Why Early Access?

“Deepstone Rift is built around strategic depth, tower synergy, and a growing campaign. Early Access allows us to involve players while the core systems are still expanding. We want to gather feedback on balance, difficulty, tower mechanics, enemy behaviors, and new features such as gates, patrol systems and hero abilities.
Community input will help shape how the combat flow feels, which content to prioritize, and what improvements will make the experience more enjoyable.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect Deepstone Rift to remain in Early Access for 6–12 months, depending on community feedback and the size of new systems we add. Our goal is to deliver a polished, content-rich final version — not to rush.”

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

“We plan to have:

Full campaign with multiple regions, biomes, and bosses

More tower types, upgrades, and tech paths

Hero progression system

More enemy types with unique mechanics

Improved AI pathing and strategic variations

Gate/defense mechanics and base progression

More events, challenges, and difficulty modes

More polished visuals, VFX, sound, and UI

Quality-of-life improvements and performance optimization

The Early Access version focuses on the core gameplay loop, while the final version will expand the world with much more content and polish.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version includes:

The core tower-defense gameplay loop

Working pathing and enemy AI

Several towers with upgrades

Wave system

Gate-defense mechanic prototype

Enemy types with different behaviors

Basic UI, settings, and progression

The game is fully playable, stable, and already represents the main gameplay experience, but it does not yet include the full campaign, hero system, late game towers, or all planned content.”

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

“Yes. As the game grows in content and features, we plan to increase the price at full release. Early Access players will get the game at a lower cost and receive all future updates for free.”

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

“We will involve the community through:

Discord discussions and polls

Steam community posts

Balancing feedback and feature suggestions

Early testing of new mechanics (like gates, new towers, new enemies)

Public roadmap visibility

Regular updates explaining what changed and why

Deepstone Rift is being built alongside the community, and we want players to help shape the direction, difficulty, and new systems as development continues.”