- Ardenfall just hit 100,000 wishlists on Steam! - 15 September 2026
Hi! Ardenfall devs here. We’ve just reached 100,000 wishlists on Steam, and we’re incredibly grateful for all the support!!TES-like a niche kind of game, and a challenging one to make, which is why we’ve been working on it for so long.Your feedback helped shape both the Steam demo and the current alpha version. Potions that let you move around in fun ways (levitation, speed, etc.), freedom to make your own choices, and multiple endings (including a very violent one) - we knew we had to showcase all of this in the demo because that’s what you guys asked for. Mod support is also one of the most requested features, and we’re planning to make modding tools available from day one.Reaching 100,000 wishlists makes us feel an even greater sense of responsibility, and we hope we can live up to your expectations when Ardenfall launches in Early Access later this year.
- The World of Ardenfall #1: Akaga - 4 September 2026
We’re starting a series of posts about the lore of Ardenfall, beginning with the game’s first major city - Akaga, a coastal town on the Suromi Southern Coast. Akaga was not always a port, bustling with foreigners. Long ago, it was merely a small village. Mai Ri raiders were a constant threat on the coasts at the time, stealing supplies and villagers to use as sea slaves. The raiders attacked Akaga, slaughtering all those who stood in their path. Gunozabyu, a great Ogobi beast worshipped by the people of Akaga, awoke from its slumber, allowing the villagers to hide within its rock. The raiders threw blade, fire, and spell at the beast, but it stood strong. For a generation, the people of Akaga lived within its rock, filling the caverns with song and stories.The raiders brought great war machines from the southern reaches, and the battle continued, day and night. The beast still held them…
- Ardenfall Development Update: New Regions, Closed Alpha, and More - 19 August 2026
Hi everyone, It’s been a while since we last talked, so we wanted to reassure you that we’re still alive and share what we’ve been working on.We’re continuing to work towards our goal of launching Ardenfall in Early Access in late 2026. The last playable build we released was our new demo in December 2025, followed by an updated version for Steam Next Fest in February.We had a blast making the demo, and it’s clear that players enjoyed it too – around 10,000 people have played it so far! Unlike our original 2023 demo, this one offers a more traditional demo experience: it takes place in the game’s starting area and has a clear ending.Once the demo was finished, we returned to developing the rest of the game. Most of the core content planned for Early Access is now in place, and we’ve finished adding all the major locations. Our current focus is polishing them: testing quests and their di…
- Ardenfall has gathered 80,000 wishlists!! - 3 March 2026
Hey! Over the past week, while we were participating in Steam Next Fest, we reached an incredible milestone - 80,000 wishlists! Thank you so much!! We also received plenty of feedback and questions. In particular, many players mentioned that while they enjoyed the gameplay, they struggled with the visuals. We’re a small team, and achieving top-tier visuals isn’t something we can pursue right now. Instead, we rely heavily on our art direction and overall aesthetic. But we do have several ideas on how to improve the visuals. And we’ll be experimenting over the coming months. Can't wait to hear your thoughts! Be sure to come back to our Discord - some great news is coming, along with more events. We'll keep in touch!
- Ardenfall Demo Hotfix 0.10.14 - 28 February 2026
Hello everyone! Here's a small patch fixing few common issues, the biggest one being monsters getting stuck in walls. Improvements- Made island hopper achievement have larger trigger spheres around the islands- Made collectables not marked as stolen- Made collectables stack on shoulder in order of equippingFixes- Fixed hollowhorn stuck underground- Fixed npcs sliding into walls sometimes- Fixed npcs slowly sliding in dialog sometimes- Fixed saves breaking when naming it 'backup'- Fixed minimap appearing in dungeons
- Ardenfall x Sword Hero Collaboration! - 25 February 2026
Hi everyone! We’ve teamed up with a really cool game called Sword Hero, which is currently live on Kickstarter. Sword Hero - is a truly interactive open-world RPG, packed with dozens of dynamic systems like NPCs with Daily Routines and memory system, Crime and Reputation, a limb-based Directional Combat system and many more. If you are in love with medieval old-school fantasy games, check the demo! As part of this collaboration, we’ve added a few items from their world into our demo for Steam Next Fest daily challenges, so you might run into some familiar stuff from their universe while playing. Sword Hero-themed collectibles will be hidden within the demo locations and remain discoverable for exactly 24 hours each. When an item becomes available, we'll drop location hints on our Discord channel - make sure you're there to get your clues and start your search! First item: Available on F…
- Steam Next Fest Ingame Challenges - 23 February 2026
