Witchfire News

This one’s big and juicy – here’s what’s inside.

First, we chat with one of our designers about how weapons are crafted in Witchfire.

Then, we begin to pull back the curtain on the next major update called Webgrave.

And finally, a fresh installment of the Hermitorium Archives, where we highlight the coolest things the community’s been up to, along with a few bonus insights from the team.



Witchfire is – to quote our storefront – a first-person dark fantasy RPG shooter. It’s a lot of words, sure, but even a brief look at the game makes one thing obvious: weapons matter. They’re with you when you run, when you pause, when you pick a loadout, when you research. We’re big on our guns – some might even say we’re all-in.

But have you ever wondered how these death-dealing instruments come to be? What’s the story behind their design? I managed to pry Andrzej Sugier — @Sugar on our Discord — our very own Gunsmith-in-Chief, away from his work to talk about shaping the past, present and future armory of the Vatican’s finest killer.



Q: So, Sugar... A Witchfire weapon. Where do you begin?

A: There are two answers. The first is kind of mundane – we’ve had a pool of 3D weapon models prepared years ago. For each archetype – shotguns, ARs, machine pistols – there were three base models. We still haven’t used them all, honestly. So most of the time, a new weapon starts with one of those assets.

But every now and then, we step outside that structure. Sometimes it’s because we want to do something different, sometimes it’s because the community wants something weird. That’s how Striga came to be – a nod to Painkiller and an homage to our dev team’s pedigree. A love letter. There are two other weapons following that “off the books” path, but we can’t talk about them yet. Rest assured, they’re coming, and they’re not the last.

Q: Striga is one of the fan favorites, and it’s a love that I personally share, too. But it's not just fun to use, it's genuinely useful. How do you balance the two? Fun versus function, I mean.

A: There’s actually the perfect way to think about the issue: “toy vs tool.” And while of course we care about both, we start with the "tool". The first step is always to look at the sandbox. What’s missing? Where's a gap in functionality? Which type of players we are not servicing yet?

So yeah, function matters. A weapon should allow you to change your playstyle, because if everything behaves the same, it’s boring. So we figure out what’s missing – something for long range, something aggressive, something that makes you play differently – and once we have that function in mind, we design around it.

Q: But when you find a free slot, that weapon might be perfectly functional, but not fun. For example if it's something powerful but slow, heavy, and clunky -- how do you make it fun?

A: Exactly, right? That was the challenge, for example, with Judgment. We wanted a proper boomstick – an atomic slap to the face. But it needed to have a downside, too, like maybe a slow reload, abysmal rate of fire, heavy recoil -- things like that. And still somehow be satisfying to use.



We’re gamers ourselves, we pay attention to what’s fun, what feels good. I like to imagine I have this “fun bucket” – full of mechanics and ideas I’ve collected. When designing, I dip into that bucket and see what fits. For Judgment, it was about building a weapon around a charge mechanic, making you time your shots and feel that power surge when it lands. So this is what we focused on, tweaking the knobs and even redesigning some Mysteria until it felt good to use while maintaining its own identity.

Q: Speaking of Mysteria. How do you approach those? I mean, do you design the base version then more stuff add to it, or do you design the end version and subtract?

A: The former. Sure, first, they need to be functional. They guide or reinforce a certain playstyle – or counter abuse. But usually we start with M1, then think of how we can make a cool gun cooler. Higher Mysteria need to multiply the fun.

Take Hypnosis. You can charge the shot (M1) for extra damage, which is already a fun action -- but if you release right when the gem lights up (M2), it gets an additional boost. That makes the player pay attention. They’re not just spamming – they’re engaged, present in the moment. That’s the goal.

Q: Are all weapons designed like that – by identifying needs and building from there?

A: Not always. Sometimes an idea is just fun. Like Rotweaver – I wanted to make a weapon that feels like spraying enemies with a garden hose full of acid. Weird, gross fun — pure power fantasy.

On the flip side, you have Hailstorm – very utilitarian. A tool with functional mysteria which gets the job done. It’s kind of a relic from early Witchfire, and there’s a chance it’ll get a revamp. But it still has its own niche – not everything has to be flashy. As long as it feels good and unique, we're happy.



