Just Keep Running in 2026: New Team, New Plans, Less Awkward Silence
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[/p][p]Hello! It’s Vic, the creator of Just Keep Running.[/p][p]You might be wondering where the hell I’ve been this whole year. I kinda wonder that too sometimes, honestly.[/p][p][/p][p]To keep it brief: this year has been very different from how I wanted it to go. It ultimately had its ups, with streaming and charity work going well, and its downs, with education and mental health playing a big role. But there was little to no time or motivation for me to work on JKR for most of this year.[/p][p]And honestly? That sucked. It felt wrong.[/p][p]I love this game, I love the potential in its gameplay and story, and I have so many ideas for not only where it can go, but what I want it to be. And currently, it’s a bit different from that vision.[/p][p][/p][h2]So what’s the plan?[/h2][p]Well… get to work on implementing that vision! And I’m not gonna be doing it alone.[/p][p]One thing I’ve realized concretely this year is that, unless I’m in my zone, I suck at being a self-starter. Executive dysfunction is hard when you’re the only one managing a project, and while I had outside deadlines and a surreal period of being in my zone, that has unfortunately plummeted over the years.[/p][p]That’s exactly why I’ve separated myself from managing the project into handling just the creative direction of the game. That role is now in the hands of one of my best friends, Navi![/p][p]She’s been there whenever I’ve had difficulties getting my life together and organized, she has such a keen sense of ensuring things get done, and she’s incredibly invested in JKR. I couldn’t have thought of a more perfect person to help steer this ship like her. ❤️[/p][p][/p][p]And to be clear, my role as Creative Director is to maintain the vision of the game, its narrative, consistency, etc., ensuring all decisions align with my own vision and design pillars. I’m still the sole/lead developer of the game, I’ll still be the one steering the game’s vision.[/p][p]What Navi will do as the Lead Producer is to plan sprints alongside me, tracking different tasks, deadlines, milestones, as well as helping to plan meetings. She also has the authority to call out any missed commitments and goals, as well as adjusting the scope of the project. Her role is essentially to make sure the work gets done, and that it’s actually possible to fit different tasks and ideas into the scope of the project.[/p][p]I’ve also brought along my good buddy Azura as a Game Designer! He’s been an avid playtester of mine, has speedran the game countless times, and we’ve had countless deep discussions about the game itself. So along with me, he’ll be helping me come up with and design different gameplay loops, levels, puzzles, and enemies, as well as doubling as an internal playtester. Goober is a great video editor too, so he’ll be helping out here and there with social media stuff whenever needed! 😀[/p][p][/p][p]![]()
The full “Just Keep Running” 2026 Development Team[/p][p][/p][h2]Cool! Soooo what else?[/h2][p]We’ve now reorganized internally how we handle and organize tasks, and I’m hoping to write up monthly devlogs documenting what we’ve been working on, what plans we have upcoming, etc., so you’re not just left with complete silence until we have an update or something.[/p][p]Another thing, the current Chapter 1 & 2 demo we have been updating will most likely not be receiving updates anymore. The plan right now is to finish writing the story, reworking Chapters 1 & 2, as well as implementing at least Chapters 3 & 4, before releasing the game in Early Access. This will also involve reworking a lot of systems to enable the storytelling planned for the game, and working hard on a sizeable amount of new gameplay mechanics and features. I don’t want to release anything unless I’m confident that it’s well-playtested and fully ready for y’all.[/p][p][/p][h2]Final Words[/h2][p]If you want to ensure you stay up to date on what’s happening with Just Keep Running and its development, make sure to follow us here, as well as our social media pages on TikTok, Instagram, BlueSky, and my personal Twitter! We also have a Discord server where we’re trying to revive a bit as well, so feel free to join if you’d like :D[/p][p]The best way you can support us right now is by following and wishlisting Just Keep Running on Steam. That way, you get notified about JKR’s development and release, as well as helping push the game to people on the platform.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Thanks for sticking around if you have. I know it has been quiet on my end here, life has been so-so as of recent, but I’m hoping to get back on track at least a little bit. I can’t guarantee when you’ll get to play Just Keep Running in Early Access, but hopefully it’ll become clear as we go through 2026.
[/p][p]Happy New Year, talk to you soon! ✌️[/p][h2]- Victor “VSwede” Ahlin[/h2]
[/p][p]Happy New Year, talk to you soon! ✌️[/p][h2]- Victor “VSwede” Ahlin[/h2]
You can adjust certain game colors in the Settings menu.
Uh. Awkward.
Upgrades / Settings UI
This is just to show that I haven’t been (completely) lazy this year, and these are from last week
Side-by-side comparison of Counters
UI Showcase
Quick Turn Showcase
Pro Tips feature in Loading Screen
Stage 1 Showcase
Speedrunners, take note! We’ve had to swap the location of the Cube Button in Stage 1 of 1-1 to prevent players from potentially softlocking themselves pretty easily. This might make some strats a little more harder to pull off in this stage, just FYI! 👍
We do a lil noclipping (SO to Lungsc for capturing this footage!)