We started working on Few Shall Return full time in November 2024. Back then we were hoping to release in August 2025. It's now almost a year later than we planned, but we're happy (and honestly a little relieved) to say that Few Shall Return is live in Early Access today.
Ballard Games is three people: Joul on marketing, Solomon on design, and Victor on tech. But this game is not just three people's work. Lauri, Sarah, Cliff, Jason, Jessica, and Ethan all contributed code, design, or ideas at different points along the way, and we want to thank them here.
Early Access isn't a finish line, it's a starting point. It means we've reached a place where we genuinely believe the game gives you enough to enjoy right now, and enough reason to stick around for what's coming.
It also means something else: Few Shall Return is bootstrapped and self-published. There's no publisher covering our costs behind the scenes. If you buy the game today, you're not just getting access, you're directly supporting three people trying to build something we care about full time. That matters more than we can fully express here, and we don't take it for granted.
Today's build includes everything from the demo, plus infinite maps and public matchmaking. On top of that, we've shipped a handful of fixes and improvements:
A new prediction algorithm that syncs projectiles much more smoothly across clients
A new pathfinding system for enemies, so they stop getting stuck behind walls or panicking in place
The Shrine has been rebuilt from the ground up
The Barrels Room has been rebuilt from the ground up
Fixed key hints not displaying correctly on Steam Deck
The last month has been consumed by everything that comes with launching Early Access, which meant our usual weekly updates took a back seat. That changes starting now. We're returning to our weekly cadence: every week, on Wednesday, an update goes out. Some weeks that'll be small bug fixes, other weeks it'll be bigger features.
We already have a near-term roadmap, but we'd rather build it with you than for you. Come find us on Discord and tell us what you want to see. It genuinely shapes what we prioritize.
Here's what we're aiming for over the next couple months:
Smarter, more challenging enemies
A full rework of the current boss and their mechanics
Redone weapon models
New animations for both main characters
Optional bots, for when you want to play without waiting on a full lobby
Beyond that, we're thinking bigger. New biomes to explore, new characters, new items and abilities, and possibly entirely new game modes down the line. Nothing there is locked in yet, which is exactly why your feedback now matters so much. The direction we take is still very much up for grabs.
This is Early Access in the truest sense. The game will keep changing, and we want you along for that ride. Thank you for reading this far, and thank you for considering Few Shall Return.
See you in the dungeon.
-- The Ballard Games Team (Joul, Solomon, Victor)
P.S. For most of development, this game didn't have its current name. We called it "DungeonDungeon" internally, and that codename is still scattered across our codebase and docs. Some habits stick.