Q: "Feels good". Players often talk about the “weapon feel”, be it Witchfire or any other shooter. What does it mean to you as a designer?

A: Hot take – it’s all about interaction. Sound, animation, model, responsiveness, hook, core idea — all important. But if the world doesn’t react, none of that matters.

If you unload five shotgun shells into an enemy and they just walk forward like nothing happened, the gun feels weak, even if the HP bar goes down. But if a shot makes them stumble, react realistically – now that’s satisfying. Humans love seeing the world react, we’re wired for it – as kids, we dig in sand because there’s a hole left when we’re done. We toss rocks in water, watch the ripples – same thing.

Q: Is that hard to balance, especially with bigger enemies that cannot be slapped around that easily?

A: Definitely. We want enemies to be responsive, but not ridiculous – Dimacher shouldn’t fly across the throne room just because you shot him in the chest.

Tech-wise, I’d love to go deeper – tear clothes, rip tissue, that kind of thing. Right now, it’s a pipe dream, but we're constantly looking into new ways of making the world react to your actions.

Q: What about weapon stats? Do they matter for the "weapon feel"?

A: It starts with core characteristics; if Judgment is slow and heavy, it damn well better hit like a truck. All secondary stats – reload, recoil, spread – must orbit the primary concept; otherwise, it feels “off.”

Even then, it’s not foolproof. Some guns look great on paper, but suck in practice. If testing shows that firing it is a chore, we scrap that config. Adjust it, tweak it, try again. Game development is all about iterating.



Q: So once you have the design, the gun with animations and effects, the Mysteria implemented – what’s left?

A: Literally just playing with it – a day or two of testing, fine-tuning, checking and double-checking if it feels right. That’s the final step, the somewhat spiritual human touch. You can’t overstate how important that is. It’s what gives Witchfire its handcrafted feel — it’s not “this’ll do” — it’s passion.

Q: Has this passion ever gone too far? I mean, what's the longest you've spent on a weapon?

A: Well – Striga had three iterations, and the current record holder, Duelist, had eight. To be clear, that doesn’t mean they’re “better,” it just means we had to fight harder to get them to feel right.

But "too far"?.. We try to be sane ...most of the time. Leonardo Da Vinci said that art’s never finished, just abandoned, and at some point you do have to say “stop.” Sure, you could always improve something 1% more – but it might take 100 hours to do it, and that’s just counterproductive.

Having said that, Striga took over two weeks to get working properly, and I am just talking the prototype. The ragdoll simulation was complex – no other weapon uses it, but it had to be right.



Q: If it's this hard and time-consuming, have there been any cool ideas that just didn’t work out?

A: Railguns. We tried, but the combat rarely lines up enemies the way you need for that payoff. Frostbite M3 is kind of a twist on it, but… it doesn’t hit right. Still, one upcoming weapon is flirting with that design. It probably just needs a bit more time.

Q: So, nothing’s been scrapped forever?

A: Not just yet, at least. We’re still in Early Access, still working, so nothing’s off the table. And once the core of the game is done, who knows — we might go absolutely bonkers.

If the code lets us, of course, as it sometimes works in mysterious ways. We’ve had bugs where Striga’s projectiles became as big as tree trunks. Reloads were performed by a hand of god. Vulture’s bolts demanded input from the player before connecting with the enemies. New weapons mean new bugs — that’s just how it is.

We’re observing, thinking, working. But we’re also trying not to make Witchfire forever – it has to be released one day.

Q: Good one! Thanks, Sugar, and on that note...



Ladies and gentlemen, it is time.

There’s still much work ahead, but we now feel confident enough in the upcoming Webgrave update to begin revealing it. Starting next week, we’ll kick off a weekly series of posts showcasing new content and walking you through the redesigned systems and features. There's a lot to cover, and these updates will continue until release. In just a few weeks, we’ll share the exact launch date.

