- Stepping Into New Light – UE 5.8 migration - 20 June 2026
Light has always done the heavy lifting in Akolyta. A horror game lives or dies in the gap between what you can see and what you can’t — the sodium lamp guttering at the end of a corridor, the single bulb swinging in a derelict factory, the cold spill of light under a door that should have stayed shut. So when we talk about an engine upgrade, we are really talking about how we get to control that gap. Today we’re moving Akolyta onto Unreal Engine 5.8, and the reason sits right at the heart of how the game looks and runs.Unreal Engine 5.8 launched on June 17 at Unreal Fest in Chicago. It’s the final major release of the Unreal Engine 5 line before Epic begins its transition to Unreal Engine 6, which makes it a stable, mature target to build the next stretch of Akolyta on. We made the jump for one feature in particular: a brand-new way of computing dynamic global illumination called the L…
- Marshall Prime's Office & 5.1 Audio Implementation | Early WIP Look - 5 April 2026
Hey everyone,First off, a massive thank you for your continued support. Your backing allows us to really take our time and get the small details right, and today we want to share a look at exactly what that entails.We’ve just put together some very early, in-engine footage of Marshall Prime's Office. We are sharing this with you all first so you can see how the environmental design and atmosphere of Akolyta are shaping up!📺 Watch the WIP Showcase Here: 🎧 STOP! Before you hit play: Please make sure you are wearing high-quality headphones or sitting in a 5.1 surround sound setup.What You're Looking At (and Listening To)This video is a deep dive into our 5.1 ambient sound implementation. In a horror/atmospheric game, what you hear is often more important than what you see. We’ve spent a lot of time dialing in the spatial audio for this specific room to make it feel oppressive, heavy, and…
- We Move to Unreal Engine 5 - 8 February 2026
Hello everyone.We finally return with an important update about Akolyta. After long internal discussions, we made a major decision: we move the entire project to Unreal Engine 5.Why We Stayed QuietWhen we started developing Akolyta, we chose CRYENGINE. At that time, it matched Unreal Engine in technology, received active support from Crytek, and delivered regular updates. Over the years, the situation changed. Crytek disbanded the communications team that supported developers, and new engine releases stopped.We don’t criticize Crytek. We respect their work and understand that many factors lie outside our control. But we saw that the engine needed more maintenance and improvements than before. Because of that, we joined forces with other developers and started working on CRYENGINE Community Edition, a version focused on smoother and more accessible game development.Putting the Game First…
- Akolyta Slashes Prices by 50% for Steam Spring Sale! - 15 March 2025
The dark mystery adventure, Akolyta, is now available at an unbeatable price. As part of the Steam Spring Sale, the game is being offered at a staggering 50% discount, giving players an incredible opportunity to dive into its immersive world of thrilling storytelling and intense gameplay. This limited-time offer has sparked excitement across the gaming community. Akolyta, known for its gripping narrative and atmospheric design, has been hailed as a masterpiece in the adventure genre. The Steam Spring Sale provides the perfect chance for both longtime fans and newcomers to experience its hauntingly beautiful landscapes and challenging puzzles at half the price. The sale is live now, but don’t delay! With a discount this tempting, Akolyta won’t stay in wishlists for long. Whether you’re a seasoned adventurer or a first-time explorer of this enigmatic universe, now is your moment to uncove…
- Update 0.2 - 25 January 2025
Hello. Today we are happy to announce the release of 0.2 update. New Features As promised we are introducing new features in the 0.2 update. We added the clue counter in the investigation to help you understand the progress of the investigation, we added subtitles for the conclusion of the investigation and we released mod tools - as a free DLC. We also added new previously not announced features. We increased the sharpness so that all of the details in textures are visible, we increased the global illumination intensity and we added a new font to the UI. The last thing we said was translating the text into Czech, German, and French. Cut Features Unfortunately, we had to cut some features as well. We had to cut the Chinese localization for this release. We will continue working on the translation but we can't release it at this time due to technical problems. Another feature we had to c…
- New Year Sale: Get Akolyta 60% off - 6 January 2025
Hello. The new year is here and we decided to welcome the new year with 60% discount for Akolyta. We hope that 2025 year will be a year of success for Akolyta and we want to bring as many new players as possible in order to accelerate the progress in development. The sale will be available until January 19th 2025. We hope you'll join us on our journey and enjoy the experience!
