End of Abyss has two endings. Finish the normal ending, then carry all 8 Data Shards to the Mainframe on B3 and beat the final boss again.
End of Abyss Endings: Normal and Secret Routes
End of Abyss has two endings, and both fit on one save file. The normal ending is automatic: finish the main story and beat the Fractured Being. For the secret ending, go back to the main menu after the credits, press Continue to reload the safe room before the final boss, carry all 8 Data Shards to the Mainframe on B3 of the Lower Levels, and defeat the final boss a second time.
| Ending | Trophy / achievement | What triggers it | Unlock rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | You Did It (Gold) | Finish the main story | 0.2% PS, 0.6% Epic |
| Secret | The End (Gold) | All 8 Data Shards handed in at the Mainframe on B3, then beat the final boss again | 0.1% on both lists |
Rates were read on October 3, 2026, two days after launch, from Epic's official achievement page and PSNProfiles; Epic hides The End behind a spoiler screen, so treat both numbers as launch-week snapshots.
Official source: End of Abyss achievements on the Epic Games Store — "You Did It: Complete the game - Normal Ending" and the hidden counterpart "The End: Complete the game - Secret Ending."
The normal ending: finish the story, nothing else
Nothing optional gates the first ending. Play the critical path to the end, kill the Fractured Being in the Lower Levels, and the normal ending plays. There is no shard count, no keycard and no side objective attached to it — the boss reference lists Fractured Being as the seventh and last story boss, and its table says what it drops: nothing, "it ends the run."
Two trophies ride along with that clear. Refractured ("Defeat Fractured Being") sat at 0.2% on PSNProfiles when read, and the story also walks you through the Mainframe terminal on B3 — the Unknown Signal objective leads there and its Release Protocol switches come right after — which is what the bronze Mainframe Restored tracks, with the official condition "Reboot the System Protocols" at 0.3%. Both are story-adjacent, not collectible hunts.
After the credits the game returns you to the main menu. There is no post-credits free roam on that screen; everything left to do is reached the way the secret ending is reached: press Continue. The full B3 approach, including the two Release Protocol switches and the Utility Tunnels Key on B4, is in the SCU and central elevator guide.
The secret ending: the exact route
The 100% Guides trophy roadmap spells the sequence out, and every step of it is repeatable on the same save:
- Finish the main story first and watch the normal ending. You Did It pops here.
- At the main menu, press Continue. That drops you at your last autosave — the last safe room you rested in before the final boss, not the start of the game.
- Collect all 8 Data Shards. None of them is missable; every shard can be picked up after the credits.
- Carry the full set to the Mainframe on B3 of the Lower Levels and hand it in. A partial set does nothing.
- Defeat the final boss again. The End pops, and the secret ending plays.
The 100% Guides warning is explicit: do not pick up all 8 Data Shards before the normal ending — if the secret ending fires first, You Did It is locked out on that save, and the normal ending becomes a second run. Their estimate for that recovery run is under 2 hours.
Official source: End of Abyss True Ending Guide — 100% Guides — "take them to the Mainframe in Lower Levels > B3, then defeat the final boss again."
The 8 Data Shards: floors and what gates each one
The Logbook numbers them DA-001 through DA-008, and the floors below match both the in-game Logbook and the two published shard routes. Full walkthrough steps for each are in the Logbook guide and GameRant's shard list; what matters here is the gate in front of each.
| Shard | Floor | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| DA-001 | Lower Levels F1 | Incinerator — burn the growth blocking the hall |
| DA-002 | Habitation Sector F1 | Explosive Charge, Security Guard Keycard, Security Chief Keycard |
| DA-003 | Ventilation Tunnels F3 | Explosive Charge, Grappling Hook, Ventilation Maintenance Key |
| DA-004 | Factory West F4 | Executive Level Access Keycard from Outer Sector B2 |
| DA-005 | Reactor B1 | Grappling Hook, the Waterworks drain chain, Underbelly Key |
| DA-006 | Waterworks B3 | Sewer Workshop Key |
| DA-007 | Containment Sector F3 | Explosive Charge, Storage Room Key |
| DA-008 | Lower Levels B4 | Incinerator — burn the wall in the tunnels below B3 |
Three tools do most of the gating: the Explosive Charges, the Grappling Hook and the Incinerator. All three arrive on the story path, but the Incinerator lands very late — it sits in the corridor after the three SCU overrides and the central elevator, near the end of the game — which is the real reason shard sweeps belong after the credits rather than during a first run. Sector and floor reference if a floor code does not ring a bell.