To celebrate Steam Next Fest, we're running a few challenges!Endings Challenge (Feb 23-Feb 25) Get at least 3 endings, and you'll receive a Shrunken Bisawa Beast pet in the Early Access version of the game!If you already got at least 3 endings, just load into a game and you'll get the reward :)Daily Challenge (Every day from Feb 23-March 2): Every 24 hours, starting at 10am PST, a new collectable will spawn in the world. It will only appear for that time period only, so be on the lookout!We'll be posting hints on their locations On our Discord! Finding the collectable will also give you access to it in the Early Access version of the game. (Also you can put the collectables on your shoulder. Very important).(It's best to restart your game daily to ensure the collectables spawn correctly)
- Demo Controller Support Update - 6 February 2026
At long last, Ardenfall now supports controllers and ultrawide screens!We also did an update on the renderer, making the game feel way more crisp and less flat. Let us know what you think!Major ChangesAdded controller supportAdded steamdeck support (some UI is pretty small)Added quickslot wheel (hold G on keyboard, north on controller)Basic Ultrawide support (Keeps UI in center of screen)Made quickslots rebindableImproved look and feel of lightingBalance ChangesMade 'aiming' weapons slow down movement a bitReduced heavy armor movement speed reductionMade all rusted weapons have a 1 skill requirementImprovementsRemoved max frame rate (Apparently unity’s frame limiter can problems with input)Made Vsync enabled by defaultAdded “Audio” tab to options menuAdded super light retro modeTweaked retro mode valuesAdded support for retro mode on videos, in menu, etcImproved communication of underle…
- Ardenfall Demo 2025 Has Released! - 5 December 2025
At last, as the ancients foretold, it has arrived - the new and improved demo!New Region:An entirely new region and new content to explore!Improved Combat:Every aspect to combat has been improved. AI, animations, feel, progression.Multiple Endings:The main demo quest has 5 unique quest endings.Countless Secrets:There are tons of secrets hidden across the demo. Try to complete all of the achievements!Tons of Polish:We've worked hard to increase the quality of the visuals, gameplay, and feel.Once you've checked out the demo, we'd love your feedback! You can also join our Discord for Ardenfall shenanigans.May the Sheru's Roots Guide You~
- Ardenfall Demo 2025 Is Releasing December 5th! - 2 December 2025
To prepare for our early access release in 2026, we are releasing a new demo! This version is set in the beginning of the game, unlike the original. It will be releasing this Friday, December 5th!For those who missed the playtest, this is your chance to try out the new content!We've spent years expanding on the original demo to create the full Ardenfall experience, and we can't wait to release this small slice of it as a demo! This demo is a lot more of a 'traditional' demo than the original - it's smaller (~2hrs for a single playthrough), and has a definite ending. New Region: An entirely new region and new content to explore! Improved Combat:Every aspect to combat has been improved. AI, animations, feel, progression.Multiple Endings:The main demo quest has 5 unique quest endings.Countless Secrets:There are tons of secrets hidden across the demo. Try to complete all of the achievements…
- Ardenfall Playtest is Open For All! - 9 October 2025
The playtest for Ardenfall's new demo is now open for all! Explore a new region in this limited time access!This past week we've already fixed and improved over 100 changes, all thanks to your feedback.To leave feedback and report bugs, please join our Discord. There's also a feedback form , which many players have filled out already - we can't thank you enough!
- Ardenfall Demo 2025 Playtest Waitlist is Open! (And other news) - 17 August 2025
There's a few big announcements to make, so hold on to your Yanaki!Demo 2025 Playtest Waitlist is OpenAnother demo? Yep! It's been 3 years since our last demo, and we've improved the game a lot. We also feel that the structure of the old demo doesn't lend well for players jumping in - our new demo is more compact (yes, a lot smaller), starts in the actual starting area of the game, as is much more "demo-like". It also includes much improved combat, AI, and systems that we've been working on these past few years. It's a damn good game in my unbiased opinion.The Demo Playtest Waitlist is Open! When the demo is ready for testing (around a month from now) we will let in players to test and give feedback. It'll be a first-come-first-serve basis, so reserve your spot to get the chance to access it early! The playtest is planned to run for a month or so, and then be released in a similar manne…
- Fantasy open-world game Ardenfall plunges you into an Elder Scrolls sandbox - 14 March 2025
Barring a miracle, The Elder Scrolls 6 won't arrive in 2025. As this year marks 14 years of Skyrim, it's understandable to feel an itch for Bethesda's brand of open-world RPG that even the best mods can't scratch. Enter Ardenfall . The new sandbox adventure from Seattle-based Spellcast Studios is inspired by the Elder Scrolls games, and aims to really lean in on the impact you leave behind. Set to arrive in early access this year, you can get an early glimpse of it right now on Steam. Read the rest of the story...