- What to expect in 0.2 update - 5 January 2025
Hello. It’s been some time since we released the early access. We already started to work on next 0.2 update and in this post we would want to announce our plans for the new version. New Features We plan to add few smaller features to the level such as Investigation Clue Counter, that will tell you how many clues you found in the investigation, Investigation Conclusion Subtitles. We also want to add modding tools for our community. We will release mod tools alongside 0.2 update and we will enable Steam Workshop integration. We will also release soundtrack for the game both on Steam and on Spotify. Language Support Another feature is fulfilling our commitments to add multiple languages. For the 0.2 update we will add Czech, German, French and Simplified Chinese. You might also noticed that both our website and our Steam page is also translated. For now that’s all the languages we want to…
- Akolyta Enters Early Access - 11 November 2024
Today is a new chapter for Akolyta and for our studio. We have decided to release Akolyta as early access. Change of plans Our initial plan was to get funding through traditional means - getting a publisher or investor deal - however our plan was unsuccessful. We therefore had to think of the future and what it holds for our game and how we want to continue our work. We therefore decided to change the release model and instead of a demo, we released an early access version. The game will be continuously updated based on your feedback and we believe that with your help we will be able to polish the game into a perfect state. What can you expect The early access version includes one level with all the intended game mechanics and storytelling. The playtime ranges between 30 - 60 minutes depending on your gameplay style. The game will be updated in the future and the promised features from…
- Demo Update 1.4.3 - 25 September 2024
A new version of the demo has been released! The main news is that the investigation system is making a comeback along with some smaller features and improvements. Investigation System Comeback The biggest feature of this release is the comeback of the investigation system. If you’ve been with us for a while you might remember that we used to have this system before the 1.4 update. However, due to technical limitations, we had to deprecate the system for the 1.4 release. In this update, we completely reworked the system from scratch with our new UI design in mind. The UI now supports localization as well and you will get a small cinematic after you close the case. We’ve talked more in detail about our investigation system in our previous post. Here’s a gameplay video of the first investigation. There are currently 2 investigations in the level. Gameplay Feedback We also added a small fe…
- Investigation System Preview - 4 September 2024
It’s been some time since we announced the development of the 1.4.3 update for the demo version. We have been hard at work on the new environments and the new investigation system. Today, we would like to share a video preview of the new investigation system with you. How does it work You as a player can venture into an investigation area. This is completely optional and you don’t have to do these. It’s completely up to you. Once in the area, you have to find between 5 – 6 different clues in the environment. If you struggle to find these don’t worry – there is a special ability – Detective – that can help you find them by highlighting them in the environment. You then have to open the conclusion screen and pick a number of the clues to reach a conclusion. The investigation system supports multiple conclusions. Once the investigation is done you will hear a full conclusion from Marshall…
- Demo Update 1.4.2 - 28 June 2024
After some time we have another update for the demo version for you! This update is a smaller one including some of your feedback as well as a few bug fixes. We also changed how we want to release new updates in the future. What changed There are two new features in the 1.4.2 update. We added new geometry to the environment that better reflects the environment setting and adds a little bit more detail – new office assets including paper documents, a new table, file folders, and an ashtray with cigarettes and we added an autopsy table, medical light, and medical stalls that will be featured in the last part of the level replacing the already existing assets. We also decided to implement your feedback – specifically, we changed the depression UI font to more reflect the situation that Marshall – the main character – will find himself in. Updates Future We also decided to change the way we…
- Demo Update 1.4.1 - 27 May 2024
Hey everyone. We just released a new demo update - 1.4.1. This new update does not include any new features. This is a small update that will include several bug fixes that will further improve the experience. It does not include any of your feedback in this update. However we are listening to your feedback and we will include your feedback in the next update. At this moment our goal is to bring you the demo in the best technical state. Changelog: Features None Bug Fixes Lens Flare Leak Anxiety Trigger in UI Depression Code Trigger Depression Code Trigger Doors Code Player Body Abilities Active Not Visible Ammo Clip No Interaction Help Doors not Visible After Save Load No Sound After Save Load Continue Game Not Working UI Abilities Wrong Menu Format
- Demo Update 1.4 is Released! - 2 May 2024
We are excited to finally be here at this point and introduce you to the release of the new update for our demo - the 1.4 update. This update took much longer than expected to release but is full of new features and is more technically stable than previous releases were. We took into account your feedback and added our own ideas for improvement to the demo. What made it into the update We have made a lot of changes to the demo. Initially we weren't satisfied with the look of the level - especially the second part (Area 356) and with the events and length of the level. As a result of that we added two more parts of the level that replaced the original Area 356 parts with more than 50% new content. The theater level remains the same but it has been reworked and more details and environmental storytelling has been added. We also added a new narrative focus to the game. Marshall suffers fro…
- New Features in Development - 20 March 2024
