PengPong News

[p][/p][p]Jong: Happy holidays! I hope your year has been filled with nothing but joy. While the world celebrates, Team PengPong has been spending a wonderful end-of-year battling the temptation of just one more fix and dealing with exploding bugs instead of exploding jackpots.[/p][p]Since the rest of the team is out enjoying well-deserved breaks with family and friends, I’m holding down the fort alone in the office! Rather than a formal report, I’m here to share some personal thoughts and our future direction in a more casual way.[/p][p]For the Demo 2 version coming this February, we’ve shifted our focus. Instead of just piling on new features, we’re prioritizing fixing the core issues that disrupt the "game feel" and expanding the sheer volume of content. Here’s a little teaser of what’s changing![/p][p][/p][p](1) Two New Weapons are in the Works[/p][p][/p][p]While many of you enjoy the Power Player Puck, Recoil Jones, and Snapedge Alpha, we’ve felt a growing curiosity about new weapons from those we met at offline exhibitions and Demo 1 players. Since I'm bringing this up now, there's a very high chance they’ll be in the Demo 2 update! I can't share the full concepts yet, but here are some hints. Our artist will show off the designs in the next devlog![/p]

• [p]Weapon 1 Hint: Low attack power, but you start with two of the same weapon. We noticed players loved the "dual-weapon" feel from certain Hyper Capacities. We’re designing a weapon that inherently uses two objects. Fun fact: the team got inspired while watching Zootopia together![/p]
• [p]Weapon 2 Hint: This weapon utilizes the \[Toasty!] and \[Salty!] status effects. We want to support players who want to build around status ailments. By introducing a weapon that leans into specific "builds," we believe the game will become much more diverse. This one is a bit behind Weapon 1 in development, so we’ll see if it makes the February cut.[/p]

[p][/p][p](2) A New Stage is Coming[/p][p][/p][p]Peng, having cleared out the monsters of deep space, is headed to a new environment: an Amusement Park. We’re leaning harder into "Bullet Heaven" design here. We’re moving away from simple square maps to dynamic shapes with "Bumpers" and other pinball-inspired obstacles. We’ll keep polishing this until we’re satisfied and will share it on the Steam Community first![/p][p][/p][p]Our mission is to make a game that people truly love. In 2025, we held 4 Focus Group Tests and 5 exhibitions across East Asia to hear your feedback. This will continue next year. In March, we’ll run our 5th FGT based on Demo 2. And while 2025 was focused on East Asia, my personal goal for 2026 is to meet players in North America and Europe at events like PAX or gamescom! (And maybe hit a real roulette table while I'm there—just kidding... mostly.)[/p][p][/p][p]We’ll work hard so that by this time next year, you’ll be spending your holidays happily with PengPong![/p][p][/p][p]All the best, Team PengPong[/p]

[p][/p][p]Play the PengPong demo for just one hour and you’ll receive a special code that unlocks an exclusive free skin in the full game. It’s a small thank-you to everyone who jumps in early and takes the time to play.[/p][p]You can play the demo at here: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]But the reward is only part of the reason we’re excited for you to try this demo. This version is where PengPong’s core ideas really come together, especially the mix of randomness and strategy that defines how each run plays out.[/p][p][/p][p]As you play, you’ll make choices that lead to unexpected situations. You might decide to gamble your hard-earned coins on a roulette spin, where a win can pay out more than 34x your bet, but a loss breaks the roulette forever. Other moments ask you to trade HP for powerful items or meet special conditions to unlock rare rewards. Every decision feels risky, rewarding, and a little different each time.[/p][p][/p][p]What matters most to us is how these moments feel to you. Your experience with the demo helps guide what we improve, expand, or rethink as we move toward full release. After playing, we’d love for you to drop by our Discord (https://discord.com/invite/gaYfPMaDUZ) and share your thoughts. We’re actively listening and shaping PengPong together with the community.[/p][p][/p][p]Can't wait to see the full game? Add wishlist now and stay tuned.[/p]

[p]Hello everyone, I hope you’ve all been doing well.[/p][p]We’ve met a wide range of players and gathered diverse feedback through events such as G-STAR and BeaverRocks in Korea, and G-EIGHT in Taiwan. Through that process, we received thoughtful and constructive feedback, and have gone through a number of meaningful improvements and revisions.[/p][p][/p][p]This patch includes a substantial amount of changes, including some system-level updates.[/p][p][/p][h3]Patch notes:[/h3][p]\[Add][/p]

