Why Early Access?

“Sketch to Arrest depends on two things that are hard to get right without real players: multiplayer matches between friends over all kinds of internet connections, and how well the game turns your drawings into a suspect you can recognize in the lineup.

Everyone draws differently. Early Access lets us see how real players sketch from testimony, and tune how the game reads those drawings so a good sketch reliably points to the right face, while a vague or deliberately misleading description still causes doubt. We also want feedback on balance: the secret roles, the killers' disguises, the number of killers and match sizes, so that both investigators and killers have a fair chance.

Playing together early helps us find connection problems, improve how matches handle players dropping out, and shape the game around how groups actually play it.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect Sketch to Arrest to be in Early Access for about 4 to 6 months. The exact timing will depend on player feedback and on how much tuning the multiplayer and drawing recognition need. We'll share progress through regular updates and announcements on Steam.”

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

“We plan to grow Sketch to Arrest based on player feedback during Early Access. Our current plans include:

Improved drawing recognition, tuned on how real players sketch, so your drawings turn into more recognizable suspects.
Balance updates to secret roles, killer disguises and match settings.
Player safety tools, such as chat filtering, per-player muting, hiding other players' drawings, and lobby vote-kick.
Better connection handling, making it easier to rejoin a match after a disconnect.
Steam features such as Achievements and Steam Cloud saves.

Plans may change as we learn what players enjoy most.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Sketch to Arrest is fully playable in Early Access.

Online multiplayer (Up to 12 players)

Host a match through Steam and invite friends, or join a public lobby.
Secret roles, including killers, witnesses and specialist roles with their own abilities and private evidence.
Matches with one or two killers. Killers can disguise themselves between nights.
Three interview styles: one sketcher interviewing witnesses, an open table, or everyone sketching at once.
Voice and text chat, plus a Witness Protection mode that keeps players anonymous.
Configurable rules, including drawing timers and lineup decoys.

Single-player

Story: seven playable chapters across Wincetropolis. The final chapter is still in development.
Endless: take investigation jobs, earn money, and upgrade your office, with jobs at multiple difficulty levels.”

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

“We plan to keep the price the same during and after Early Access. Players who buy during Early Access will get the full version at no extra cost.”

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

“We'll be reading feedback from the Steam discussion forums and reviews throughout Early Access. We especially want to hear about multiplayer connection problems, balance between killers and investigators, and how well your drawings turn into recognizable suspects.

We'll post updates and patch notes on Steam, and share development progress on TikTok. We plan to open a community Discord where players can report bugs, suggest features and find other players for matches.

As a small team, we can't promise every suggestion will make it into the game, but player feedback will guide what we work on next.”