Today, a small taste of what’s to come. One of the inhabitants of that accursed town…

When the witch’s curse first fell upon the place, no one saw it for what it was. They mistook it for yet another plague, cruel but familiar. The twisted shapes of the afflicted were dismissed as grotesque symptoms. They burned bodies. Quarantined entire districts. Nothing helped. Only when the changes grew undeniable -- when bone split skin, when limbs took unnatural forms while hearts still beat -- did they grasp the truth. But by then, it was far too late

This is Townswoman. Forever caught between forms. Forever not one of us. Not one of them.



This is just the first teaser of what’s coming – we’re excited to share more in the coming weeks, and we’re super happy that you, the community, the gamers, are interested in what we’re cooking. Stay tuned for news from the world of Witchfire starting next week – we hope you’ll like it.

As it’s been a while since the previous post, it’s also time to look at what you’ve been doing – it’s yet another instalment of…



[h2]What Do Your Dev Eyes See?[/h2]

One of the key advantages of having a game in Early Access is the ability to gather feedback from players before the final release. We’re reading a lot of what you share, and honestly, it often makes us scratch our heads – in a good way. Some feedback makes us rethink decisions we’ve made; some points us in directions we might not have otherwise considered.



One such topic resurfaced on Steam just last week, and after reading through it, we decided to address a few of the issues raised. You can read the full thread here.

[h2]Feelings Inc.[/h2]

Then there are moments when you remind us of things we already know – just not consciously, in the moment. A recent Reddit thread was a great example of that. Some of you shared how Witchfire makes your heart race, how extraction brings a genuine sense of relief. A reminder that mood matters.



Emotions are invaluable, and often underappreciated. We’re thrilled to read that the game gets your pulse going, because that means something’s clicking. And, to be honest, we’re a bit desensitised ourselves – we live and breathe Witchfire every day. That adrenaline rush you feel when you’re sprinting to the portal, praying the Warden doesn’t show up? We miss that. So, thanks for reminding us.

[h2]This Used to Mean Something…[/h2]

The arrival of level 541 players – the current max – was inevitable. But we didn’t expect so many of you to get there so quickly. And apparently, we have a new record-holder in town. It's unverified, but - if true - seriously impressive: Garlick popped onto our Discord to announce they hit level cap in under 108 hours. Witchfire’s own Lightning McQueen?



Maybe.

That said, we’re already working under the hood to restructure stat system in a big way – so don’t get too attached to the current cap or how points are distributed. And no worries: all the time and effort you’ve invested won’t be wasted; you’ll be able to redistribute your stats within the new system. We respect your time far too much to just hit reset and walk away.

[h2]Follow the Galley Slave[/h2]

Seriously – if I got a penny every time someone admitted they were too afraid to jump into the green mist, I could probably afford to buy a prime property on the Scarlet Coast.



It’s not a bug, you just have to follow him into the opening. Remember: you’ve been sent by the Pope on a mission to expire a witch. There are chemicals dancing through your veins. You wield weapons capable of levelling armies.

Fear no crevice.

(Yes, we know. But still.)

[h2]No Roomies?[/h2]

This one made me seriously question things.



Maybe we should have a few of them around… or at least a plushie chilling in a secluded corner of the Hermitorium?

Food for thought.

That’s it for this post. Take care, and stay tuned for more Webgrave news – they are coming.

…

Maybe even crawling.

Before we get to the fat community update, here's a guest post from Adrian, our Creative Director, on the secrets of games that punch above their weight...

Most of Witchfire was done by a team of twelve people. When we revealed that, people noticed:



But this started earlier, with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter:



It sounds insane today, but one of the stronger marketing beats we've done was to give the press three very short GIFs from the game. Old-school, real, bloated GIFs -- not MP4 videos pretending to be GIFs. Not many games looked like this in 2014, and we got great coverage. The fact that such visual quality was achieved with a tiny team obviously helped.

Of course, we are not alone in making a fun, good-looking game with a suspiciously small team. Hades, Ori, Disco Elysium, or Manor Lords were all made by teams or even single developers that punch above their weight, creating games that feel like they were made with three, five, or ten times more people.