All 8 shards also double as the Defragmented trophy and one quarter of Completionist, so the secret-ending trip is the same trip as the collectible sweep — hand in the set once and both the ending and the tally resolve together.
What the two endings actually show
Trigger conditions are documented; content is not. Bloody Disgusting's reviewer was "a little disappointed with the vagueness of the standard narrative conclusion," and IGN's larger complaint was timing — the plot only "started to gain momentum" in "the back third" of a roughly 10-hour campaign. No review or official page we could reach describes what the secret ending depicts differently beyond it being a second, separate clear with its own achievement. Anyone claiming to know what the alternate cutscene shows is past the verified record — the same conclusion the story and Cel page reaches about the whole narrative.
One save, both endings, no New Game+
There is no New Game+ — GamingTrend confirms it and the how long to beat page covers what a replay carries over (route knowledge, nothing else). So the efficient order is the only order:
- Play to the credits; scan and grab what you pass, but leave the shard hand-in for later.
- Main menu, Continue, reload the pre-boss safe room.
- Sweep the 8 shards, walk to the Mainframe on B3, hand in the set.
- Beat the Fractured Being again for The End.
- Clean up the rest of the checklist on the same save — nothing else in the game is missable except activating Logbook codes before the Cryptograph, which is a trophy problem rather than an ending problem, documented in the trophies and achievements guide.
Budget 15 to 20 hours for that full arc including the platinum sweep; the endings themselves take a fraction of it, because the second clear is one shuttle ride, one collectible route and one boss rematch away from the first.
FAQ
Do I need two playthroughs for both End of Abyss endings? No. One save covers both: finish the normal ending, press Continue at the main menu, hand in all 8 Data Shards at the Mainframe on B3, and beat the final boss again.
Can I get the secret ending first? You can, and you should not. Getting the secret ending before the normal one locks You Did It out of that save — the normal ending has to come first, per the 100% Guides trophy roadmap.
Are the Data Shards missable? No. None of the 8 is missable; every one can be collected after the credits on the same save. The only gated part is having the Incinerator, Grappling Hook and Explosive Charges, all of which the story gives you.
Do I need all 8 Data Shards, or will a partial set work? All 8, handed in together at the Mainframe on B3 of the Lower Levels. A partial set does nothing.
What is the final boss in End of Abyss? The Fractured Being, the seventh story boss, north of the Neural Chamber in the Lower Levels. The secret ending route asks you to beat it a second time after the shard hand-in.
Is there a New Game+ after the endings? No. As of the October 2026 launch build there is no New Game+ and no documented difficulty selector; a second run carries nothing over.
Related Guides
- End of Abyss Logbook: Notes, Data Shards, Codes, Creatures — per-shard walkthrough steps for the DA-001 to DA-008 sweep.
- End of Abyss Trophies and Achievements: The Rarest Ones Ranked — You Did It and The End in the full rarity table, plus the one missable to avoid.
- End of Abyss Bosses: All 7 Named Bosses, Where to Find Them — the Fractured Being approach and what each boss drops.
- End of Abyss Map and Areas: Every Sector and Floor — floor codes for every shard, and where the Mainframe sits.
- End of Abyss 3 SCUs and Central Elevator: The Full Progression Order — the B3 Mainframe route and the Release Protocol switches.
More End of Abyss Guides
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Where all 7 End of Abyss shuttle stations are, which sectors each one links, and why the shuttle network still cannot reach every area in the facility.
End of Abyss is a short descent: about 10-13 hours for the story, and considerably more to fill the Logbook, every Vault and every weapon to max.
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Where the Janitor Key sits in the Habitation Sector, which doors it opens, and the Energy Cell on F2 gated behind it and the Block A key.
Every End of Abyss area and floor in one table: Outer Sector, Habitation, Factory East and West, Waterworks, Containment Sector, Lower Levels.
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End of Abyss PC is Epic Games Store only. How to install and run it, which settings actually exist, and the answer on co-op and Steam.