The Long Dark is about to end its long journey through Xbox's Game Preview program. As one of the first games to take part in Microsoft's early access program for Xbox One games, The Long Dark has been in development and available to preview since E3 2015. Now it's ready to leave its preview mode and launch version 1.0 in August.

On August 1, The Long Dark will ship the first two episodes of the game's story mode, called Wintermute. From Xbox Wire:

Wintermute is the story of bush pilot Will Mackenzie, and Dr. Astrid Greenwood, whose plane crashes in the middle of the Northern Canadian wilderness, in the aftermath of a mysterious geomagnetic event. Separated in the crash, Mackenzie and Astrid must find each other, while avoiding the hazards of a savage winter wilderness, and seeking explanations to this new "quiet apocalypse" they find themselves in. Who can they trust? How far will they go to survive? These are questions that you, the player, will help answer.

So far, those taking part in the Game Preview early access program have only been able to try out The Long Dark's survival mode, which will, of course, continue to be available once version 1.0 ships. In it, you'll be able to take a shot at surviving in the wilderness of The Long Dark's sandbox, hunting, trapping, gathering and more while trying not to die at the hands of predators or mother nature.

If you enjoy the challenge presented by open-ended survival games, then The Long Dark might be worth a look. While it's still in Game Preview, you can try The Long Dark for free or pick it up for $20. Also be sure to check out our beginner's guide to The Long Dark for a closer look at what the game offers.