Lately, we got another contender, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I have finished the game…

Click here to read the post

…and even with my 30+ years of experience in making games that look bigger than they should -- Painkiller was made with 16 people on average -- I'm still not quite sure how they pulled it off. I get 90% of it, but how to make seven hours of high-quality cut scenes, half of which feature extensive visual effects… I just cannot comprehend.

Nonetheless, even with that missing 10%, I'm pretty sure the recipe behind it all is universal and comes down to two things: smart choices and the team.

The first is simple. Well, simple to explain but hard to execute. With "smart choices," you avoid time sinks -- either dropping them altogether or replacing them with something quicker but at least just as good. Another approach is reusing assets, but in a way that's invisible or nearly invisible to the player. This, of course, requires a lot of thought and experience but is very doable for any game.

Let me give you one example from Expedition 33 and Witchfire. With the former, note how almost all enemies are not human and have no faces.


Faces are among the hardest things to get right in video games, demanding significant time and effort because humans are biologically hardwired to focus on them. Removing faces not only saves an insane amount of time but also provides an opportunity to create unique and exciting enemy designs, making fights more engaging. Covering some humanoids with creepy masks further enhances the atmosphere. This solution helped the team avoid a major time sink while making the game more compelling.

For Witchfire, well, see this enemy?


It's the first enemy we created, and Marcin Klicki from CDPR made it multi-layered, meaning the armor and clothes can be stripped off the character. Thanks to this, throughout development we created at least seven other enemies from this one model. Remove the armor and clothes, change the skin material to dead white, lengthen the arms, and make the model semi-transparent -- voila, now we have a ghost. Replace the helmet with a distinct new model and attach a small shield to the ghoul's wrist, and boom, now we have a Buckler Swordsman. You get the idea…


But here's the thing: this reuse doesn't look cheap because it makes sense. Our enemies are remnants of an old army annihilated by the witch, turning the dead into her minions. With a military background, it's natural that soldiers would have similar armor pieces or combat poses. A private and a captain have the same firing stance, right? By clever reuse, we've created more enemies than if we had built each from scratch, enriching gameplay variety. Moreover, since some originate from the same base model, the world feels more coherent.

These are just two examples, but there's more, like using external assets. Expedition 33 utilized Paragon's enemies (right) for its prototypes (left)…


…helping the team quickly grasp what made their game tick. Similarly, we purchased many assets from the Unreal Marketplace, like photoscanned ruins, allowing us to diversify our worlds.

Of course, you can't make an entire game this way. Hard work on time-intensive tasks and original content is essential. That's why Expedition 33 took six years, and why Witchfire is in its eighth year. Still, things would have been twice as tough without "smart choices."

The second key to success is equally easy to explain but more controversial: Every person on your team needs to be talented, passionate, and hard-working.

Why controversial? Because you must be extremely selective about hiring and ruthless if a mistake occurs and someone doesn't deliver 100%. Here's a quote attributed to Heraclitus:

Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one -- one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.

You want your team composed of those real fighters, maybe even multiple instances of that one warrior. Maurice de Saxe, a renowned 18th-century French military commander, said it best: "It is not big armies that win battles; it is the good ones."

And here's Steve Jobs on the topic -- it's a long quote, but crucial to understanding how the best developers operate:

Most things in life have a dynamic range in which the ratio of “average” to “best” is at most 2:1. For example, if you go to New York City and get an average taxi cab driver, versus the best taxi cab driver, you’ll probably get to your destination with the best taxi driver 30% faster. And an automobile; what’s the difference between the average car and the best? Maybe 20%? The best CD player versus the average CD player? Maybe 20%?

So 2:1 is a big dynamic range for most things in life. Now, in software, and it used to be the case in hardware, the difference between the average software developer and the best is 50:1; maybe even 100:1. Very few things in life are like this, but [...] software is like this.

So I’ve built a lot of my success on finding these truly gifted people, and not settling for “B” and “C” players, but really going for the “A” players.

And I found something… I found that when you get enough “A” players together, when you go through the incredible work to find these “A” players, they really like working with each other. Because most have never had the chance to do that before. And they don’t work with “B” and “C” players, so it’s self-policing. They only want to hire “A” players. So you build these pockets of “A” players and it just propagates.

