Far Far West News

[p]Howdy cowboys, We’ve got big news![/p][p][/p][p]Far Far West is part of the Steam February Next Fest!!! (23rd → March 2nd)[/p][p]And just ahead of this, we’re launching a PUBLIC DEMO on February 19th at 2PM GMT!!! [/p][p]Make sure to Wishlist the demo on Steam, so you’re notified the farfarwestillasecond it goes live  [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h2]24-Hour Demo Early Access and an in-game boost![/h2][p]Wanna ride into the demo earlier?[/p][p]We’re giving 24 HOUR EARLY ACCESS to players who sign up to the Fireshine Games newsletter alongside a secret code that will give you an in-game boost![/p][h3]-> SIGN UP HERE [/h3][p]You'll receive an email with your early access code on February 18th[/p][p][/p]

What’s New Since the Last Playtest?

[p]This demo isn’t just a rerun of the last Playtest. We’ve been BUSYYYYYY[/p]

• [p]We introduced the Equipment Blueprints System (You now find weapon blueprints in game and craft them at the shop) and the Glory System (additional blueprints increase your Glory level, which you can flex using the Emote Wheel)[/p]
• [p]Added New Upgrades, Weapons, Spells, Jokers, Emotes & a New Skin to unlock[/p]
• [p]DirectX 11 is now supported, allowing improved compatibility across more systems (which means more people can play FFW :D)[/p]
• [p]Upgraded the Lobby with more details and has now entered its ~🌸 SPRING 🌸~ phase[/p]
• [p]We’ve done more work on improving optimization and added some new accessibility features[/p]

[p]And much more! You can read the full PATCH NOTES for all the juicy details[/p][p][/p]

Join the Community

[p]Whether you’ll be jumping into the Far (Far) West for the first time, or if you’re returning from previous playtests, we wanna remind you to[/p][h2]Wishlist Far Far West on Steam[/h2][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h2]Follow us on Socials[/h2][p]-> https://linktr.ee/FarFarWest[/p][h2]And Join the Discord[/h2][p]https://discord.com/invite/farfarwest[/p][p][/p][p]Your support has and continues to make a HUGE difference, especially during Next Fest

Thanks for ridin’ with us! And we’ll see ya’ll out in the FAR FAR WEST!![/p][p][/p]

[p]Howdy folks![/p][p][/p][p]Welcome to the very first issue of the Far Far West Bullet-in: our new monthly news blog where we round up what’s been happening, share milestones, and give yall a peek at what’s coming next.[/p][p][/p][p]We’re planning to post one of these towards the end of every month, so if you like behind-the-scenes updates, numbers, and want sneak peeks at what’s coming up, you’re in the right place![/p][p][/p][p]Let’s get into it.[/p][p][/p][h2]A Quick Look Back at the Trail So Far[/h2][p]Far Far West has come a long way in a pretty short amount of time.[/p][p]What started early last year as a scrappy prototype (once known internally as Canyon) slowly evolved into the spell-slinging, robot-cowboy chaos you’ve been playtesting! Along the way, we:[/p]

• [p]Signed with Fireshine Games in May / June 2025
  [/p]
• [p]Revealed Far Far West during the PC Gaming Show
  [/p]
• [p]Ran our first closed community playtests in August 2025
  [/p]
• [p]Launched our first public playtest in October 2025
  [/p]

[p]Each step brought in players, feedback, and clarity on what Far Far West should be, and January took things even further.[/p][p][/p][p]A lot happened in January! Let’s dig in.[/p][p][/p][h2]Open Playtest #2 (Jan 8 – Jan 19)[/h2][p]Our second open playtest absolutely blew past our expectations:[/p]

• [p]9,270 peak concurrent players
  (up from ~2,500 in Playtest #1)
  [/p]
• [p]300,000+ total players
  (up from 130k!)
  [/p]
• [p]25,000 Discord members
  (we were under 7k before Playtest #2 started)[/p]

[p][/p][p]Seeing THAT MANY of you jump in, join up, break things, report bugs, and put the game through its paces was INCREDIBLE. The feedback we gathered during this playtest is already shaping what we’re working on next.[/p][p]We went through the +11k feedback forms submitted during the playtest, which helped us pinpoint what works well and what our next objectives are.[/p][p][/p][h2]NewGame+ Showcase[/h2][p]We also took part in the NewGame+ showcase, where we shared and talked through a mission walkthrough.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h2]Clip Capture Challenge[/h2][p]During Open Playtest #2, we ran our Clip Capture Challenge in Discord, asking players to submit their best Far Far West moments.[/p][p]We saw TONS of entries from our community, and handed out €100 in Steam vouchers to the winners.[/p][p]Watch some of our favourite entries here! https://x.com/FarFarWestGame/status/2017557296490885623[/p][p][/p][p]Jungle Map WIP[/p][p]Our level designer has made some really cool progress on a new Jungle map (WIP)[/p][p][/p][p]New Skin[/p][p]Our artists have worked on a new skin[/p][p][/p][p]Custom Skin Animations[/p][p]Our animator did some very cool animations for each skin (more to come)[/p][p][/p][p]New Grenade[/p][p]We’re giving y’all more movement tech with the impact grenade[/p][p][/p][p]New Weapon Concept[/p][p]We made some cool concepts for a new weapon (not sure how it will work in game yet, will come with time!)[/p][p][/p][carousel][/carousel][p]Train Texture[/p][p]Finished the texture for the 1225 Pere Marquette[/p][p][/p][p]Contagion Spell Update[/p][p]With help from members in our Discord, we updated the Contagion spell[/p][p][/p][p]And More![/p]

