We're already halfway through July, and honestly? Seeing how many of you are counting down the days for the update has been incredible. Quick clarification before we dive in though: this is a devlog, not the update itself!
But... mark your calendars, because after a long wait, we can officially confirm the release date is October 30th, 2026 - Leaf it Alone's 1st anniversary. Circle it, count down to it, we're just as hyped as you are! 😎 We've been sitting on this date for a while, and it feels good to finally say it out loud. October 30th isn't just a release day for us - it's the day this whole thing started. And it feels worth saying there's no publisher nor any big corporation behind Leaf it Alone. It's just us, a small team that only formed last year! Getting to hand you a free update on our own anniversary means more to us than we can really put into words 🎉
The Castle map is shaping up to be a little bit different from what you're used to. Alongside the usual leaf collecting, we're adding a handful of small activities scattered around the map. Think of them as little breathers - moments where you can put the rake down for a minute and do something else, before going back to clean up more leaves.
We're not ready to show off everything yet (some of it we'd rather you discover in-game), but here's a peek at two activities we can talk about right now!
Following up the passive simulation performance enhancements from the first devlog, we took our time to inspect what could be improved when interacting with a large number of leaves simultaneously. To our surprise, quite a lot! It's difficult to provide consistent framerate comparisons, due to the nature of what's being optimized, but blowing all Greenhouse leaves through the Maze to its inlet doesn't scare us to death anymore! At least with the minimum hardware requirements being met 😅 It's important to provide this, not only because it will enable more people to fully enjoy the basic game experience, but also because of the upcoming Custom Mode and all areas being accessible from the start along with the tools.
On top of that, an honorable mention goes to the initial asset loading being revised as well, speeding up the game booting time, which the result of will also strongly depend on the individual gaming setup.
That's it for now! October 30th is on the calendar, and we can't wait to get this into your hands. To mark the occasion, Leaf it Alone is 35% off starting today - the biggest discount we've ever done! So if you haven't picked up Leaf it Alone yet (or know someone who's been on the fence) there's never been a better time to jump in! Thanks for sticking with us and see you in the next one! 😊