Why Early Access?

“The core Hearts experience is playable, but the final structure of the roguelike and online systems has not yet been locked. Early Access will allow players to directly influence which Artifact interactions, Card Enhancements, progression systems, House Rules, AI behaviors, and run mechanics become part of the final game.

During Early Access, we expect to make substantial changes based on how players build strategies and interact with these systems. Artifacts may be redesigned, added, removed, or given new interactions; run targets and shop economies may change; progression pacing may be restructured; and experimental Chaos Hearts rules may be revised or retired before version 1.0.

We want these decisions to be shaped through regular play, community discussion, and testing of alternate implementations rather than finalized through internal assumptions alone. The current version provides playable Hearts matches and complete roguelike runs, while Early Access gives the community a meaningful role in determining the game’s final balance, content, and structure.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We currently expect Court of Hearts to remain in Early Access for approximately six months.

This is an estimate rather than a fixed deadline. The timing may change depending on player feedback, multiplayer stability, balance work, and the readiness of the content planned for version 1.0.”

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

“The full version is planned to include the Masquerade Trials story campaign, which combines Hearts gameplay with investigation, witness testimony, evidence, and courtroom deduction.

We also plan to expand Solo Run encounter variety, refine Artifact and progression balance, improve AI and online lobby flow, strengthen tutorials and accessibility options, and add further visual, audio, and quality-of-life polish. The exact priorities may change as we evaluate feedback throughout Early Access.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version is a fully playable Hearts roguelike featuring complete Solo Runs with Tactics, Card Enhancements, shops, Elite encounters, Boss Rules, profile progression, gameplay-earned Artifact Packs, and 42 Artifacts.

Players can also play Classic Hearts against AI, join public or private online lobbies, invite Steam friends, and play Chaos Hearts with shared rule variations. The current version includes persistent progression, saves, Steam Cloud support, achievements, controller support, and the core multiplayer systems.

Balance, AI behavior, online stability, and progression pacing will continue to be refined during Early Access. The Masquerade Trials story campaign is not included in the initial Early Access version.”

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

“Yes. Court of Hearts will be offered at a lower price during Early Access.

We currently plan a modest price increase when the game reaches version 1.0 to reflect the addition of Masquerade Trials, expanded content, and the overall level of polish. Players who purchase the game during Early Access will receive the full version without an additional purchase.”

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

“We plan to use the Steam Community Hub, focused feedback discussions, bug-report threads, and development updates to communicate with players throughout Early Access.

We will be particularly interested in feedback about Artifact combinations, underused or dominant strategies, run pacing, AI behavior, multiplayer stability, progression, tutorials, accessibility, and unclear mechanics. Updates will include patch notes explaining significant changes, and community feedback will help determine which balance changes, quality-of-life improvements, and content priorities receive the most attention before version 1.0.

Because Masquerade Trials is part of the game’s title but unavailable in the initial build, its absence should remain explicit in all three relevant answers above. Remove its screenshots and active feature bullets from the Early Access store page, or place them under a clearly labeled Planned for Version 1.0 section. Steam expects the launch page to represent the content customers can actually access at launch.”