Why Early Access?

“We want this project to be a truly creative collaboration with our community: a game for gamers, developed by gamers, and, ultimately, fueled by gamers. For us, Early Access is the best way to start learning, growing, and playing—together.

This is especially important because we are developing several novel systems that players will love, and it’s imperative that we ensure the highest quality at release:

• A tarot-card-based skill system that connects to combat and the larger world
  
• A deterministic loot system that removes RNG
  
• The Eternity System, which lets the game live forever, without fear of built-in obsolescence, and lets players create and add original content

Even in a land ruled by the undead, we want Deadhaus Sonata to feel alive and thriving.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We will be in early access for roughly 18 months.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“We plan to make the full version free to play and to add cosmetic microtransactions to the full version and throughout Early Access.

Additionally, we plan to add these gameplay features:

• 7 iconic, merciless classes (Vampire, Ghoul, Banshee, Liche, Revenant, Wraith, and Wight)
  
• New lore-steeped areas, including dungeons, towers, and other locations
  
• Hundreds of tarot cards and inscriptions to boost combat
  
• Additional challenges and achievements which will grant the most powerful buffs
  
• Integrated community-generated content tools, allowing gamers to create content within the Deadhaus Sonata world. The community will be able to create everything from items and cities to entire story-driven campaigns
  
• Character customization options
  
• Enemy types and bosses
  
• Additional stories and quest lines
  
• Professional voice acting, crafted dialogue, and in-game cinematics
  
• Social features like text and voice chat

”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Deadhaus Sonata is in early development, with our team constantly improving and refining the experience—everything from art to storytelling. The first playable class will be the iconic Vampire, with a limited number of areas gamers can access and replay. There are approximately 4 hours of gameplay with a straight playthrough. Secret areas add another 2–3 hours of play, along with a 13-hour in-depth narrative for players to enjoy. Areas are replayable. Significantly more content will be added as the game progresses through Early Access.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“At release, we plan to make the game free to play. But for now, we are charging a small price for Early Access, and here’s why:

• Charging a fee covers essential ongoing costs: supporting our small-but-mighty team, server infrastructure, external art/audio contracting, and QA testing
  
• Direct community funding allows our studio to retain creative control and execute an original, niche vision without executive intervention or aggressive monetization models
  
• We want early buyers to serve as co-creators. Supporting us now gives you a transparent, front-row view of indie game development

Note: During Early Access, we will roll out new purchasable cosmetic items, whose price will increase at the time of full release. We also plan to give Early Access players bonus cosmetics and exclusive cosmetic items which will not be available when Early Access ends.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We welcome—no, enthusiastically encourage—Early Access players to help with balancing the game and offering system feedback. For us, these are the best ways to do so:

• Give feedback via our forums, the Steam Community Hub, and on Discord
  
• Contribute to periodic community surveys about which new features and improvements the community would like to see. We plan on publishing the anonymized results of these surveys and will use this data to inform our development plans

”