Hello. It’s been a while since we last updated you about the state of the 1.4 update. Since then a lot has changed. We added new features to the planned update that will make the update even more worthwhile to wait for. In this post, we would like to tell you more about what we’ve been working on. More Details in the Environment One of the new features we’ve been working on is adding much more details to the environment. Before this update, the environment looked empty and lifeless. Because we want to bring you the best gaming experience and because the environment is one of the most important parts of horror games we decided to dedicate even more time to it. Before: After: Before: After: We added more geometry into the environments to get rid of the emptiness and we added more decals. This will not only make the levels more detailed and realistic but also a lot more damaged and filthy.…
- 1.4 Update is almost finished! - 26 November 2023
Hello. It’s been an incredible journey developing Akolyta. This year we decided to release update 1.4 which will improve a lot of things and add new content. It took us much more time than we originally anticipated as we struggled with our lives and full-time jobs outside of Akolyta. But after so much we’ve been through we finally made it! The game is currently packaging – and getting ready for release. After that, the game will be tested internally before it’s released to the public. We want to ensure that we release the game in the best technical state possible. If you want to be part of our internal testing team and play the game early please reach out to us on our Discord server: https://discord.gg/DnzGuzC We hope you’ll like what we have created. As always we can’t wait for your feedback and reactions – that’s what keeps us going! In the meantime here are some new features you can…
- Czech Localization - 28 August 2023
Dear community. To make Akolyta accessible to a wider audience we have decided to translate the game into other languages. The first is Czech. This localization will be available in the new 1.4 update and will include the translation of the texts in the game. As a small studio, we are not able to make translations of the voiceovers. We also do think it would be inappropriate for the game story and location. The website and all the posts from this point forward will be translated into Czech as well. However, already existing posts will stay in English. If you would like to participate in translating Akolyta into your local language please get in touch with us on Discord. We would love to hear from you. We hope you appreciate this decision and we hope we will be able to bring you more translations.
- State of Development: 1.4 Update - 5 May 2023
Hello. It’s been a while since we announced our 1.4 update for the demo of Akolyta. We did encountered some roadblocks and for a while we didn’t had a clear picture of what we wanted to do. That’s now mostly resolved and the development is coming along more nicely. In this post however I would like to talk about those setback and the development of that update in general. The Roadblocks In the game development and while doing creative things there are days for me when I’m completely lost. Those are really dark days when I just don’t know what I want to do. Days where I loose my vision and taking a pause from the development or working on more technical things just to get a better perspective. Honestly those are the darkest days for me – not actually making torture rooms filled with blood … Days where I want to do anything else but game development because I think I lost it all. I can’t…
- What To Expect in 1.4 Update - 2 February 2023
Hello. In this post, we will tell you more about our plans for the upcoming 1.4 update, what you can expect, and the challenges in the development. New Features We want to introduce more new features in the 1.4 update. One of the new features is a new enemy with better animations. We removed the enemy with the gun, reworked some of the already existing locations and we are working on adding new locations and puzzles - making the playtime longer. A new better looking UI will be introduced in the 1.4 update and batteries that will be usable will now be stored in the inventory. The complete list of features is in the #roadmap thread on our Discord server and will be updated throughout the development so if you want to stay up to date make sure to join us! Feedback We have been watching all of the gameplay videos and listened to every feedback we got from you. We want to say a huge thank yo…
- Demo Update 1.4 In Development - 19 December 2022
Hello. We are working on a new update – 1.4. This will be another big update for the demo. In this update, we will add new gameplay features, remake some of the content and add new content. Some of the features we can announce right now will be a reworked UI, the ability to store the batteries in the inventory, and adding an entirely new and scary location. After we replayed all of the Penumbra game we have some great ideas that we would like to implement into the demo. We hope this will make our demo even better. As it stands right now we can’t tell you more features we want to add as some of them might not make it into the update and we don’t want to create expectations that won’t be delivered. We have also added a Roadmap thread to our Discord server so that you can see what we want to implement. Features posted there are confirmed to be in the demo and the feature list will be updat…
- Demo Update 1.3 - 6 December 2022
Hello. Based on your gameplay we have decided to release a new big update - 1.3. In this big update, we recreated the RPG system, polished a few things, and fixed known issues. Now you will get XP for every battery, document, audiologues, investigation dialogue, and ammo found and for completing objectives. If you find enough you will level up and get 1 upgrade point that you'll be able to use for acquiring a special ability of your choosing. We have also replaced the sharpshooter ability with a new ability called Charger. Now the batteries, ammo, and health kits might be empty and non-usable. We hope this can create more tension in the game. This can be removed using the new Charger ability. Change list: Recreated RPG System Jumpscare effect time decreased Recreated level lighting Added new ability - Charger Removed sharpshooter ability effect Added news screen before the main menu Add…