- Ardenfall 2025 Early Access Announcement + Trailer - 13 March 2025
Great News, Travelers! Ardenfall will be launching into Early Access this year! As we get closer to the launch date, we'll be releasing more info. We are SO excited to release what we've been cooking up. The improvements, features, and content go far beyond what we're able to fit here - new regions, spells, quests, characters, factions, and hundreds upon hundreds of quality of life improvements! To stay in the know, join our Discord! https://i0.wp.com/ardenfall.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/discord.png
- Demo Update 0.6.12 - 11 January 2024
Greetings, here is another demo update! We have been very focused on the official release of the game, but wanted to add some new improvements and fixes for the demo. The most exciting addition is Retro Mode, which makes the game more crunchy! Try it out, we'd love feedback on it - we're curious if people prefer it over the original artstyle. Features Added retro mode Fixes Reduced stuttery camera Fixed stealing achievement not triggering correctly sometimes Fixed damage voice not triggering when getting positional damage Removed grain quest reference Fixed various typos Fixed many npc’s not having assigned homes Corrected Dento Ekiro dialog that made ‘Where is the sheru tombs’ dialog not show Fixed Sappers quest peaceful resolution dialog showing up early Improvements Made hollow horns not count as kills in Sheru Tombs quest Removed the weight UI from the trade menu Decreased respawn r…
- Demo Update 0.6.11 - 26 July 2023
A new (small) update has landed for Ardenfall's Demo! The main feature being added is autosaving - no more losing progress if you forget to save, woohoo! It also brings a handful of fixes and quality of life additions. Features: Autosaving! Fixes: Fixed weapons sometimes not appearing when equipping Fixed lockpick chance percentage ui being incorrect Fixed some game settings not saving correctly Fixed time not loading correctly in some circumstances Improvements: Added photo mode button to pause menu Made autosave + quicksave backups visible in load menu Made quicksaving allowed when moving and in air Reduced enemies in starting dungeon Renamed “military time” setting to “24 hour time” Renamed “Freecam” keybind to “Photo Mode” Added option to ask about the living tunnels from Tensi Gama
- Demo Update 0.6.10 - 16 March 2023
Another update has arrived! This is just a small update fixing a handful of common issues, plus a few improvements! Fixes: Fixed feed dead breaking if summon despawns sometimes Fixed summons not dying sometimes Fixed summons giving XP Fixed killing self giving XP Fixed purchasing yanaki causing money to be added Fixed light render distance in dungeons being too low Fixed incorrect text when lockpicking Fixed favorite key not being rebounded Fixed darvaki being killed not correctly ending quest Fixed some locations in garkai having non owned items Fixed npc not correctly detecting picking up items Fixed Hori Tsuki selling enchanted items Improvements: Added option to stop yanaki from following player Added important option to pet the yanaki Removed eye shrinking option for npcs Made locks show chance of success Added links to main menu Added Karu Pocket Dictionary
- Demo Update 0.6.9 - 25 February 2023
A new version has landed! This update comes with a few features and fixes ported from the Official Release we are hard at work on. We also balanced a few key areas, bringing it closer to what it would be in the Official Release. Features: Made discovered locations appear in map Added reputation UI to dialog menu Added tips to loading screen Added mouse invert options Improvements: Redesigned “The Yanaki with the Red Ribbon” quest Added dialog to the Mages Guild salespeople Redesigned HUD Messages and SFX Improved tooltip UI Added compass rose to map Improved npc spellcasting AI Balance: Doubled the length of time monsters take to respawn Reduced chance to find weapons and armor in containers Increased XP requirements for higher levels Increased reputation gain in various quests Increased negative reputation required to trigger an npc attack Fixes: Fixed expression animator not working f…
- Demo Update 0.6.8 - 16 October 2022
A new patch has landed! The team is focused on the world beyond the demo, but we still want to bring new bug fixes and improvements! Improvements: Added a new tutorial quest Improved several quests Improved map input Improved tooltip texture Fixes: Fixed several quest-related softlocks Fixed third person movement not acting correctly when no weapon is equipped Fixed certain non-hostile throwing potions not affecting self Balance Health potions healing slightly decreased and regeneration over time reduced to 5 seconds from 6 seconds. Mana potions increased greatly and regeneration over time reduced to 3 seconds from 6 seconds Stamina potions greatly increased and regeneration over time reduced to 3 seconds from 6 seconds. Slowfall duration greatly decreased.
- Patch 0.6.7.3 (Hotfix) - 1 October 2022
Here is another hotfix, including a handful of major fixes, plus a lot of quest fixes and improvements! If you have any issues with Ardenfall, please join our discord! Sending us your save file can also be a HUGE help for us - several bugs fixed today were possible due to players submitting bug reports and save files! Improvements: Improved The Missing Caravan quest Improved Healings Hands quest Major Fixes: Fixed tree flickering bug Fixed multiple save corruption issues Fixed save corruption related to caravan quest Fixes: Fixed softlock if poisoning rhia Fixed caravan quest phase issue Fixed yanaki softlock Fixed Tensi being attacked by Darvaki Fixed markers reappearing on dead bodies Fixed some Darvaki not staying friends after quest completion Fixed default ambient audio being too low Fixed Rioshi Sako’s Bow Fixed a handful of npc packages Fixed green splint large hat not muffling v…
