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The Superyacht That Put the Crew in the Main Saloon—and the Laboratory in the Beach Club
Written by
Emily Gibbins-McBride
A superyacht's grandest space is usually reserved for its owners. Aboard Leviathan, it belongs to everyone. Delivered by Dutch builder Oceanco in 2025, the 111-metre superyacht dismantles one of the industry's oldest hierarchies, folding crew and guests into the same rooms, the same routines, and the same sense of purpose.
A Vessel Built for Something Bigger
Pleasure was never the whole brief. Built to serve owner Gabe Newell's Inkfish initiative, Leviathan doubles as a working platform for marine science and ocean exploration. The deck once destined for a beach club now houses a dive centre, a research laboratory, a 3D-printing workshop and even an onboard hospital—arguably the most consequential square footage on the entire yacht, repurposed from lounging to a crucial workspace.
No More Main Saloon
Nowhere is that rethink more visible than at the yacht's centre. The room that would normally be a formal main saloon has become a single, sprawling dining hall for guests and crew eating side by side rather than in separate worlds. It's a plan drawn up with as much input from those who run the ship day to day as from the man who owns it, prioritising teamwork and comfort over any sense of occasion.
Built to Wear, Not Just to Impress
The interiors favour durable, low-maintenance materials over anything too precious—surfaces built to take daily wear rather than be constantly maintained, with glass, honed stone and natural light filling most of the visual role decoration usually plays. On the bridge deck, that restraint gives way to something more playful: 15 gaming stations and two racing simulators, a nod to Newell's background in the games industry.
Further back, the atmosphere shifts again. A pool sits at the centre of the aft deck, bordered by low, informal seating. An outdoor cinema is set into the tiered seating nearby, ready for a film, a live broadcast, or simply an evening spent watching the water.
Few yachts this size manage to feel both scientific and lived-in. Leviathan does, because she was built around the people who actually spend their days aboard her — designed to be enjoyed, not simply to impress.
What makes Leviathan so unique is the way she came to life. From the very start, we knew nothing about her would be done in a traditional way.
Marcel Onkenhout