EDIT 2024.09: We have updated the road map to reflect all the latest developments like the Steam release. Please see the Timeline section for a nice road map infographic!

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Last year, we shared a roadmap with you, but since then, we’ve gained more wisdom and experience. For many of us, this is our first Early Access game, so the learning curve has been steep. But now, we know better.

At a high level, I believe we’re delivering well on our promises, with one exception: time.

In our original post, we aimed to release an update every two months. That expectation turned out to be off, but for reasons that might surprise you—they certainly surprised us. It wasn’t about us working slower than anticipated. Instead, we realized that our fans wanted substantial reasons to dive back into the game. We considered smaller updates, such as adding a new weapon or a Vault, as not compelling enough to warrant extended play sessions. As a result, we calibrated our updates to be larger in scope, like our recent one, which introduced a whole new region and significant features like Prophecies and Fallen Preyers.

Additionally, we didn’t fully account for the post-release support period. Bug fixes, player feedback adjustments, balance tweaks, and Quality of Life improvements all take time. For instance, we released the Ghost Galleon update on April 4th, but the final patch for it wasn’t out until May 9th—a full month of support. We’re committed to keeping the game clean and polished, but that requires time.

Where We Stand Today: Content Recap

Let’s recap our current progress:

Regions:

• Irongate Castle (already in the game)
• Scarlet Coast (already in the game)
• Island of the Damned (already in the game)
• [Redacted] (75% finished)
• [Redacted] (5% finished)
• Witch Mountain (15% finished)

There’s also a small map called Hermitorium (75% finished), which serves as your hideout. However, it’s too small to be classified as a “region.”

Anyway, as you can see, we’re more than halfway through. Half of the regions are already in the game, and another one—our biggest yet—is nearing completion. We’ve selected concepts for the final region, and we have a clear vision for Witch Mountain, with top men working on it. Top. Men.

Progress on Promised Features

Here’s a comparison of what we promised in October 2023 versus what’s currently in the game:

• Bosses: At least 6 – Currently: 3.
• Enemy Types: At least 46 – Currently: 39.
• Weapons: At least 31 – Currently: 16.
• Magical Items: At least 24 – Currently: 19.
• Spells: At least 20 – Currently: 15.

We’re on track with bosses and weapons (we’re about halfway through), but we’ve surpassed expectations with everything else. However, this doesn’t mean we’re close to being done with these features. We may already have 41 enemy types, but we definitely want dozens more. The same goes for everything else—we’re not going to stop at just five more spells, for instance.

So, a better way to look at the state of content now would be:

• Bosses: 2 Familiars and 1 Prophet completed, more to come.
• Enemies: 39 enemy types currently, many more to come.
• Weapons: 16 currently, at least 16 more to come.
• Magical Items: 19 currently, more to come.
• Spells: 15 currently, more to come.

What Does “More to Come” Mean?

I can’t reveal specifics, but I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed. Each update, whether big or small, will always include a gear pack. By the time the game reaches version 1.0, your arsenal should be enough to equip a small army.

Speaking of small updates, you might recall I mentioned earlier that we’ve shifted to only making big updates. However, we’re considering a smaller, but equally enticing update between the Steam Early Access release and the next big update. Think of it as an experiment—a chance to see what happens when we release something that adds “only” a day of gameplay.

Upcoming Features and Enhancements

Now, let’s look ahead to some of the major features we’re still working on:

[Redacted], aka Stats 2.0
Our current stats system is fairly simple, with six main stats that offer benefits like more HP, more Stamina, and more witchfire from enemies. With Stats 2.0, our goals are to:

• Add an additional layer of depth to stat leveling.
• Introduce new purpose for stats beyond just improving them.

We’re not planning to make weapons dependent on character stats, like in From Software’s games. But we’re indeed exploring how stats can work toward something extra, requiring players to make hard choices and focus on specific playstyles.

Alchemy
You’ve asked for it, and we’re excited about it. We want to make potion crafting more meaningful and, frankly, more fun. This isn’t an easy task, especially since we don’t want you to have to select a potion type every time you heal—but we’re up for the challenge.

Witch Mountain:
While we have a clear vision for what we want from this region, making it fun is another matter. Boss fights, in particular, are incredibly time-consuming to develop, and we need to approach them smartly while still delivering a spectacular experience.

Calamities 3.0 / Extraction 2.0:
Calamities are in a good place right now, but we want them to be great. There’s still work to be done on this front, as well as on the extraction aspect (escaping the region with loot).

Research 2.0:
Our arsenal has grown too large to be researched linearly, and with more additions on the way, things will only get more complicated. We need to give you more control over what to research and when.

Prophecies 2.0:
The Prophecies system has been well-received. But how about being able to choose the Omens that accompany a given Prophecy?

[Redacted]
We have a feature that’s well into development, but we’re still debating whether to reveal it now or save it as a surprise for the final release.

Melee Weapons:
Another highly requested feature that we’re keen on. We’ll see how it pans out.

Repeatable and One-Time Quests:
Partially done, but they need more development time.

Story:
Last but not least, we have a dramatic and dark story to tell. While bits and pieces, Souls-style, are already in the game, we aim to deliver something bigger.

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These are the major things on our list, but of course, new ideas might come up, and some from this list may not make it. Game development is all about iteration, and an idea that sounds great on paper doesn’t always translate to fun in-game. As one of our players wisely put it:

Maybe we create the best melee weapon ever, and it turns out it just doesn’t fit Witchfire. Who knows? So, please treat everything in this post as our vision for the game—but remember, things may change.

Timeline Expectations

Here’s how we currently see the timeline:

October 2024: Witchfire Early Access is now on Steam, too. It’s quite clean, with only a few rare bugs that we have squashed already. However, we think we can do some quick QoL and gameplay improvements, and we want to release that update, codenamed Fast Response, in October.

December 2024: A smaller, experimental update, as mentioned earlier, featuring a new arena (not a Vault) and a step toward the late game.

Early 2025: A big update with our largest map yet, codenamed Txx Wxxxxx Txxx. Yes, that also abbreviates to TWT—an amusing coincidence, but one that means I need to change this codename asap. This update will include a big new map, new enemies (including Majors), a new Familiar, and plenty of arachnophobia.

Mid-2025: Another major update, introducing the final region (excluding Witch Mountain, which will likely be distributed in chunks with each update). This region will probably be the most challenging, filled with ancient threats much older than the witch…

Late 2025: Final release. Will it be PC-only, followed by a look into consoles? Will it be a simultaneous launch across all suitable platforms? Will it really be in 2025? I can’t say for certain right now. We’re in discussions with various potential partners, and it’s simply too early to predict how the final version will shape up.

But we are working hard toward a full release next year.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them on our Discord.

Till next time, and for your consideration:

• Buy Witchfire now on EGS
• Wishlist it on Steam

Question of the Week

Is there an estimated date that you're aiming for when this might come to console?

— Lightbringer (@__Lightbringer_) August 21, 2024

Before we announced Steam, the first comment under every tweet of ours was “Steam when?” This has now changed to “Consoles when?” Which makes us happy that people care! But we will be looking into consoles — of course we will — only closer to the full release. So please ask us again next year for specifics.