• [p]Wave Event system: previously, three waves would run back-to-back and the game would then force the player into a room with the shop and roulette. Now, after each wave, the player can choose which direction to go from two available options. (We showcased this in a beta build at demo events and confirmed that player satisfaction was noticeably higher than before, so we decided to make it a core feature.)[/p][p][/p]
• [p]In the Wave Event, you can currently encounter the following types of content:[/p]
  • [p]Shop: Works the same as the regular shop. You can spend the chips you’ve collected to exchange for items.[/p]
  • [p]Devil’s Shop: Similar to the regular shop, but you must sacrifice max HP as the cost. In return, you can obtain special items that do not appear in the normal shop.[/p]
  • [p]Elite Battle: The next wave will feature a special enemy type. The difficulty is higher, but you can earn unique items that are exclusive to Elite Battles.[/p]
  • [p]Contract: You will take on a contract (quest) that grants special rewards when you meet certain conditions.[/p]
  • [p]Gambling Room: A room that taps into your instincts—use your chips to either multiply them or lose everything.[/p]
  • [p]Large Chip Bonus: Start the wave with a large amount of chips.[/p]
  • [p]Large EXP Bonus: Start the wave with a large amount of experience.[/p]

[p][/p][p]\[Improvements][/p]

• [p]We’ve prepared several improvements to help you enjoy a much faster-paced gameplay experience.[/p]
  • [p]We’ve adjusted Hyper Capacity from the previous unlock levels of 7 / 14 / 21 to 5 / 10 / 15.[/p]
  • [p]As a result, the overall run time has been reduced from 565 seconds to 510 seconds, while significantly more enemies now spawn within each wave.[/p]
• [p]The leaderboard scoring formula has been updated—roulette jackpots are no longer a one-size-fits-all solution. That said, the scoring system still doesn’t perfectly represent player skill yet, and we’ll continue improving it. (As a result, the leaderboard will be reset with this patch—please note!)[/p]
• [p]We improved the UI so you can check your Hyper Capacity obtained and current score by pressing \[Tab]. (Hovering over Hyper Capacity should show its details, but this will need to be fixed in the next update.)[/p]
• [p]Cover objects now properly block enemy projectiles.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where certain mechanic-based monsters would attack the player immediately upon spawning at specific cooldown timings.[/p]
• [p]Added a countdown and effects to make the end-of-wave sequence clearer.[/p]
• [p]Added effects and a slow-motion animation to make the level-up sequence clearer.[/p]
• [p]After the game ends, you will now be taken to the Stage Select screen instead of the main menu.[/p]

[p][/p][p]\[Bug Fixes][/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where the mouse cursor would not stay in the foreground in certain situations.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an intermittent issue where the Interact (\[E]) tutorial would not complete properly.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the weapon descriptions for Recoil Jones and Snapedge Alpha were identical.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where Recoil Jones’s Hyper Capacity “Double Dealer” did not apply immediately.[/p]
• [p]Updated the visual effects for Snapedge Alpha’s Hyper Capacity “Shadow Blade.”[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where, while pulling a weapon, continuously keeping the mouse cursor near the character’s center would cause the weapon to gradually drift farther away from the character.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where Auto Retrieve at Wave End during upgrades should collect some of the remaining EXP and chips on the ground, but only some chips were being collected.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue on the results screen where the rank and leaderboard percentage could become out of sync.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]With this update, we’ll be pausing further patches for a short while as we prepare a major update.[/p][p]We’re aiming for early February, and it will include a full overhaul of the item system—along with new characters and weapons.[/p][p][/p][p]Since we’re saying goodbye for a bit, we promise to come back with something exciting.[/p][p]Thank you, as always, for playing and supporting us![/p]

[p][/p][p]We’re excited to announce that PengPong will be showcased at G EIGHT 2025.
Visit us at Booth ER 09 and play the latest PengPong build 🎮[/p][p]Join us December 12 to 14 2025 at the Taipei Expo Dome in Taiwan.
Come say hi try the game and have fun with the team.[/p][p]Also don’t miss your chance to get a limited edition PengPong trading card available only at the event. (This is a special reward for players who join us on site!)[/p][p]If you enjoy the game please consider adding PengPong to your Steam wishlist to stay updated on future news and the full release![/p][p]We look forward to seeing you at the booth.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p][/p][p]We’re celebrating the PengPong demo with a FREE Steam key giveaway!
👉 Apply through the link!
https://gleam.io/IXCw9/get-your-pengpong-steam-key[/p][p]
Jump in, enter now, and 50 lucky players will get their key on launch day.
PengPong launches in 2026! (Just around the corner!)
So stay tuned, and don't forget to add PengPong to your wishlist PengPong Prologue: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] PengPong: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]