Hello Duelists, and happy new year!
Welcome to our first developer status update of 2026! Since we haven't done one of these in a while, we've got quite a bit to talk about, so let's jump right in! Starting with the brand-new fighter we just announced earlier today!
The Rockstar Reaper of the Immortal Clan, Gritallica!
Gritallica joins the roster, ready to put on a show that will captivate your very soul!
Gritallica is all about getting up close and causing mayhem, and he sports one of the most unconventional movesets we've ever devised! His unique dash grants him very quick access to his aerial attacks from the ground, and his moves are chock-full of unique quirks in general. But above all else, his Souls are what drive his gameplan, letting him make use of all sorts of crazy status effects! From cancelling Special Moves, to disabling the opponent's jump, to even stopping time, his power can feel virtually endless in the right hands!
If you're the type of player who likes to overwhelm your opponent, craft wild and complex pressure sequences, or if you simply tend to gravitate to the oddballs in a roster, Gritallica might be the just the exact kind of dude you'll vibe with! The reaper arrives in Duels of Fortune on January 30th!
Working on Gritallica was incredibly fun for us, as we got to be more experimental than ever with our moveset design! Not everything we tried ended up sticking, but we think the things that stuck, REALLY stuck, and came together to create one of the most satisfying characters in the game to get good at. We can only hope that our love for this radical reaper will be shared by all of you!
Also coming in the next update will be a fairly large list of both universal and character-specific balance changes. There's a mix of buffs and nerfs, but the overall goal is just to make the game a bit healthier on the whole, so we hope our intentions will come through!
By the way, with Gritallica's release, our existing fighter roadmap is complete!
That's not to say he's the last fighter in the game, of course! We've got lots more planned before Duels of Fortune can fully release... So, let's talk about what's next!
Duels of Fortune in 2026
We won't beat around the bush here: 2025 did not go our way. We faced numerous delays due to real-life situations, communication issues, burnout, and just generally poor management on our part. Things were rough, and we did not handle it the best, resulting in a year consisting of only 2 new fighters and barely anything else. We appreciate the people who have been patient with us throughout that rocky year, but we also understand if you expected more from us.
That said, we've had a lot of talks about where to go from here, and we believe we're ready to spend 2026 making up for the shortcomings of last year, and getting everything in place for the final stretch of the game's development!
Of course, that all starts with new fighters! With our previous roadmap image completed, we're gonna need a new one... so, here it is!
That's right, this is it! There are only 5 fighters left after Gritallica! That includes not only the long-awaited mystery fighters "Chain" and "Devil", but 2 whole guest fighters as well, both from series that will be brand-new to Duels of Fortune! Not to mention, one final fighter that will be added with the full game release... Sorry, no info about this one! We're keeping them absolutely secret until the time comes!
The first of the guest fighters is planned to release sometime in the spring, and we've already begun doing some preliminary work on them. Mystery fighter "Chain" will be arriving next in the summer! After that, release windows are a bit up in the air, as we plan to shift more and more of our focus towards Story Mode throughout the year.
Yes, the first chapters of Story Mode will absolutely be coming out this year. No matter what, that is the one goal we refuse to compromise on, and we will do everything in our power to make it happen (even it means other things have to be delayed, but we hope not). We've kept you guys waiting too long, and more than that, we've kept ourselves waiting too long.
The writing for the story is roughly 90% done, barring any revisions we might make, and we have a fully-functional cutscene system (in fact, Gritallica's trailer cinematic was made using said cutscene system!), so we're very close to being ready to work on the mode proper. As we (hopefully) do more status updates throughout the year, we'll be sure to keep you guys posted on Story Mode's progress, and give you an idea of when you can expect the first batch of chapters to release!
In any case, as long as everything goes well, this year is gonna be a BIG one for Duels of Fortune! It really feels like we're closing in on the home stretch! We hope you're all excited to see what's in store!
Closing Thoughts
That's about all we have to say for this status update! We know it wasn't much, but we're choosing to hold a lot of our cards very close to our chest right now, especially in regards to Story Mode content. We want you guys to be surprised, after all! But hey, if you're itching for some crumbs of lore related to the main story, Gritallica's Lore Journal entry might sate you for at least a little while. ;)
Take care, everyone, and look forward to a bright and exciting year for Duels of Fortune! 'Til next time!
- Ben and Kaleb