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Roadmap

2026–2027 EARLY ACCESS ROADMAP

Shadows of Beginnings is now playable on Steam, with Early Access currently targeted for Q4 2026.

What began as individual gameplay systems has grown into a playable dark fantasy action RPG. Players can now explore Novum, venture into the Verdant Rot, develop their characters, and experience the beginning of a much larger journey.

Our updated roadmap outlines the game's current state, our priorities leading into Early Access, and our long-term vision for the world of Shadows of Beginnings.

PLAYABLE DEMO — AVAILABLE NOW

The free Shadows of Beginnings demo launched on Steam on October 8, 2026, ahead of Steam Next Fest on October 19.

Begin your journey as an Outsider seeking a place among Novum's survivors. Take on Guild contracts, explore dangerous territory, gather resources, and help rebuild a settlement struggling to survive.

The playable demo introduces:

• Warrior and Mage playable classes

• Exploration of Novum and the Verdant Rot

• Class-based action combat with seamless perspective switching

• Quests, Guild progression, harvesting, and gathering

• Town restoration, crafting, and equipment upgrades

• A confrontation with the Thorn Matriarch

The demo represents the opening chapter of a much larger experience. Development continues through regular patches addressing player feedback, combat balance, performance, and known issues.

EARLY ACCESS LAUNCH — TARGET Q4 2026

Our next major milestone is bringing Shadows of Beginnings into Steam Early Access.

Early Access will build upon the demo's foundation, introducing broader content and expanding the systems that support long-term character progression, exploration, and town development.

Our development priorities include:

• Expanded content and experiences beyond the demo

• Stabilized progression, saving, and accessibility

• Advancing equipment, skills, and character builds

• Expanded Novum restoration systems

• Additional class development, including the Ranger and Rogue, planned for the Early Access journey

Our focus is on making each system meaningful, giving players more freedom to develop their characters while seeing the results of their adventures reflected in Novum.

Q4 2026 remains our working Early Access target, subject to development progress and testing.

EARLY ACCESS UPDATES — THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

Early Access is the beginning of a longer development period, not the end of it.

As development continues, we plan to expand the world and introduce new challenges, progression opportunities, and ways for players to shape their experience.

Planned development directions include:

• New regions, including the volcanic Cinderfall Wastes

• Additional quests, enemies, and boss encounters

• Deeper economy and town progression systems

• Fracture Pockets and procedural exploration opportunities

• Ongoing balancing, optimization, and quality-of-life improvements

Community feedback and testing will help guide how these systems evolve and which areas of development receive priority.

FULL RELEASE — OUR LONG-TERM VISION

Our current full-release working goal is late 2027.

The full vision for Shadows of Beginnings extends far beyond Novum's walls and the regions introduced during Early Access.

Our longer-term ambitions include:

• New classes, skills, and combat modifiers

• Voidreach and increasingly dangerous endgame challenges

• Expanded factions, quests, and narrative progression

• Hearth outposts and greater restoration opportunities

• New mysteries, locations, and challenges throughout the fractured world

Our goal is to create an action RPG where exploration, combat, progression, and restoration remain connected throughout the player's journey.

DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

Shadows of Beginnings is being developed with a long-term vision, and community feedback is an important part of that process.

We encourage players to share their experiences, report bugs, suggest improvements, and help us identify what matters most as development continues.

Please note: This roadmap reflects our current development direction. Planned features, content, release targets, and priorities may change based on testing, community feedback, and production requirements.

We want to build Shadows of Beginnings deliberately, improving the experience while continuing to expand the world and its possibilities.

Play the free Steam demo today and wishlist Shadows of Beginnings to follow our journey into Early Access!

Join our Discord community and follow Cryptid Forge Studios on YouTube for development updates, announcements, and future content.

Rise from the shadows of your beginnings.

About This Game

Sixty years ago, the Great Eclipse swallowed the sun for three days.

Novum never recovered.

