Once Human on PS5 and Xbox: link your account before August 25 without losing your characters

The countdown has begun: Once Human lands on PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on August 25, 2026, at 10:00 AM Pacific time, which is 7:00 PM in France. For Metas who already have characters on PC or mobile, the real deadline isn't that one: it's right now, because account linking needs to be sorted before launch day, not during it.

NetEase opened the early linking process with the 3.0.3 update on August 5. Once the operation is validated, progress syncs across PC, mobile and console: all you need to do is log in on August 25 to find your characters, your territory and your story progress. But the official note contains a warning worth reading twice: if the two accounts you're linking each have characters, one of them has to be overwritten, and the characters on the sacrificed account are lost for good.

Here is the exact procedure, the schedule for the next two weeks, and the mistakes that cost you dearly.

The schedule to remember before launch

Three deadlines shape the coming fortnight. They're announced in Pacific time, which shifts the reference points for a French player: in August, the gap with Paris is nine hours.

One nuance before you book a day off: the French PlayStation Store listing instead states August 25 at 6:00 PM UTC, i.e. 8:00 PM in Paris. Treat it as a window, not an exact minute.

The most concrete practical consequence is the Battle Pass. That's indeed the term used in the French client, which keeps the English name for this progression currency, as shown by items like the “Battle Pass EXP Card” or “Battle Pass: Premium Edition.” Yours expires during the August 24 maintenance: if you're going for the final tiers, you have two weekends left, not three.

Linking your account from PC or mobile: the procedure

This is the method recommended by the publisher, and the safest one, since it can be done calmly on the platform where your main character is located. It comes down to three steps.

• First log in on the version where you have your characters, PC or mobile. Not the one where you have nothing: it's the starting account that matters.
• On PC, open the game settings, go to the “Account” section, then to the account linking entry (Link Account).
• On mobile, the path also goes through settings, but the linking entry is at the very bottom of the interface.
• Follow the instructions through to the confirmation message. Until you see that message, assume nothing has been done.

The English labels are given in parentheses because Once Human's update notes have no longer been translated into French since 2025: the official site's language selector now only offers English, Japanese, Korean and Traditional Chinese. The client itself remains properly localized in French, and the console version will be too.

The point of order that matters: link your accounts before your first connection to the console version. This is explicitly the publisher's recommendation, and it saves you from the scenario described just below.

The irreversible trap: two accounts that already have characters

This is the passage in patch note 3.0.3 that should be printed in bold red. If, at the moment of linking, the system finds that both pre-linked accounts each have characters, no merge is possible. You have to choose which of the two overwrites the other, and all characters on the overwritten account are abandoned. No going back, no restoration.

The typical case is far from theoretical: a PC player who also tinkered around for two hours on mobile during a commute, or a tester from the June console beta who had created a character on the spot.

The workaround fits in one sentence: if you care about the characters on both sides, don't link those two accounts together. Switch to a fresh account or create a new one before starting the process. And before confirming, take stock: how many characters on each account, in which scenario, on which territory. The day the game asks you to decide, it's too late to go check.

The other method: link directly on first console launch

If you didn't plan ahead, linking is still possible from the console, but the window is narrow. The FAQ published for the open beta describes the steps: after downloading the game and logging in on console, but before creating a single character, use the account linking button located in the top right corner of the screen to attach your existing account.

Order is everything: create a character first, and you end up with a standalone console account, without your belongings. On a launch night, that's exactly the kind of reflex that comes back to bite you. Hence the value of sorting everything out this weekend from PC.

What cross-progression actually covers

Once linking is confirmed, the publisher announces full progression syncing between PC, mobile, and console. Cross-play is included from day one, which wasn't the case during the beta: PlayStation and Xbox testers shared servers with each other, but remained cut off from PC and mobile players. That barrier comes down on August 25.

In practice, you'll be able to finish on the couch a scenario started on keyboard, and your squad will remain playable regardless of everyone's platform.

June open beta: what awaits you at launch

Metas who went through the console beta from June 17 to July 9 went through a wipe, but not a total one. According to the official FAQ, three things were kept for launch: all Protochrome earned (the Starchrom of the English patch notes), all cosmetics and outfits obtained, and up to six captured Anomalies. A vocabulary reminder, since confusion keeps coming back in French-language guides: the French client does say Anomalies, never « Déviants » nor « Déviations », even when an auto-translated store listing claims otherwise.

Another reward pending: players who reached level 20 during the beta are entitled to an outfit selection box and a weapon appearance selection box, delivered after the official launch of the console version. These rewards will land on the account your PlayStation or Xbox profile is linked to: one more reason to make sure the link points to the right account before the 25th.

Pre-order packs: content, price, and translation pitfalls

The game is free, and no purchase is required to access it: both bundles contain only convenience items and cosmetics. On the French PlayStation Store, the Starter Pack is listed at €11.99 and the Radiance Pack at €17.99.

• Starter Pack: one month of META PASS with 300 Crystgin credited immediately, three Midnight Rave weapon skins, a Black Gold Butterfly Cradle skin, a Lively Blue Wish Machine skin, plus a platform-exclusive business card and theme.
• Radiance Pack: one month of META PASS, an epic set selection box, the Premium Battle Pass, two Lightforge Ingots, and an exclusive avatar frame.

Be careful when reading the French storefront listings: they are machine-translated and diverge from the client. The Lightforge Ingot is called "Lingot Luminis" there, whereas the item is called Lightforge Ingot in-game. Cosmetic names are also retranslated on the fly there ("Rave de minuit," "Gai Bleu"): these are not the labels you'll see in your inventory. When in doubt, trust the client, not the storefront.

Console settings: Quality, Performance, and first-person view

Two graphics modes have been announced: a Quality mode at 4K and 60 frames per second, and a Performance mode targeting 120 frames per second. On a game where territory sieges and RaidZone clashes pile on the effects, the latter deserves a try before settling on the former.

One point many articles get wrong: first-person view is not a console exclusive. It arrived on PC with version 3.0.1 in July 2026, and switching between first and third person can be done freely at any time. The console version inherits it; it doesn't invent it.

On the hardware side: PS5 and PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC. The game is localized in French, as it was during the testing phase.

The checklist to tick off this weekend

None of this takes a quarter of an hour, but it's all better handled now than in the rush of the evening of August 25.

• Take stock of your accounts: PC, mobile, and any account created during the console beta. Note where your characters are.
• Link the right account from PC or mobile, and wait for the confirmation message.
• Never link two accounts that each have characters if you care about both: go through a blank account instead.
• Finish your Battle Pass before the August 24 maintenance, it will not be extended.
• Complete Block Adventure before August 23 if you're still after its rewards.

The real stake of August 25, for a veteran, isn't the controller: it's about not losing anything along the way. A properly done link-up today is worth more than a launch evening spent writing to support.