Why Early Access?

“Couch Detective is a deduction game where the experience depends heavily on how real players ask questions and interpret answers. Early Access lets us ship a complete, playable core and then iterate with community feedback on (1) case clarity and difficulty (so solutions feel fair), (2) the AI host’s ruling consistency for “Yes/No/Irrelevant”, and (3) investigation UX such as logs, clue review, and pacing. It also allows us to roll out planned content and larger system updates in stages while keeping the game stable and enjoyable at every step.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We plan to be in Early Access for approximately 6 to 12 months. This timeline may adjust depending on player feedback and the time needed to polish planned updates.”

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

“We have a phased roadmap for the full version. We plan to expand the case library with new themed case packs, continue refining the AI host’s logic and guidance, and add progression and customization features (achievements, badges, and office items). We also plan to introduce longer-form “serialized” mysteries with connected story arcs. In addition, we are exploring a co-op mode for solving cases with friends, but this would come later and only after the single-player experience is fully polished.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access build is fully playable as a single-player deduction experience. It includes curated “Turtle Soup” style cases, an AI host that answers free-form questions with “Yes/No/Irrelevant,” and an in-game log/notebook-style UI to review what you’ve learned. A Creation Mode is also available, allowing players to generate and play custom puzzles from prompts. Early Access updates primarily focus on adding more cases and improving consistency, balance, and usability.”

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

“We plan to offer the game at a lower price during Early Access. As we add substantial new content and major feature updates, we plan to increase the price toward full release.”

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

“We will use Steam Discussions and update posts to collect feedback and bug reports, especially on case fairness and any AI responses that feel inconsistent or unclear. We plan to run periodic polls on upcoming case themes and prioritize roadmap items based on aggregated community input. We may also use Steam beta branches to test larger changes (major AI logic updates, new progression systems, and any co-op experiments) before rolling them out broadly.”