• [p]Added a layered music system to the game[/p]
• [p]Made great progress on CPU optimization[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Looking Ahead: February & Beyond[/h2][p]2026 is shaping up to be a huge year for Far Far West.[/p][p]Here’s what we can say for now:[/p]

• [p]Early Access is planned for later this year[/p]
• [p]We’re deep in development, iterating on feedback from Playtest #2[/p]

[p]We’ll share more concrete details on commonly asked community questions such as release date and game price as soon as we can! [/p][p][/p][h2]Thanks for Riding With Us[/h2][p]If you made it this far, thank you.[/p][p]Regardless of when you discovered Far Far West we genuinely appreciate you being part of this journey & community.[/p][p]We’ll see you again next month with another issue of the Far Far West Bullet-in 🤠📰[/p][p]Until then:[/p][p][/p][h3]Wishlist Far Far West on Steam (pls Follow us on socials![/h3][p]https://linktr.ee/FarFarWest[/p][h3]&[/h3][h3][/h3]

[p]Howdy Cowboys,[/p][p]We’ve just flipped the switch and the Far Far West playtest is now CLOSED[/p][p][/p][p]Over the last couple of weeks you’ve filled the servers, broken builds (in the best way), sent us an avalanche of feedback, and generally stress tested the game way harder than we ever could on our own[/p][p] [/p][p]That kinda of hands on help is priceless, and we cant thank you enough for showing up the way you did[/p][p][/p][p]Were heading back into dev mode now to dig through everything you shared and start turning it into fixes and improvements for what comes next. You’ve given us a lot to work with, which is a very good problem to have[/p][p][/p][p]One final THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU to each an every one of you for takin' part in this playtest, and we hope to get FFW back in your hands very soon (and don't forget we're still planning on launching into Early Access this year)[/p][p][/p][p]Stay tuned RIGHT HERE for all future FFW news & announcements, and we'll see yall far (far) west very soon[/p][p][/p]

[p]Howdy yall,[/p][p]Just a quick update from us as the playtest rolls on :D[/p][p]First things first: the playtest is NOT ending today.[/p][p]
For anyone who missed it, we’re extending it for one more weekend, and it will now wrap up on:[/p][p]Monday 19th Jan at 12:00 PM GMT[/p][p]So don't worry! You aren't about to be kicked out of the Far Far West!!! More info on the extension & fun numbers here: [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h2]Discord Clip Competition[/h2][p]We also wanted to let yall know we’re running a Discord Clip Capture Competition over on our Discord! [/p][p][/p][p]The idea is simple:[/p]

• [p]Capture your coolest, funniest, or most cinematic Far Far West moment[/p]
• [p]Clips or GIFs only, max 10 seconds[/p]
• [p]Submit them in our Discord before January 19th[/p]

[p]The community will help vote on their favourites, and we’ll crown three winners, with Steam gift cards up for grabs PLUS a special exclusive Discord role for anyone who makes it to the final vote.[/p][p]We’ve already seen some great entries come in, but there’s still plenty of time to join, so what are you waiting for!?!??!?![/p][h3]Join our Discord to take part in the challenge!!!![/h3][p][/p]

[p]Howdy y’all,[/p][p]We were planning to wrap the playtest up tomorrow… but honestly? You’ve been playing the hell out of it, giving great feedback, and having way too much fun for us to pull the plug just yet[/p][p]Soooooo… we’re EXTENDING THE PLAYTEST until next Monday, which means one more weekend to run contracts, break things, and find bugs for us (thank you btw)[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]But before you ride back out, we want to say huge congrats to this community, because these numbers are absolutely WILD![/p]

• [p]21,000+ Discord members (we were under 7k before this playtest!)[/p]
• [p]9,270 Peak CCU (last playtest topped out just over 2,500)[/p]
• [p]500,000+ Total players (up from 130k last time)[/p]

[p]That’s… genuinely insane. Thank you for showing up. Thanks for dragging friends along, for streaming, sharing clips, and thank you all for playtesting Far Far West[/p][p][/p][p]If you havent already, please fill out the feedback form! it helps us massively as we keep improving the game and getting it ready for Early Access this year https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1V-00TxIurbcL4aoJg4-bQDRVN2Vy9JK4SZJBTQBGwg8/[/p][p][/p][p]oke, enough rambling, see y’all out there for one more weekend[/p][p][/p]