You arrive at its gates as an Outsider with no gear, no standing, and no place inside. The town survives behind failing walls. The Guild has diminished. Beyond the gates, creatures spread through lands that were abandoned long ago.

If you want a place in Novum, you will have to earn it.


PROVE YOURSELF

You begin as an Outsider.

Take on work others cannot. Clear the roads beyond the walls. Hunt the creatures pressing closer to town. Help restore what Novum has lost.

Your standing grows through what you accomplish.

Rise through seven Guild ranks, from Outsider to Stranger, Journeyman, and eventually Legendary Grand Master.

Nothing is handed to you.

SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Shadows of Beginnings does not lock you into a single ARPG perspective. Pull back into a traditional isometric view, then rotate seamlessly into an over-the-shoulder perspective and step closer into Novum. The perspective changes continuously during gameplay, there are no hard camera transitions separating the two.

REBUILD NOVUM

Novum has spent decades falling apart.

You can change that.

Gather resources from the lands beyond the gates and restore the Blacksmith, Guild Hall, Infirmary, Inn, and other ruined structures throughout town.

Each restoration changes Novum both visually and functionally. Buildings return to use. Services become available. The streets begin to feel inhabited again.

At the center of that recovery stands the Aegis Hearth, a sanctuary against what waits beyond the walls.

Novum grows as you do.


MASTER YOUR CLASS

Choose how you face the dark.

The Warrior holds the line through armor, stamina, blocking, and close-range force. Stand your ground, turn aside incoming blows, and punish anything that stays within reach.

The Mage controls distance through destructive elemental power. Keep enemies where you want them, manage your positioning, and strike before they can close the gap.

The Ranger controls the battlefield from afar. Set traps, poison targets, and punish enemies with carefully placed shots before they reach you.

The Rogue fights through speed, precision, and sudden bursts of damage. Close the distance, eliminate priority targets, and escape before the enemy can answer.

Four classes. Four different ways to survive what Novum has become.

FACE WHAT LIVES BEYOND THE WALLS

The Verdant Rot Swamp is among the first lands waiting beyond Novum.

The Bramblekin have consumed much of it. Thorn, root, and parasitic growth spread outward from a corrupted hive, overtaking what little remains of the settlements that once stood there.

At the heart of the swamp waits the Thorn Matriarch.

Ancient. Rooted deep beneath the Heartroot Clearing. Still growing.

And she is only one of the things waiting beyond Novum.

FORGE WHAT YOU NEED

The weapons and armor you find are only the beginning.

Gather materials throughout the world and bring them back to Novum to strengthen your equipment through multiple upgrade tiers.

At Tier 3, elemental modifiers open another path of specialization. Choose between Fire, Void, and Nature, altering how your equipment performs and allowing you to prepare for the threats ahead.

What you carry into the wilds matters.

FEATURES

• Timing-driven real-time combat built around positioning, stamina, dodging, blocking, and class abilities

• Four distinct classes with their own abilities, strengths, and combat styles

• Seven Guild ranks earned through quests, combat, exploration, and your contributions to Novum

• Town restoration that changes Novum visually and unlocks new services

• Resource gathering tied directly to restoration and equipment progression

• Multiple hostile biomes with their own creatures, environments, and major encounters

• Weapons and armor that can be strengthened through upgrade tiers and elemental modifiers

• Single quests, quest chains, progression quests, and repeatable activities

• The Aegis Hearth, Novum's sanctuary and a central part of restoring what remains

Rise from the shadows of your beginnings.

Built in Unreal Engine 5

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Generative AI tools are used as part of the visual asset production workflow for Shadows of Beginnings, including 3D models and UI/HUD elements. These assets are reviewed, edited, refined, and integrated by the development team before being used in the game.

The development team remains responsible for the game's design, programming, systems, level construction, gameplay, balancing, narrative, and overall creative direction.

No generative AI content is created live during gameplay.