Dragonkin: The Banished News

Hello Hunters!

Following our Early Access announcement yesterday, we sat down with Lead Game Designer, Jonathan Gabrielli to give you a better idea what to expect from our upcoming Hack&Slash ARPG Dragonkin: The Banished.

In this video, you'll learn about the world, how the ancestral grid affects skills, companion pets (the wyrmlings) and more.

Please note: The video is in French, you may need to enable subtitles on the video player (bottom right).

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Dragonkin: The Banished is coming to Steam Early Access on March 6th, learn more about why in our dev blog and chat with our development team on the EKO Discord!

Hello Dragon Hunters!

We are delighted to reveal that Dragonkin: The Banished is coming out in Early Access March 6th, 2025 on Steam!

Check out the Early Access trailer below and come back tomorrow when we’ll be revealing a new developer diary with a look at more gameplay for Dragonkin: The Banished.

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[h3]So, why Early Access, you ask?[/h3]

At Eko Software, we’re a small but passionate team of around 30 people working on Dragonkin: The Banished. We’re crazy about the ARPG genre, particularly Hack & Slash games. We’ve been making them for around 12 years now!

For Dragonkin: The Banished, we wanted to push the boundaries of what we’ve done before. We moved development to Unreal Engine 5, allowing us more flexibility compared to our previous engine. One of our goals is to highlight the things we love about the genre while bringing in something fresh and new to delight fans.

For the launch of Early Access on March 6th, we have prepared content to introduce you to the world of Dragonkin. You can play through the prologue and 1st act as one of 3 classes, collect gear, and expand your skills using the Ancestral Grid. You’ll have access to a couple of end game modes and be able to start levelling up your city. We think it’s a good starting point, but there’s more to come.



We’ll be bolstering this content throughout until launch with what’s planned on our roadmap. Expect regular updates including the addition of online multiplayer and more character skills, biomes, the addition of the 4th character and more endgame content. It also has room for us to make adjustments and tweaks to address player feedback and concerns. We’ll publish more information on the roadmap prior to launch, so keep an eye out for that.

Within the ARPG genre, we believe there is ample room for innovation and one of our major goals involves the Ancestral Grid which we’re going to deep-dive in a future Dev Blog. But the general idea incorporates randomly generated fragments that are collected as you play, ensuring that by the end of the journey, your grid will be completely unique. We wanted to add an element of fun while making your grid, while giving theory-crafters the flexibility to adapt their grids and come up with new playstyles.

Early Access is a collaborative process. We know how passionate the ARPG community is, and want to get as much feedback from our players as possible. We’ll be using this to shape and improve the game as we move towards the 1.0 launch. Early Access also gives us the opportunity to invest further into the project, possibly altering or expanding the scope of our plans for Dragonkin: The Banished.

We have many goals for development, but being in Early Access gives us the opportunity to bring the community into the process and we strongly believe that it will result in a better version of the game for everyone.

[h3]How to support us?[/h3]

Share the trailer, spread the word, and wishlisting Dragonkin: The Banished on Steam helps us a lot!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1863430/Dragonkin_The_Banished/


[h3]What's next?[/h3]

We’ve got a lot to share in the coming weeks, starting with a Developer Diary tomorrow (January 10th), where we’ll discuss some of the systems and gameplay in Dragonkin: The Banished.

In the meantime, don’t hesitate to join us on social media and Discord if you haven’t yet, for the latest news, discussions, and exclusive sneak peeks. Know that your enthusiasm and support mean the world to us, and we’re so grateful to have you on this journey.

Happy New Year from the team at Eko Software, and get ready for our next DevBlog!

Howdy Dragon Hunters,

NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) for the Dragonkin: The Banished playtest on the 19th have been sent so please check your inbox (the mail should be from Nacon Gaming ).

As a reminder, you must sign the NDA to receive a key and access to the playtest. Those who sign the NDA will also receive an invite to an exclusive Discord to discuss the playtest with the development team.

We look forward to hearing your feedback!

Hello Hunters!

In this blog, we want to give you an exclusive first look into the world of Dragonkin: The Banished. As you may know from our class blog, Dragon Blood can have various effects, granting immense power, but often at a deep cost.

For you to better understand the insidious nature of the blood seeping into the world itself, we’ll walk you through two areas within one of the biome’s you’ll step into, a place twisted and tainted by Green Dragon Blood: the Jungle and the Swamps of Ja'Ksara.

Let’s dive in!

[h2]The Swamps of Ja'Ksara[/h2]

This treacherous land is home to the Toxic Dragons, whose blood has had a disturbing, corrupting effect on everything it touches. From the wildlife to the vegetation, the swamp is a twisted reflection of the Green Dragon’s power.

As you venture through the swamp, you’ll come across Batrachians that release deadly toxins when threatened, monstrous Moths that unleash swarms of insects ready to overwhelm you, Leeches (oh god, the leeches!) and Shamans that wield the electrical powers of the Blue Dragon, just to name a few.

After all, who truly knows what else may lurk beneath these muddied waters…



Nestled within the towering treetops, you’ll discover a cult village. Here the tainted waters have even begun to affect the locals.

[h3]Meet the Monstrous Swarm[/h3]

Without a doubt you’ll meet the Monstrous Swarm, a moth-like (and terrifying creature) that has been completely transformed by Green Dragon blood. Characterized by it’s enormous mouth, it can summon Dragonflies, tiny but deadly insects, ready to sting on sight.



[h2]The Jungle of Ja'Ksara[/h2]

While the Jungle may appear peaceful, especially at night, these decayed ruins are far from deserted. Corrupted creatures wander, hostile to those who dare venture too close to their homes. And as you journey deeper, the Jungle itself will threaten your progress, as if something doesn't want you to reach its core.



Despite the Jungle being viciously dangerous and inhospitable, the serene sight of waterfalls reminds us of the world the warriors are trying to protect as you uncover the mysteries hidden under the roots.

[h3]Meet the Rampant Corruption[/h3]

It’s here in the Jungle that you'll cross paths with this unnatural rampant tree-like creature animated by the Blood of the Green Dragon.



[h2]We hope this sneak peek at Dragonkin: The Banished has you even more excited for the adventure ahead![/h2]

What are you most excited to explore, the Swamps or the Jungle?
Let us know in the comments, or hop into our Discord server to discuss it with fellow hunters!

We’ll be back soon with more updates, so stay tuned!

Hello future Dragon Hunters,

As you know, we're currently working on our next Hack N' Slash project, Dragonkin: The Banished.

As part of the development process, we'd like to bring on a select group of players to provide feedback on an early version of the game.

To be involved in the Playtest you will have to agree to sign a NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) to specify that you will not share any information / screenshots / video from the playtest outside the specified channels for discussion with the development team.

This beta will run from December 19th, 11:59PM (CET), until December 31st 2024, 11:59 (CET).

Find out more about the Playtest and how to sign up here:
Sign up for the Playtest!