- An Update on Directorate Novitiate - 28 May 2026
Hi everyone, Today, we want to share an update regarding Directorate Novitiate. While this was not an easy decision, development on the project has now ended, and the game will be delisted from Steam on June 1st 2026. We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported us, from our initial announcement through to today. It has meant a great deal to everyone involved. Thank you again.
- Demo Update 02 Available Now - 3 October 2025
Demo Update 02 - October 3, 2025Fixed missing audio in first boss fight introAdded missing audio from first boss fightAdjusted first boss projectile speed and delay of magic strikeAdded missing audio to playing Cursed Video TapeAdded missing end screen audio and musicUpdated tutorial textFixed missing audio near crate cornerAdded missing SFX audio in an ending choiceMissing game icon replacedGame name updated on taskbar mouse hover
- Demo Out Now: Folded Spaces - The Dangerous Kind of Magic - 3 October 2025
Welcome to the Fold.The Directorate: Novitiate demo is live on Steam — and our players are already knee-deep in blood, magic, broken memories, and Syndicate warfare.Since launch, you’ve: • Crushed Syndicate enemies with killer Gun Katas • Built custom loadouts combining spells, guns, artifacts, and Axioms • Debated your impact on the Syndicate war to comeKeep sharing your theories, feedback, and wild combat clips. Be seen. Be heard. Be known.As Mercury, you’re chaining spells and bullets like it’s second nature - but now it’s time to pull back the curtain on some of the mysteries of the universe.Earth isn’t alone. There’s another realm - the Fold. It’s where magic comes from. Where souls go when people die. And gateways now bleed into Los Angeles.Folded Spaces are ruptures - born of magic, disaster, or ancient power. They’re volatile. They’re deadly. Get in. Get out.Inside, nothing play…
- Demo Update 01 Available Now - 2 October 2025
Demo Update 01 - October 2, 2025 Removed forced slow walk area in the corner of the crate roomIncreased cooldown on first boss magic strikes by 0.3 secondsReduced the delay on first boss waiting before leap attackIncreased damage inflicted by Huskrook PuppetsChanged icon color of Axiom of Lunacy from pink to yellow for ease of selectionMoved meat grinder in final fight room to avoid trapping playersEdited mobility of door in the confessional booth to address Lumen issuesEdited Mission Select text for readabilityFixed the door locking after dying to the first bossAdded a missing attack for the first bossFixed the quantity of notes for Paper Trail AchievementRemoved gun collision on first Psychometry visionAdditional minor bug fixes
- Narrative Alchemy: Words Craft Worlds - 21 July 2025
Hey everyone, I thought I’d give you an inside view into what the Narrative Department does at Nesting. There’s not a lot of knowledge of what we do – a lot of people outside games think we’re simply “writers”, but it’s a lot more complicated than that. Sure, we write the game – but we design the players’ experience through the environment, lore, characters, interactions, and more. This means we write the cutscenes, the voice over you never think about (like the character grunts after being shot, running and out of breath, etc.), and also construct the bios of all of the characters and NPCs, name everyone, give them voices by writing their dialogue and reference notes for the voice actors and voice over director, write screenplay notes for the actors for cutscenes (it also helps the Animation and Art department, directors, and so on). We track all player choices, but also tie everything…
- Dressing the World: NPC Design in Progress - 10 June 2025
Hey everyone,It’s been a while. We’ve been quiet because we’ve been hard at work building a demo we think you’ll enjoy.In the meantime, here’s a look at what we’re doing with NPC characters. These shots show clothing for our generic male models. Female characters aren’t ready yet, and we’ve only added one face so far, so yes, everyone’s a clone for now. That’ll change soon.We’ve put a lot of work into systems that make clothes easy to customize, like changing patterns, colors, and logos. Since LA is packed with unique brands and sports teams, we need more than just color swaps to capture that variety.We’ve also built tools to change hair color and add tattoos to limbs and torsos. Tattoos are key to gang identity, so they’ll help show which faction someone belongs to.All this visual detail helps ground the world in reality. That way, when missions take you into the surreal parts filled w…
- Dev Diary: Custom Weapons and Other Weird Experiments - 2 April 2025
Hi All, Seb here with another dev diary! We’ve been deep in production, getting the game ready for our upcoming early access launch. No, we haven’t locked in a date yet, but it’s coming soon! One of the perks of being a tiny (micro?) team is that we can move fast and add cool stuff whenever the game feels like it needs it. No endless meetings or having to defend every decision. We just build what feels right, and that freedom to improvise makes a big difference. And honestly, doing this independently means we get to be as weird as we want, and that’s my favorite part. I’ve always admired those early 8-bit devs who made games without anybody telling them what to do. Or maybe I’m romanticizing it? One of my friends summed it up best when I told them about this project: “Go big and go weird.” (Hi K!) Luckily, that’s exactly what we’re doing here at Nesting. In the upcoming months we’ll be…
- Dev Diary: Who is Kana Luna aka Mercury? - 13 March 2025