Talent matters, but why is passion essential? First, gamers intuitively sense if your game was crafted with love or from spreadsheets. Additionally, here's Jobs again:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
His point is especially relevant in a post-Covid world, where many developers work remotely. Only the best individuals self-organize effectively, making remote work viable regardless of how competent your producers are.

Honestly, this could be its own blog post, but let me quickly add two things:

First, I've led teams ranging from a single person to a hundred, plus hundreds of outsourcers. After over a dozen games, when we founded The Astronauts, we committed to working only with the best -- even if that meant smaller-scale projects compared to Bulletstorm or Gears of War: Judgment. Hence, our studio stayed at twelve people for so long. But with the success of Ethan and Witchfire Early Access, we're attracting more talent and have grown to twenty-six -- and I'd die for every single one of them. The policy remains unchanged, though.

Second, notice I didn't mention "experience". Talent, passion, work ethic -- yes. Experience? With these three traits, experience accumulates quickly. You need a portfolio of your amateur work -- ArtStation for artists, YouTube for programmers and sound engineers, etc. -- but experience remains the least important factor.

So there you have it. Those two pillars -- smart choices and a great team -- are key to games that look and play as if made by much larger teams.

But I still have no idea how Sandfall pulled off all those cut scenes in Expedition 33… It's beyond human comprehension.

Till next time,
Adrian




It’s been a while, and while we’ve been hard at work, you (the community) haven’t been resting on your laurels either. Which feels superb - it’s a reminder that Witchfire is landing in all kinds of ways - sometimes as a way to relax, other times as a source of creative fuel. So, before we get into the shenanigans, we have to see what sparks of ingenuity have jumped out of the Witchfire-powered furnace…


[h3]A surprise to be sure…[/h3]
I didn’t expect to see someone turn our game into a fully-fledged DnD campaign, yet here we are – Lex decided not to wait for someone else to imagine Witchfire as a tabletop RPG and did it himself. He created a playbook (damn nice work, by the way), which you can download and use to embark on your own adventure. If you’re a seasoned player and have comments or suggestions, don’t hesitate to hit Lex up on Twitter and share your thoughts on our Discord. We’d love to hear about your adventures!

[h3]…but a welcome one[/h3]
Another thing I personally didn’t have on my bingo card for this month – or even this year (clap four times) – was a fan-made audio drama set in the world of Witchfire. And yet, thanks to the efforts of Walber, we’ve got one: nearly fifty minutes long and available on YouTube. We recommend grabbing a comfy pair of headphones and letting the sound carry you to the world of Witchfire.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Builds, builds, builds[/h3]
One of the more recent additions to our ever-evolving Discord server is a channel dedicated to builds, allowing players to share and discuss their loadouts. Turns out Bananenklaus found a way to elevate the experience even further – enter the Witchfire randomizer. Now you can hit “random” to generate loadouts that might challenge you in new ways, even when you’re not playing! Want to offer suggestions or feedback? Visit the original Reddit thread.

[h3]Peak storytelling[/h3]
There are a lot of images and videos you post that make us laugh, but one post from April was spot on:





[h3]Sir, you cannot skate here. SIR.[/h3]
No matter what we do, some games and series are impossible to get out of our collective systems – you found a way to pay homage to the likes of Skate, SSX, and THPS while commuting in Witchfire. This clip from our Discord proves that even in places of research and worship, some of you simply cannot be contained. At this point, I’m honestly expecting someone to mod in a third-person camera, blast Pearl Jam's “Even Flow” in the background, and perform a Judas Air* on the steps of the Irongate Castle.

Click here to see the full video

* - The trick Christ Air has been renamed for accuracy within Witchfire universe.

[h3]A review that’s realer than real[/h3]
Our team is mostly made up of Poles, and as such, we confirm – that was the inspiration behind the game. You got us.


Source: Steam review.

[h3]*Considers dusting off the GH controller*[/h3]
The quest to find more optimized and/or exotic ways of controlling the game is eternal and inevitable. While we’re yet to see someone play Witchfire on a DDR mat, we have seen someone give it a go using… a flight stick and a gyro. The jury’s still out on whether this actually makes sense (though SiccFricc seems adamant that it does). We’ll update you if more people decide to give it a try.

