How to Fish Wiki & Guides
How to Fish is the 1-4 player physics-based fishing & combat game that took over Steam in August 2026. This is an unofficial fan wiki built to answer the questions players actually search for: how to play How to Fish, where to find every weapon and boss fish, how co-op works, and whether How to Fish is coming to Xbox or PS5.
What Is How to Fish?
How to Fish is a co-op physics simulator from the two-person Swedish studio Dazed Games. The setup is simple: you and up to three friends crash your boat into a small, unfamiliar island after a night of drinking and boating. Stranded with nothing, the only way back home is to learn how to fish — and in How to Fish, "fishing" quickly turns into a chaotic loop of casting rods, wrestling oversized creatures out of the water, and finding increasingly ridiculous ways to turn them into cash.
The official description sums up the loop in one line: "Fish fish, kill fish, sell fish." You start with nothing but a rod. Every fish you land can be sold, and every dollar you earn goes toward better gear, sharper rods, and weapons — knives, brass knuckles, pistols, shotguns, SMGs, sniper rifles, dynamite, and eventually assault rifles — that turn fishing into a first-person shooter with fins. Along the way you take on quests, fight boss fish to unlock new islands, hunt for rare fish variants, land trick shots for bonus payouts, and gamble away your earnings for a chance at more.
Why How to Fish Blew Up
How to Fish is not a small indie release — it is one of the biggest Steam launches of 2026. The game sold over 1 million copies in its first two days and hit a peak of more than 340,000 concurrent players during launch week, briefly outpacing Palworld, Rust, and Apex Legends at their own peak numbers. At a launch price under $8, it's become a poster child for the "friendslop" trend: cheap, chaotic, physics-driven co-op games built to be played loud, with friends, over voice chat. That explosive growth is exactly why this wiki exists — a huge wave of new players is searching for How to Fish guides at once, and the official Steam page alone can't answer every "how do I unlock the next island" or "is How to Fish on Xbox" question.
Who Made How to Fish?
How to Fish comes from Dazed Games, a two-person independent studio based in Sweden. That's a remarkable detail given the game's launch numbers — a team that small landing over a million sales and a 340,000-player peak in a single week is one of the standout indie stories of 2026, and it's a big part of why the game has gotten so much press attention beyond its Steam page. Dazed Games continues to run its own official Discord, YouTube, TikTok, and X (Twitter) accounts directly (see our community page for links), which means patch notes and dev commentary tend to show up there first.
The Core Gameplay Loop
Every session of How to Fish, solo or in co-op, runs through the same basic loop. Once you understand it, every other guide on this wiki will make a lot more sense:
- Cast and reel. How to Fish uses physics-based rod and line mechanics rather than a simple button prompt, so landing a fish takes real timing.
- Kill it. Fish don't just get reeled in and banked — you finish them off with whatever tool or weapon you're carrying, and the method you use changes how much they're worth.
- Sell it. Cash goes toward gear, weapons, and boat/rod upgrades at the local shop.
- Take on quests and bosses. Defeating a boss fish or completing an island's quest line is how you unlock the next island.
- Push to the next island. Later islands introduce bigger, more dangerous creatures, better loot, and tougher bosses — and the loop repeats.
Screenshots
How to Fish: Quick Facts
| Developer / Publisher | Dazed Games (2-person indie studio, Sweden) |
|---|---|
| Release date | August 20, 2026 |
| Platforms | Windows PC via Steam (Steam Deck: Playable). No Xbox, PS5, or Switch version yet — console support is planned but undated. |
| Price | $7.99 USD list price; launched with a limited-time discount to roughly $4.95. Always confirm the current price on the Steam store page. |
| Players | 1-4 players, online co-op only (no split-screen, no local co-op, no crossplay) |
| Reviews | "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam, roughly 95% positive from 9,000+ reviews |
| Achievements | 28 Steam achievements |
| Languages | 16, including English, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Simplified & Traditional Chinese, with full audio in each |
Start Here If You're New
How to Play
Controls, the cast-and-reel basics, and what to do in your first ten minutes on the island.
Read the beginner guide →Weapons List
Every weapon in How to Fish, roughly what it costs, and which one to buy first.
See all weapons →Islands & Maps
How island progression works and what changes as you push further out.
View the islands guide →Multiplayer & Co-op
How to host a lobby, invite friends, and what crossplay actually supports.
Set up co-op →Full How to Fish Guide Index
Buy & Platforms
Is How to Fish on Xbox or PS5?
Not yet. As of this writing, How to Fish is available only on PC through Steam. Dazed Games has confirmed console versions are planned, but hasn't announced a platform or release date. See our Price & Platforms guide for the full breakdown, including system requirements and Steam Deck performance.
Common Questions
Is How to Fish multiplayer, or can I play solo?
Both. How to Fish supports solo play and 1-4 player online co-op, but there's no local split-screen or cross-platform play since the game is Steam-only. Full details are in the multiplayer guide.
How many islands does How to Fish have?
Five main island stops, each unlocked by progressing through quests and defeating that island's boss fish. See the islands guide for the full order.
Is How to Fish worth buying?
At its launch price and with "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews, most players say yes for a co-op session with friends. Read the full breakdown in our review & verdict.
How to Fish Wiki & Guides is an independent fan project. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Dazed Games or Valve Corporation. Game facts on this page are sourced from the official Steam store page and Dazed Games' own channels; prices, platform availability, and review scores change over time, so always confirm current details on Steam before purchasing.
Page last updated: 2026-08-27