WE ARE BACK: The Rebranding, The "Riot", and The Birth of Aethergate

Hello Aetherials (formerly Rifthunters),

It has been a long time since our last transmission. Too long. Today, we are breaking the silence to explain exactly what happened, where we are going, and why the game you knew as Riftbound is now evolving into something much bigger.

1. The Elephant in the Room: Why the Silence?

For a long time, development was paused. This wasn't because we lost passion—far from it. We ran into a significant legal hurdle.

We were hit with a trademark conflict regarding our previous name by Riot Games. As an indie studio, we faced a choice: spend our limited resources fighting a legal battle we couldn't afford, or take the hit, regroup, and evolve.

We chose to evolve.

We are proud to announce that Riftbound: Legacy of The Surge is officially dead. Welcome to Aethergate: Battle of Artefacts.

2. The New Direction: Extraction Roguelite

We didn't just change the name; we overhauled the core loop. We looked at what was fun (the looting, the risk) and leaned into it.

• The Hub (Sandbox): Your safe haven. Build, craft, and hoard your treasures here. Your base in the Hub is persistent and yours to design.

• The Fracture (Multiplayer): This is the new "Rift." When you enter a Fracture (Dedicated Server), you enter naked. Level 1. Zero items.

• The Goal: Scavenge weapons, build facilities on the fly, defeat the Fractured King, and extract with an Artefact (like the Necklace or the Cowboy Hat).

• The Stakes: If you extract, you keep the loot in your Hub. If you die, you lose everything you brought in.

3. Price Adjustment & Development Support

You will notice the price has increased from $10 to $19.99.

We want to be transparent about this. Development is expensive, and for a long time, we funded this out of our own pockets. The legal restructuring and the server costs took a toll. We are committed to finishing Aethergate regardless of sales, but your financial support allows us to work faster, hire help, and keep the dedicated servers running.

If you bought the game at the lower price, thank you for being an early believer. You keep full access. For new players, your purchase directly fuels the next update.

4. LIVE NOW: The 24/7 Dedicated Server

We are done with "hosting games on our own PCs." We have launched our first official 24/7 Dedicated Server: "The First Fracture."

You can join right now via the Fisherman NPC in the Hub. The server runs the new Extraction game mode. Go test your skills, try to kill the King, and see if you can make it out alive.

5. Patch Notes: The Rebirth Update

Comparison to our last v0.8.3 build, here is what has changed in the transition to Aethergate:

• New Narrative: The game is no longer about just "Rifts." It is about the Aether, the Surge, and the Artefacts.

• NPC Overhaul:

  • Lena (The Guide): Fully reworked tutorial dialogue to explain the new mechanics.

  • The Fisherman: Now acts as your server browser/gatekeeper for Multiplayer.

  • The Guardian: Added to the Wasteland entrance to explain the new "Extraction" rules.

  • The Drifter (New Quest NPC): A mysterious figure found in the Wasteland. Seek them out to unlock the Cowboy Hat artefact—your key to mastering the skies and fast-traveling via the Flying Ships.

• Visuals & UI: Rebranded logos, updated loading screens, and new UI elements to reflect the Aethergate theme.

• Mechanics:

  • Zero-Loadout Entry: Logic added to strip inventories when entering a Fracture (MP) and restore them upon successful extraction.

  • Artefacts: Implemented the Necklace of the Fractured King, Skeleton Ring, and Cowboy Hat with working abilities (Teleportation, Invisibility, Fast Travel).

• Fixes: Solved the "Game Over" loop issues and improved the First/Third person scrolling.

What’s Next?

We are currently optimizing the extraction timer and balancing the "Fractured King" boss fight. We are also recording professional voiceovers for the key NPCs to bring the lore to life.

Thank you for sticking with us through the legal storms and the silence. The Gate is open.

See you in the Fracture.

Sincerely, The Wicksitech Team