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Barnburners
Old school 5 on 5 Arcade hockey! Lay big hits, deke through the defense, and score top shelf! Pick from 24 teams, build your Franchise, create your own Pro, or play against your friends locally or online!

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Features
Languages:
Interface Full Audio Subtitles
English ✔ ✔

Coming Soon To Early Access

The developers of this game intend to release as a work in progress, developing with the feedback of players.

Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“Barnburners is a one person passion project, and to me arcade hockey lives or dies on how it feels. I can tune that on my own all day (and I have been), but nothing beats getting it in front of people who grew up on '94 and the Hitz games. Early Access lets me put out a game that's already fun to play, then sharpen the feel and content based on the people actually playing it. I'd rather build the rest of this with community feedback than keep guessing from solo playtests, limited demo feedback, and a few friends.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“I'm planning on roughly 6 months, but I care more about getting it right. The game is already a full package, so for me Early Access is about polishing it, improving performance, and listening to requests and feedback, not "finishing it". How long it takes will depend a lot on what players want me to focus on first.”

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

“The Early Access build is already pretty much a full game, so my goal for the full version is to deepen it, not fill in missing pieces. Things I plan to work on:

Going deeper on Franchise and The Journey.
More announcer and commentary lines, and more music and crowd audio.
An art and animation polish pass across the board.
Ongoing improvements to online play, including Online Franchise.

How I will tackle these will be based on player feedback during Early Access.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“It's a complete, playable arcade hockey game today:

Full 5 on 5 hockey against the CPU, with multiple game modes and rule sets.
Online 1v1 multiplayer, plus up to four players locally.
Penalties, power plays and special teams that follow current hockey rules.
24 fictional teams, each with its own identity.
Full controller support and accessibility options.

It runs well and it's fun to play. Early Access is about making it deeper and more polished, not making it work (but if there are bugs and issues, those obviously come first).”

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

“Early Access is $9.99. Depending on how Early Access goes, the price may go up at 1.0, so buying in early guarantees the lowest price!”

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

“I plan to be hands on with regular updates (at least once a month, probably way more) based on what players run into. I already tweak the game constantly from playtest notes and the anonymous data players can opt in to sending, and I want to keep doing that out in the open. Balance changes, feel adjustments and which features to build next have all come from the community so far. If something feels off or is missing, let me know, because a big chunk of the roadmap will come straight from that. The feedback button in the game sends notes straight to me, and I'm always looking at the community hub and Discord too.”
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Download Barnburners Demo

This game is not yet available on Steam

Planned Release Date: Dec 8, 2026

This game plans to unlock in approximately 4 weeks

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About This Game

"Hands down one of the best hockey games I've played in years." - Steam demo review

"Arcade hockey so simple, even a beer-league plug like me can feel like a playoff contender!" - Steam demo review

"...this game looks like it's running on a nes." - YouTube comment

"Looks cool!" - my mom

Old school 5 on 5 Arcade hockey! Lay big hits, deke through the defense, and score top shelf! It's a love letter to the hockey games of the '90s and early '00s.

Keep your head up

Use real hockey plays, find the open man, and apply pressure in the offensive zone. A perfectly timed check can turn your defense into a rush, while your forwards cycle to cover! Tune penalties, offsides, icing, and more, to the way you want to play.

Pick from 24 semi-fictional teams, each with its own roster and a captain with a signature ability. Boston and Philly like to hit hard while Detroit plays more of a two way game. Find your favorite team, or create your own with custom rosters and teams!

When the gloves come off, throw and block the punches yourself. With multiple fight modes you can figure out what you like best, or just let fights resolve automatically.

Build your Franchise

With a fully featured franchise mode, you can set your lines, make deadline trades, negotiate and sign free agents, and draft your next stars. Keep the owner happy, make the playoffs and chase the Clevenger Cup.

If you break promises to players, they'll become unhappy and may request a trade. Look back at your historical performance, and look for other open jobs to keep building up your reputation. Play solo or online with friends in the EXPERIMENTAL Online Franchise to see who can manage their BHL team the best!

Outdoor Games

Take your team out into the fresh air! Special outdoor games can be played standalone or also within Franchise mode. Play in the afternoon, at sunset, or under the lights, or even with snowy conditions to mix things up. Win in franchise mode to unlock special jerseys to be used throughout other game modes.

Head to the local park to play some Pond hockey. No checking allowed, no slap shots, and other different rules make Pond Hockey a different experience than your regular game. Also can be played with friends locally or online!

The Journey

Do you have what it takes to become a legend? Create your own player, start in the juniors and work your way up through preseason exhibition, get called up, sign your contracts, and break records.

More ways to play

  • Play solo or with up to four people in local exhibition. Share a team or play 2v2. Online play currently only head to head.

  • Play other game modes to earn unlockable gear, and if you are struggling, "Training Camp" is available to help you get up to speed. If you want to make the game a bit more wacky, check out the "House Rules" modifiers to change up how the game plays, such as '94 Mode, Big Heads, and more!

  • Rewatch your best plays in Instant Replay, export them as GIFs, and line up a shot in Photo Mode.

Barnburners is a one person passion project, so in game feedback, the discord, and the community hub help me decide what to work on next. Wishlist it to follow the road to Early Access on December 8, 2026.

System Requirements

Windows
macOS
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
    • Processor: Intel Core i7-6700 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 / AMD Radeon RX 460 / Intel Iris Xe
    • Storage: 3 GB available space
    • Additional Notes: About 30 FPS at 1080p on the Performance preset, though this is always subject to change with the aim of better performance on lower end hardware.
    Recommended:
    • OS: Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-12400 / AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    • Memory: 16 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER / AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 3 GB available space
    • Additional Notes: About 60 FPS at 1080p on the Balanced preset, also subject to change with the aim of better performance.
    Minimum:
    • Requires an Apple processor
    • OS: macOS Sonoma 14
    • Processor: Apple M Series
    • Storage: 3 GB available space
    Minimum:
    • OS: 64-bit
    • Processor: Intel Core i7-6700 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 / AMD Radeon RX 460 / Intel Iris Xe
    • Storage: 3 GB available space
    • Additional Notes: About 30 FPS at 1080p on the Performance preset.