Click here to see the full video

[h3]Speedrunning the labyrinth. Emphasis on speed and running.[/h3]
When the labyrinth under Witch Mountain was being built, we knew someone would eventually try to beat it against the clock – just like you made a hobby of harassing the Familiars until they weeped into their pillows. And you delivered – or rather, xdmuufo did, completing the maze before the clock hit two minutes.

Click here to see the full video

Fun fact: our team took that personally. There was a moment when we almost needed leaderboards, because the time differences were microscopic.

Wondering what the in-house Lab record™ was? Let’s just say there’s a lot of room for improvement for you – to the tune of tens (not tenths) of seconds.

Low-key hoping this reignites the rivalry and that you’ll show us what you can do – but I’m not holding my breath.

[h3]HR speaking, how may we help you, Mr. Dimacher?[/h3]
You know how it goes – we release an update with a boss that’s supposed to be a challenge, a real moment of reckoning… and then a player comes along and melts the boss in mere seconds.

But not quite like this. Hypnosis Goblin managed to obliterate Dimacher in three seconds.

Three.

Seconds.

Click here to see the full video

Granted, it took a whole lot of experience and knowledge of how to use mechanics and buffs effectively – but still. Three seconds. One twentieth of a minute. Unreal (Engine 4, pardon the pun). If you’ve already watched the video and are wondering how the hell that happened, Goblin also posted a peek behind the curtain on how to shoot so damn fast - head over to Reddit to learn about punchgunning.

[h3]Are you not entertained?[/h3]
We’re not going to tell you how you should feel while playing Witchfire. We only know what we have in mind while creating the game – but it turns out there’s a whole range of emotions you experience while running around eliminating the witch’s minions.

Some of you have been scared while exploring Witch Mountain. Some of you feel tense throughout. Others? Well, some are casually committing crimes against monstrosities (see: previous paragraph).

If you belong to the former two categories, we may have a solution of sorts: as part of our social media presence on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky, every Friday we post media designed to provide comfort and tranquility. Peaceful postcards from places you know from your crusades against the forces of evil.
A post shared by The Astronauts (@theastrocrew)

Feel free to join us – and, as a bonus, experience violence toggled to ON on Mondays, when we show you how havoc can be wreaked in Witchfire.

Hope to see you there, take care!

Piotrek

Here we are – The Witch Mountain has been delivered, most (if not all) of you have already played it, and you've given us a ton of feedback. While we’re still digging through all of it (and it’s going to take a while), you've already started asking questions about the future, and it’s only fair to answer them.

But before we do that, let’s take a look back. It’s been a long road, and we haven’t exactly been sitting on the sidelines, staring off into the distance and slacking off.

• 2023.09 - Early Access launch on the Epic Games Store. The reception was phenomenal, and the whole launch was an experience like no other - you can read more about how we felt back then in this post by Adrian
  
• 2024.04 - The Ghost Galeon Update – first major update, introduced Gnosis, refreshed Calamities, The Collector, Mirages and Witch Vaults
  
• 2024.08 – The Wailing Tower Update – second major update, introduced a new region, Prophecies, Corrupted Arcana and Fallen Preyers
  
• 2024.09 – Steam Early Access Launch + The High Stakes Update – making the game available on a new platform, Mysteria forge, new stamina system, Island of the Damned’s Witch Vault
  
• 2024.12 – The Brewing Update – release of Preview 1 and 2 allowing you to play in super-early access at your own risk, before the update was actually available; introduction of Alchemy, boss reshuffle
  
• 2025.03 – The Witch Mountain Update – introduction of a new region, Fallen Preyers 2.0, Shadow Orbs.
  

In total, that's 5 major updates, 27 patches and 6 hotfixes. As its the rule, each major update always included a new gear pack: new weapons, spells, fetishes, relics or rings.

