Planned Release Date: Q4 2026

About This Game

Welcome to Astral Forge: Desktop Alchemist.

On your desktop while you work, back to the workshop when you play

Everyday computer use can help prepare your next alchemy experiment. Typing, mouse movement, idle time and time online contribute to different resources.

Carry on working, studying or browsing. When you have a moment, return to stoke the fire, cool the furnace, forge items, sort your discoveries or see what other alchemists have sent.

Choose how your workshop runs

Desktop wallpaper mode: keep the workshop beneath your Windows desktop icons and other applications.

Windowed or full-screen display: open it like a regular game to focus on alchemy, collections and trading.

Energy-saving mode: enable the power-saving settings for longer sessions and adjust background frame rate and rendering resolution as needed.

For a break from the keyboard and mouse, start a 25-minute meditation at the pool and collect the corresponding materials when you finish.

Set the temperature and see what this batch brings

Add fire to raise the furnace temperature or water to lower it, then choose when to forge. Temperature affects the result; the item's quality and affixes give you more to investigate after the reveal.

Identify unknown items, try combining or reforging them, or dismantle unwanted finds to recover resources for another attempt. Sometimes you get ordinary materials; sometimes a discovery worth keeping.

Build a collection of your own

Fill your compendium, from everyday items to rare relics, and look for affix combinations you like.

Organize and expand your inventory, make room for new finds, and display eligible collectibles in the workshop. Chase a better item or work towards those entries you have yet to unlock.

Exchange discoveries with other alchemists

Exchange supplies through trading ships, send or receive messages in bottles, and use item trading and auctions to find what you need.

These interactions are asynchronous: no real-time multiplayer room or matching schedules are required. Develop your own workshop, exchange resources when you need to and occasionally receive another player's discovery.

Give your resources more uses

Resource exchanges, an in-game bank, trading and auctions let you prepare materials, manage your game currency and rearrange your collection.

From inventory expansion to long-term investments involving wonders and the colossus, decide whether to keep crafting, complete your collection or save for the next goal.

Watch for workshop surprises

Occasional events need your attention. A bomb that suddenly appears, for example, calls for a timely response.

Alongside alchemy and collecting, remember to check what is happening in the workshop.

Take rare collectibles into your Steam Inventory

Eligible special items can be exported to your Steam Inventory. Items that support market trading can be traded on the Steam Community Market.

Item eligibility, an in-game license and Steam's trading and market rules apply. The license can be unlocked using game resources or obtained earlier through payment. Buying the game and obtaining the license are separate.

Internet connection

Internet required.

Gameplay and features

Astral Forge: Desktop Alchemist combines a fantasy alchemy workshop with desktop companionship, idle progression and incremental growth. Desktop wallpaper mode, windowed and full-screen display, and energy-saving settings let it accompany everyday computer use. Keyboard input, mouse movement, idle time and online time contribute to resources.

Play includes temperature control, alchemy, forging, combining, identification, random affixes, reforging, dismantling, rare relic collecting, a collection compendium, displays and inventory expansion. Resource exchanges, the in-game bank, trading, auctions, wonders and the colossus provide further goals.

Trading ships, messages in bottles and supply exchanges offer light asynchronous interaction without being online together. Meditation and random workshop events add variety. Eligible items can be exported to Steam Inventory; marketable items can be traded on the Steam Community Market.

For players who enjoy fantasy workshops, desktop companions, idle crafting, resource management, affix hunting, collecting and long-term progression, the workshop grows from everyday activity.

Related gameplay: desktop companion, desktop idle game, idle progression, incremental growth, typing-driven resources, alchemy, temperature control, crafting, forging, combining, identification, reforging, dismantling, random affixes, relic collecting, compendium completion, item displays, inventory management, resource management, trading, auctions, asynchronous interaction, messages in bottles, meditation, Steam Inventory and Steam Community Market.