Hey Puzzlers,
after an awesome launch yesterday, we want to share a bit more about what we have in store for Puzzling Places on Steam after launch (spoiler: plenty of puzzles, a new headset, and an exclusive new tool!).
From the early days of our first prototype, one of our core guiding principles has been: ship a solid first version and then listen to our players about what they would like to see next. Most of the time, the answer was more puzzles! But beyond content, Puzzling Places has grown quite a bit since its initial release for Meta Quest in 2021. We’ve added features like multiplayer and mixed reality, new game and interaction modes and, of course, tons of smaller tweaks, improvements, and quality-of-life features based on diverse player feedback.
But the real stars of the game have always been our puzzles! For over four years now, we’ve been releasing at least one new Puzzle Pack every single month, building up a library of over 320 individual puzzles! And we are still getting better: more little stories, more detailed soundscapes, new dynamic effects like day-night cycles, animated characters, custom music—and even pettable cats. We plan to bring all of that and more to Steam over time, and keep surprising and delighting you with new ideas and new places. All to make sure there will always be a fun new puzzle waiting for you!
So buckle up and join us for a look at what’s ahead!
In May, we will bring a first set of additional puzzles to Steam. They will be available both as individual Puzzle Pack DLCs, as on other platforms, as well as in a special bundle for Steam. As porting existing Puzzle Packs to Steam takes time, we’ll start by focusing on the highest-rated, all-time favorites and add the rest of the library over time.
Starting in June, the Steam version of Puzzling Places will receive the same monthly updates as other platforms. This includes Monthly Puzzle Packs, claimable free puzzles like the Holiday Specials, as well as feature updates and improvements.
Want to make your own puzzles? Soon you can, with our Puzzle Maker tool! You’ll be able to turn compatible 3D scans into puzzles, load them into Puzzling Places, share them with other players through the Steam Workshop, and piece together the creations of fellow puzzlers. This is something we’ve been working on for quite a long time, and it will be exclusive to the Steam version for now. We are already incredibly excited to play your puzzles!
We are just as excited as you about Valve’s new VR headset and are already working on a version optimized for Steam Frame. While we don’t know exactly when it will be released, we do plan to have Puzzling Places ready for it on day one.
Our big goal for the end of this year is to achieve content parity with all other platforms. Making our entire puzzle library available on Steam will require quite a bit of porting work, so this will take some time. We are planning to release Puzzle Packs in batches throughout the year, also making them available in larger bundles.
These are the major milestones we can share for now. They mainly focus on content and major features like Puzzle Maker and Steam Frame support—and that’s on purpose. We want to leave enough room to react to your feedback. Since the launch of our first prototype in 2020, our approach has always been: start with a polished first version and then listen to our players about what they would like to see next.
Happy puzzling & all the best,
Daniel and the Puzzling Places Team