[h2]Roadmap Update[/h2]

And now, let’s take a look at the updated roadmap:



As you can see, nearly everything has shifted by about three months. This delay stems from the Witch Mountain update, which took longer than expected. Rather than creating a standard boss rush challenge, we opted to develop the Labyrinth and all the wild elements it brings. We believe the extra time was worth it - quality and surprises are core to Witchfire’s DNA - but it did come at the cost of a delay.

Let me talk about each upcoming update in more detail.

[h3]There's a preyer in the cursed town[/h3]

Originally scheduled for this spring, the first major stop on the map is the Webgrave update, which we’re planning to release sometime in mid-2025.

The work on this update has already began. A few days ago, we had a planning meeting where we established a realistic timeline for deliverables, and we’re working on bringing the vision to life.

The groundwork has already been laid some time ago, and the level is… well, I wanted to say "playable," but that’s a bit too generous. "Mostly traversable" seems more fitting, though small parts are already populated with enemies who will give you a bit of a pause. Having explored it a few times, I can confidently say it’s the same goodness you’ve already experienced - except there’s more of it, dialed up to 11, and sprinkled with fresh surprises. I wish I could tell you more, but it’s too soon to spill the beans. Let’s just say the fire has been lit (a Vestal Flame, if you will), and we’ll be drip-feeding information for a while.

[h3]Like clockwork...[/h3]

The second update will bring a significant upgrade to some core mechanics, planned for release in the fall. I’m sure you can put two and two together (or rather, 2.0 and 2.0) and guess what’s coming based on the rest of the roadmap. These mechanical overhauls have been in discussion for a while, shaped by internal debates, our own experiences, and - last but not least - your feedback. We’ll share more details as we get closer to launch.

[h3]Seems like you're gonna need another map[/h3]

The third update is a big one - another region, one of the two mystery locations you’ve probably been eyeing on the destination screen, wondering what’s hidden in the distance. To quote a contemporary classic, "the patterns are there, buried in the data." You can see the direction we’re heading with our maps, and we’re not here just to meet expectations - we’re here to exceed them.

[h3]Your package is (not) out for delivery (yet)[/h3]

That said, exceeding expectations doesn’t happen overnight. As I mentioned it before, building the foundation of Witch Mountain took longer than expected, which means the overall timeline has shifted. As a result, the full launch of the game has been moved from late 2025 to early 2026. We’ve learned our lesson about calendar management - delivering the game this year is impossible, so we’re letting you know as early as we can while setting a realistic alternative.

There’s a meme floating around the Polish corner of the internet, "pora na CSa" ("time for CS"), used when someone slacks off, does the bare minimum, and then disappears to play Counter-Strike instead of doing their job properly. Some of you might think that’s what we’re doing (though if you frequent our Discord, you know how often we’re burning the midnight oil), but that couldn’t be further from the truth. While we’re adding content and refining what’s already in the game, there’s also a lot of behind-the-scenes work happening, even if it’s not immediately visible.

Two out of the three of the most frequently asked about features fall into this category, so let’s take a moment to address them…

Localization

It’s hard to count how many times we’ve seen requests for "language X" or "version Y" over the past months and years, and we’re not ignoring them. Localization is a far more complex subject than it appears at first glance, and we fully understand how important it is.

But that’s why we want to work with the best people. After a long selection process, we’ve chosen a lead for localization and partnered with a studio that will help bring Witchfire into multiple languages.

We’re not announcing who they are just yet, but they’re absolute stars - responsible for translating some of the biggest and best games of the past two decades. We understand that this needs to be done right, and we’re sparing no expense to ensure top-tier localization, so all people can enjoy the game and understand the world they’re experiencing.

Consoles

Another hot topic that some think we’re ignoring - even though it’s one of our top priorities (I believe I even mentioned it in the previous Hermitorium Archives). Porting the game to other platforms isn’t as simple as pressing a button labeled "PORT" and watching the builds magically appear in a folder. There are considerations like engine versions, system resources, hardware architecture differences, platform-specific requirements, and compliance rules.

We take this process very seriously, and we’re currently halfway through recruiting an expert who will help us bring our vision to consoles. Ports are a matter of "when", not "if," but doing them right takes time. We’re not willing to compromise the Witchfire experience just to ship sooner. We pride ourselves on delivering quality.

