Last month, we asked you all a simple, but important question: “Should we remove Ink from Draw & Guess?”
Ink is a premium currency we introduced during the revamp of Draw & Guess in 2024 for cosmetic-only characters/skins. We did this in an effort to support the long-term health of the game so that we can continue to support new features and game modes.
This came at a cost; Draw & Guess was no longer a “buy once” game if you truly wanted to access “everything”, even if it was only cosmetics.
To be clear - this poll is not about scaling back development. In fact, the update coming in the next few weeks will be one of our largest feature updates yet (check this post if you haven’t seen the news!
https://drawandguess.com/2026-roadmap/ This release marks the start of a new content-focused set of updates for Draw & Guess, where we will shift our attention to the creation of brand new game modes, further improvements to existing systems, and continued investment into our networking stack, particularly for players in Asia.
Now for the results… 79% of players have voted to remove Ink! So what does that mean now?
For those who have previously acquired Ink, we will be giving away an exclusive skin that will never be obtainable again. Ink Master Wanderer will be released with this update, with three different colour variations based on the amount of Ink acquired. This includes Ink granted during the 2024 update, Steam/Mobile purchases, and competition prizes.
Tier 1: 350-850 Ink
Ink Master Wanderer (Bronze)
Tier 2: 851-1500 Ink
Ink Master Wanderer (Bronze)
Ink Master Wanderer (Silver)
Legacy Ink Badge
Tier 3: 1500+ Ink
Ink Master Wanderer (Bronze)
Ink Master Wanderer (Silver)
Ink Master Wanderer (Blue)
Legacy Ink Badge
Additionally, the in-game shop will be visible for three months for any players with at least 350 Ink, giving a final chance to spend any remaining currency.
The Ink Reward tiers are based on the amount purchased, not the amount held, so if you’ve been holding on to some ink, now is your chance to use it!
The Collection binder will completely replace our in-game character/skin Shop, where you will be able to fill up your binder with characters unlocked from various in-game challenges.
As you can see, some of these characters aren’t fully visible… While most characters will have their criteria visible on their card page, others are top secret, meaning you will have to work together as a community to figure out their unlock conditions!
We wanted to make sure these challenges would give players a reason to explore everything we have to offer in-game, but… as you can see from the “lv 1” text, we also wanted to provide meaningful progression after unlocking their favourite characters by creating a level system.
To make progression feel even juicier, we wanted to find ways to reward you and make the journey feel really good. So, as part of the Ink removal, both Artbooks and additional pages are now completely free to obtain. Better yet, each character has their own unique reward tracks, meaning you can earn up to 16 artbooks + additional pages.
We also wanted to tie in non-event skins as a reward for each character to show off their dedication. Scarlet, AL4N, and Zoe were actually missing non-event skins, so we’re adding three new skins to the game to make sure everyone has something fun to work towards from Day 1 of release.
With that said, we know there are some seriously dedicated Draw & Guess players out there, and we wanted to find a way to reward their effort without any FOMO.
For the most dedicated among you, we are introducing 16 all-new badges, each belonging to a specific character. We think this will be an epic way to show off your in-game dedication to your favourite character!
This update is centred around filling gaps - we want Draw & Guess to be a game that rewards and respects the time of players. By rewarding progression, enriching the community with profiles/social features, and giving more freedom of expression through artbooks/the public gallery, we think this puts us in a much more “complete” state than where we started all those years ago.
Our focus now is on expanding the game itself by introducing more game modes - we’ve heard tons of suggestions for the games you’d like to see, and have some great feedback on the poll we ran last year.
Draw & Guess has come a long way since its initial release in 2021 (does anyone remember our old lobby screen?!), and in that time, we have grown our team to help bring players the best possible experience.
With the next update, we will change the price of Draw & Guess to 4.99 USD/4.99 GBP/25 RMB.
We wanted to avoid a large price change to keep the game cheap/accessible to all players, especially since it’s best enjoyed when you can convince your friends to pick it up too!
This new price will allow us to continue creating new content for Draw & Guess for a long time to come, helping us invest in improved server architecture, create new game modes, and ensure we remain a “Buy once, get everything” game.
With this release, we will also be introducing player profiles, an in-game friend system, direct messaging, and a whole new way to create and share your art with other players through the new Artbook system!
To read more about these new features, check out our 2026 Roadmap blog post over here: https://drawandguess.com/2026-roadmap/
We are excited to enter this next era of Draw & Guess with all of you, and can’t wait to show off all of the things we have cooking in the background.