Draw & Guess has come a long way since its initial release just 5 years ago, with new game modes, a complete visual overhaul, a built-in wordlist browser, match history to review previous games, and the introduction of many beloved characters.
2026 is set to be our most exciting year yet, and to celebrate the start of the Spring Festival, we want to share some of the plans we have for the first half of the year ahead.
Since the release of the visual update, we’ve seen a huge amount of love and support for the characters we’ve introduced to Draw & Guess (we see you Night Lynx Theo fans), though this does come with a caveat: while characters/skins are occasionally earnable from in-game quests during holiday events, they otherwise require in-game purchases of Ink to obtain.
Our plan with this system was to provide long-term sustainability for Draw & Guess so we can continue to deliver new content without the risk of downsizing our team.
This brings us to 2026 - as gamers ourselves, we love games that respect players’ time. The feeling of progression within games just feels good, but the idea of us adding a secondary currency to Draw & Guess feels bad.
So, we want to give you the players the decision on whether you would like to see ALL microtransactions removed from Draw & Guess forever.
If approved, all paid characters would instead be unlocked via visible and hidden achievements. Some characters will be unlocked by reaching certain in-game milestones, while others will be top secret, creating treasure hunts within the community to discover how to complete their character roster.
As you play games as your favourite character, you would be able to earn in-game goodies, including a unique skin and badge for that character. Additionally, seasonal skins (e.g Halloween, Christmas, Spring Festival etc) will be earnable for free during those periods.
This option would also have us completely remove the Shop from Draw & Guess and replace it with a whole new “Collection” page. We’d also remove the ability to gift skins to other players.
Players who have already purchased Ink will keep any characters/skins they have earned, as well as receive an exclusive skin that will not be obtainable in the future, with additional colour variants based on the amount of Ink they have previously purchased as a thank you for their support.
Our priority is to make the best game possible, not the most profitable game possible. In 1line with our values, both as gamers ourselves, and as developers, we want to give you the choice in how we build on Draw & Guess going forward.
Thus, the decision to remove Ink/MTX is entirely yours. With the release of the Spring Festival event, we will also be launching an in-game poll for you to cast your vote on the future of Draw & Guess, with the poll closing at the end of the event.
While we are running this poll, we wanted to avoid offering another Spring Festival Bundle; however, we still want to keep up with our trend of offering an exclusive skin specific to the zodiac year.
In light of this, we will be making all 2026 spring festival skins completely free and earnable during the event.
In either case of the poll result, Snake Spirit Tomoko will remain unobtainable indefinitely, as promised last year.
You’ve been asking us for more ways to express yourself in-game, as well as a way to keep track of the friends you’ve met throughout your time playing.
We’ve listened, and have been cooking up something that takes all of this to the next level, and we’ll be rolling it out shortly after the end of the Spring Festival.
Player expression, especially in a game about… drawing, is an area we want to double down on, by giving more meaningful tools to players to truly customise the way they appear to the rest of the community.
Profiles will feature a short bio area, a choice of any image from your sketchbook, and a badge display for all of the epic achievements you’ve earned throughout your journey.
As part of Profiles, we will also be introducing Artbooks. These are special additions to your Profile that you can acquire either from Ink, or, if the vote for Ink removal passes, will be earned in-game.
Your work will be displayed under the “Artbook” tab on your Profile, with each Artbook having its own unique name, custom cover image, and even a like counter for any visitors.
Each artbook will come with a set number of pages, with you being able to earn additional pages either with Ink, or again, if the Ink removal poll passes, earned as you progress in-game.
But we’re not stopping there! We’re also creating a new public browser for Artbooks called Gallery, where you can browse new and popular Artbooks created by the community, and maybe even dish out some unique rewards.
A full friends system has been something we’ve wanted to adopt in Draw & Guess for some time now, but we didn’t want to rush out a feature that doesn’t give you everything you’ve been asking for.
Alongside Player Profiles and Artbooks, we will also be releasing our fully fledged friends feature as part of the post-Spring Festival update.
You will soon be able to add the friends you already know, and maybe make a few new ones along the way!
The Friends feature will also be released with direct messaging on launch, so you can coordinate your next game without wondering whether your friends are in-game for the next 3 minutes or the next 30.
Our social features will also include a set of safety and moderation tools, allowing you to report and block other players.
Later this year, we will also be introducing a brand new game mode available for free for all players. We’re not ready to go into the full details on this post, but expect more information in the coming months!
Since its initial release in 2021, Draw & Guess has been available for just a couple of dollars in most regions. After 4 years of constant updates and late nights behind the scenes, we feel it’s finally time for a small price bump so we can keep building the game with the care it deserves. We still want Draw & Guess to be easy to pick up for you and your friends, so we’re keeping the increase modest and fair across regions. If you already own Draw & Guess, nothing changes for you, and we’ll give a clear heads-up before the price change goes live.
Our goal for 2026 is to make Draw & Guess feel more personal, more social, and more rewarding than ever, and we can’t wait to show you what else is in store!