Co-Op

The third most often requested feature... And, folks, for the hundredth time - we absolutely understand the appeal of co-op. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t have racked up tens of thousands of hours across the team in a certain franchise that starts with “D” and ends with “-estiny.”

But - from day one, Witchfire has been designed as a single-player experience. Restructuring it into a co-op game at this stage would be an immense undertaking that simply wouldn’t make sense. Asking us to change course this late in development? Pointless.

If you want a co-op shooter, there's already quite a few on the market, and more are coming! Meanwhile, as for Witchfire, let us make the best possible Single Player experience we can. It will be worth it, we hope.



[h3]The state of the world...[/h3]

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been hard at work on the Witch Mountain Update, keeping a close eye on your feedback. Amid the sea of comments, one in particular stood out - not just for what it said about Witchfire, but for what it revealed about the state of the industry as a whole:

Click to visit the thread.

I am just going to leave you with your own thoughts on this - we surely have our own feelings, but it's a matter so profound and personal, I'd rather not point you into any direction.

[h3]There is virtually no limit to what can be resurrected - be mindful when pissing off a necromancer[/h3]

Here’s a little PSA for those of you struggling with Dinmacher in regular duels: tackle him after dealing with other enemies, and definitely make sure to take out all the War Priests. Why? Well, mainly because the War Priest operates like a Marxist utopia - completely blind to class distinctions - which means he might just resurrect the very boss that gave you the hardest time. Reddit user plzinsertbeer found that out the hard way…

Click to visit the source

[h3]I’ll Give You Damage…[/h3]

A few distinct playstyles are emerging from the videos making the rounds online. On one end of the spectrum, you have the “preppers” - methodically unlocking as many arcana as possible, sometimes even managing a full set. On the other end, some players don’t care about arcana at all and are just going in guns blazing. And then there are those who science the crap out of multipliers, dealing (un)godly amounts of damage:

Click to visit the source

[h3]Hang on a Minute - There’s a Robot Missing from This Picture…[/h3]

I like to think I play at a respectable pace, but that illusion shatters when I see gameplay like this:

Click to visit the source

[h3]Yes, Hello, PEGI? This is ESRB - Do You Have a Minute to Chat?[/h3]

Let’s just say there’s a reason why the disclaimer “Online Interactions Not Rated” exists. Witchfire is a single-player game, yet some of the player-driven world interactions could probably still raise a few eyebrows among the rating boards…


Source:Witchfire Discord.

[h3]The Duelist Appreciation Corner[/h3]

We knew that the new gun is going to be fan-favourite, especially since testing it during the development was a blast, but we underestimated how much you will fall in love with it. It's an absolute joy to read messages such as these ones:

























That's all for this week, folks. Take care!

List of changes:

• Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented consumables stacks to decrease after use;
  
• Fixed herb and mushroom generation on Witch Mountain;
  
• Fixed Witch Mountain seed reroll after consuming Placebo Pill or using Ascension Shrine;
  
• Herbs should no longer spawn in the air near the entrance to the Irongate Castle.
  

Enjoy the final - fingers crossed - patch for the Witch Mountain Update. Some pretty important changes in this one, here are the patch notes.

A quick word on the Labyrinth difficulty and design. Witchfire’s a game-in-progress, so the Labyrinth is more a proof of concept than a finished feature. You’ve probably noticed this already - it’s why we’ve got Fallen Preyers 2.0, Calamities 3.0, and so on. The core idea’s solid and fun, but there’s a Labyrinth 2.0 coming down the line. Karol’s got a ton of ideas he couldn’t squeeze in this time, but we’ll revisit them ASAP.

For now, we’ve cranked up the difficulty. The Labyrinth is HARDER to beat. Some builds might still breeze through, but if you’re strolling in casually, it’s a real challenge now.

Next week, we’ll drop a roadmap update. Then we’re hibernating for a few months to cook up the next big update - a new region plus a fresh layer to the game that’ll shake up how you think about stats and levels. More on that soon. For now, enjoy the mountain and the new gear (Judgment deniers: dig deeper, it’s a beast of a gun).