went live on 2026-09-14 for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, Switch and PC via Steam, and Gematsu confirmed that save data carries over to the full game. One status change to know: after the full game launched on 2026-09-22, the demo no longer appears on the Steam store page — checked 2026-09-23. Console demo listings were live during the launch window; availability there may vary by region.
Is there multiplayer or co-op?
No. Steam lists no multiplayer category, the Xbox listing says Single player, and PlayStation Store says 1 player — three independent fields agreeing, all checked 2026-09-23. There is community demand — a Steam thread titled MAKE IT MULTIPLAYER exists — but it carries no developer reply. A player request is not a plan.
How long is the game?
No official figure exists. The publisher has never published a playtime number and no credible measured sample exists yet, so this site gives you no hour count. A number goes in as soon as one exists.
Was generative AI used for the art?
The publisher's answer was an explicit denial. PC Gamer's 2026-04-11 report records the official line: you may not believe me, but we're not using the AI in Graveyard Keeper 2. The community dispute did not end there, and what is verifiable is the statement itself — nothing beyond it is treated as this site's conclusion.
What are polished bronze and faith in this game?
Both are real in-game systems, but neither has a first-party source we can cite yet. Third-party guides describe polished bronze as a technology rather than an item, and faith as a resource tied to weekly services — those descriptions are recorded, not endorsed, and numbers from the 2018 original are not carried over. Both get their own page once a checkable source exists.
Is there a map or a list of regions?
No verifiable region list exists in the sources collected so far. Official material carries no place-name index, and third-party guides do not agree closely enough to cross-check. Place names from the first game will not be used to fill this in; a map page waits until a checkable source appears.
Sources
Where every claim on this page comes from
Playing this week? Start from the facts
The launch discount is gone and the pre-order bonus is off the shelves — what is left is the game itself. Check the platform matrix before you pick a store.