Who is Kana Luna aka Mercury? Kana was a student at UCLA, trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She studied criminology… She was supposed to be a cop, just like her mom. Following in her footsteps wasn’t as easy as she thought. While in school, Kana struggled with visions, leading her to drop out. Her student loans? They didn’t wait, and she found herself with a bill she couldn’t possibly afford. She learned about a job that paid well, really well. Kana met Callisto (the guy from the trailer) and started delivering packages for the Costa Muerta, the local Syndicate. Before she knew it, Kana witnessed a murder and went on the run. Callisto trained her to fight back, to be deadly, to become an Enforcer. As Mercury, she hunted the man chasing her and unlocked her latent magical powers. Now, Mercury has returned to Los Angeles for work. She’s caught up in a supernatural…
- Dev Diary: Bringing Directorate Novitiate to Handheld! - 28 February 2025
Great news! We ran our first tests on Directorate Novitiate running on the Steam Deck yesterday, and the results were amazing! The game runs smoothly, the visuals hold up beautifully, and the controls feel right at home on the handheld. Our team did an amazing job optimizing the game during development, and that effort is really paying off. Thanks to their hard work, bringing it to handheld feels totally possible! Of course, we’ve still got some optimization and fine-tuning ahead: tweaking performance, adjusting UI scaling, and making sure everything feels just right. But even at this stage, it's already shaping up to be a fantastic experience. How important is playing on devices like the Steam Deck to you? Seb
- Dev News: What We’ve Been Up To This Week! - 20 February 2025
It’s been another busy week at Nesting Games as we keep working hard on the game, and we’ve got some updates to share! Miranda Pellegrino, our fearless narrative designer, sat down with Gaming.net for an interview to share new details about the story. We also traveled to Toronto for the Canadian Game Awards, where we showcased our preview trailer. As developers, we rarely get to see audience reactions in real time, so experiencing that firsthand was incredibly satisfying. Thursdays at Nesting are all about playing the game. The team gets together, both in the studio and online, to test the latest version, eat too many snacks, take notes, and brainstorm improvements. It’s my favorite part of game development, and it works especially well with a small team. Everyone gets a say, a chance to contribute, and a role in shaping the game. And it just makes the whole process more fun! In the com…
- Making Enemies (In a Good Way): Félix’s Dev Diary - 11 February 2025
Hi everyone, Félix here! I’m the youngest at Nesting and I’m the primary gameplay programmer. This is my first game fresh out of university. Programming is the best way I have found to get closer to the games I love. I’ve been playing games since I was little. My goal is to at least try every genre of games at least once. My role at Nesting is to work on anything enemy related. (Except character art!!! You don’t want me to do art, trust me!!!) I am also the in-house reference when it comes to combat mechanics and how they are integrated. My favorite part about working on the game has been working on unique enemies and bosses. They have so much potential, and you don’t feel restricted working on them. You can be as extravagant as you want and break gameplay conventions. They are also a great way to combine gameplay and storytelling in a climactic way for the player. Speaking of… I am cur…
- Nesting Games at the Canadian Games Awards! - 7 February 2025
Exciting news! We'll be at the Canadian Games Awards on February 15th for something special. Can’t share the details just yet, but stay tuned - more info coming soon!
- Dev Diary: Meet the Narrative Designer! - 5 February 2025
Hi, everyone! I’m Miranda, your friendly American transplant and Lead Narrative Designer in snowy Quebec City! I’m in charge of writing the codex, dialogue, cinematics, quests, storyline, and so on. Lately, I’ve been working on quests for other regions of the game. I’m also updating content in-game, like quest objectives and codex entries for characters, item descriptions, locations, equipment, etc. Oh, and casting! It’s been especially fun writing scripts for voice actor auditions. Basically, I write a lot – from notes, to powerpoint presentations, to emails, to spreadsheets, to scripts – and then I have to edit it down like crazy. Then my amazing coworkers turn my writing into magic! Once they’ve integrated everything into the game, I play the quests, testing them and seeing if the storylines really hit home or need further revising. It’s an incredible collaboration process! Anyway, h…
- Welcome to The Directorate: Novitiate! - 3 February 2025
Hey everyone, We’re thrilled to finally share what we’ve been working on. The Directorate: Novitiate is a third-person action RPG that blends gunplay, magic, and impactful choices into one immersive experience. We couldn’t be more excited to introduce you to the world we’ve created. Set in 2006 Los Angeles, you step into the role of Kana Luna—codename Mercury. Returning to a city filled with secrets, you find yourself drawn into the Directorate, a powerful and dangerous underground criminal organization. As a novitiate, you’ll rise through the ranks, mastering firearms, magic, and acrobatic combat while navigating a web of intrigue and danger. Beyond the action, the story offers deep narrative choices. A supernatural serial killer is on the loose, and every decision you make will shape your journey. Who do you trust? Do you remain loyal to the Directorate, or fight to retain your humani…
