This roadmap is deprecated.
A new one will be published soon.
In short: Early Access has been canceled. The game will be fully released on January 2026.
Keeping the old Roadmap for archive.
Hello there!
It's time for another progress update and while at it, I think it'll be best if I share the development roadmap of this game.
First, the actual roadmap and then a bit details about it plus some details about levels 5&6 and the upcoming level 7.
Let's jump right into it and then I'll elaborate a bit.
Mid August 2025 - Build 0.70 of the demo and the beta. It will include:
Level 7 (beta only).
More engine enhancements.
Some minor bugfixes.
Mid September 2025 - Still on build 0.7x.
More features.
Polishing.
Groundwork for the custom chapters.
Mid October 2025 - Early Access.
A well polished version 0.7x.
Levels 1 to 7.
Some fun custom chapters based on levels 1 to 7 locations and characters.
Christmas 2025 - Full Release.
Once the early access is up, I'm planning to drop a new chapter when ready until chapter (level) 10. Being very optimistic, hoping to fixating the engine itself already on version 0.7x, I'm planing on official release (version 1.00) on late December, around Christmas or somewhere around Q1 2026 as early as possible.
OK, now let's go into details.
This will be my next major milestone after the demo and the Next Fest.
Warning: I'm going to sound more blunt/honest and less professional on this one.
Let's do it in the form of a Q and A.
Q: Why early access?
A: For the same reason early access exists. I want feedback and I need feedback. Feedback I'll get during the EA period will help me understand what should I fix, what should I add and where can I improve before the actual release.
Q: Do you think it's a good idea?
A: I honestly don't know. On one hand, I hear a lot of people telling me not to do it, at least with a game like mine which is story based, linear and not a sandbox game. On the other hand, almost all newer games I've played went though an EA period. I was (and still) playing some old games of course, but it appears every new title, whether coming from a large company or a solo indie developer like me, went through EA at some point.
Looking back now, I went to Next Fest too early. I wish I went to Next Fest with the current demo version 0.60 or the upcoming 0.70. It is way more fun and way more polished than what I had back then.
On the other hand, have I not done that, I may not have been where I am now. I did receive feedback for that version and I am applying most of that feedback even today.
Q: How long will the game be in early access?
A: Rough estimation - between 2.5 to 5 months. It depends on the feedback I'll get but the idea is to work on levels 8, 9 and 10 with the EA feedback in mind, and not "write a completely new game" based on the feedback. I mean, all feedback are welcome but not all feedback I will be able to apply to this specific game. Maybe on the next one...
So depending on the "traffic", I may find myself quickly finishing chapters 8, 9 and 10 and just go for full release, or in case of some fun ideas or important feedback, I may prolong it a bit, but no more than a just bit.
Eventually this game's scope is what you see engine-wise, 10 chapters (levels) and some custom chapters to keep you playing after finishing the story. Once that's done - it's version 1.00 full release.
Q: What is the scope of the early access?
A: The scope of the early access will start with levels 1 to 7, the characters of levels 1 to 7 (which is most of the characters of the game), the 4 locations appearing in levels 1 to 7 and the ability to create some fun custom chapters with what you have.
Then, each new chapter will be added to the early access in form of a new level and for chapters 8 and 9 - a new location (one for each).
Chapter 10 should be the actual release.
I think some of these questions will appear in the early access section of the game in a couple of months from now.
The release date is now set to Q4.
Q4 stands for:
The early access release in the beginning of Q4 (October).
Hopingly go full release on the end of Q4 (around Christmas).
As written above, the full release might get delayed but not by too long.
Chapter V brings forward the 3rd location of the game. Another castle.
I don't want to give too much details about the story so that I won't make too many spoilers.
It has some surprises, and like level 1, it is half stealth, half action.
The stealth promo video as currently seen here on Steam and in my YouTube channel was taken in chapter 5.
Chapter VI brings forward the 4th location of the game and this time - it is not a castle but something completely different.
It also introduces another game mode called "Horde Mode Deathmatch".
It is mostly action based with a section of stealth/exploration in it.
The whole chapter is accompanied by a fierce sidekick: "Deidre the Berserker Princess", voice by a special guest star: Kukielle.
If you are into dark-pop (or even if not), please check out her music:
Build 0.7x is mentioned a lot above. There is a reason for that. It's the next milestone.
The plan is going early access with a fun, polished build so from the release of 0.70 (about a week and a half from now) until the early access release, it is just polishing and adding as many cool features as I can.
The beta (and later the early access of course) of 0.7x will contain level 7.
Without giving away too many spoilers, it will happen in the same castle (different section) as in level 5 (which is the 3rd location of the game).
It has a fun long intro, some action and lots of exploration in it.
Screenshots - when I'm done.
But that's not all!
Just like I've added some fun stealth elements to the game on build 0.6x (when saying fun - I saw my friends getting a kick out of that version), I'm working on some fun feature(s) as we speak. No spoilers. Show-off promo video soon.
I think that's it.
If you read this far - I cannot thank you enough! Appreciated!
Cheers!