- Preparing for Early Access - 9 September 2026
Dear Abbots and Abbesses!First of all, a huge welcome to all the new players who have recently discovered Monastery: Ora et Labora through Steam! Seeing so many of you jump into the demo and share your thoughts over the past few days has been incredible.With our Early Access launch locked in for September 24th, we are officially entering the final stretch.As we get closer to release day, the demo period is coming to a close, and the free demo will be taken down on Monday, September 14th.If you haven’t tried it yet or want to get a feel for the game before release, this weekend is your last chance to take it for a spin!Price & Launch DiscountThe game will launch at $14.99 / 14,99€ (with regional pricing applied worldwide), along with a 20% launch discount for the first two weeks.Beyond the Demo: What’s New in the Early Access Release?For those who played the demo, here are the main mecha…
- Monastery: Ora et Labora Early Access Launching September 24th - 18 August 2026
Dear Abbots and Abbesses,mark your calendars, because our Early Access release date is set for September 24th! 🎉🛠️ Why Early Access?Our goal is to create a charming, and deeply enjoyable medieval monastery management game. Launching in Early Access allows us to work directly with you, our community, to gather feedback, refine gameplay, and expand the game based on what you find most fun.🏰 What You Can Play at Early Access LaunchRight from day one of Early Access, you’ll dive into the core experience packed with features:Monk Management: Oversee a group of monks, each with unique traits affecting their work and behavior.Farming & Agriculture: Grow wheat, barley, gruit, hops, and medicinal herbs.Crafting & Production: Produce mead, four types of beer, medicines, and essential goods like soup, bread, honey, and beeswax.Monastery Life & Care: Heal people in need, welcome worshippers duri…
- Thank You For Joining Us During Steam Next Fest - 24 June 2026
Steam Next Fest ended almost two days ago, and we just wanted to say thank you to everyone who joined us and supported the game. Whether you played the demo, shared feedback, left a review, or simply spent some time with it, we truly appreciate it Here’s a quick look at what we achieved together during the event:• 2,864 people played the demo• We received 21 reviews and 115 feedback submissions• 4,212 players added Monastery to their wishlistWe’re really happy with the response and already working hard on the next step. Stay tuned!Dragonkin Studios
- ⛪ Monastery: Ora et Labora joins Steam Next Fest – June 2026! - 15 June 2026
Dear Abbots and Abbesses!The Steam Next Fest is officially here, and we are thrilled to announce that Monastery: Ora et Labora is taking part in the event!If you are discovering our game for the first time through the festival: Welcome!Monastery: Ora et Labora is a medieval management game where you are tasked with building and running your own monastery. You will need to balance the daily lives of your monks, manage their needs, expand your buildings, face events and ensure your community thrives through prayer and hard work.✨ A Freshly Updated Demo! Just a few days ago, we released a fresh new update to the demo! You can see the details of update here: How you can help us during the Fest As an indie studio, this festival is a huge milestone for us. You can support our journey in few simple ways:Wishlist the Game: If you enjoy the demo, clicking "Wishlist" is the single best way to sup…
- 📜 Demo Update - Daily Events, Custom Walls - 10 June 2026
Dear Abbots and Abbesses!A new update for Monastery: Ora et Labora demo is now available!We want to begin by thanking our amazing community for playing the demo and sharing their thoughts. Your feedback, ideas, and bug reports have played a crucial role in guiding our development efforts. Keep it coming!This update brings new features to test your management skills, new ways to decorate your monastery, and a range of balance adjustments and bug fixes.✨ Highlighted FeaturesDaily Events: At the start of each day, events may now occur in the monastery, bringing new situations and unexpected challenges. (More events will be added in the future!)Wall Coverings: You can now customize the appearance of your monastery walls with different coverings. Give your buildings a personal, and immersive look!🛠️ Full Changelog🏛️New ItemsExpand the beauty of your abbey with new decorations and architect…
- Demo 0.33.3 Hotfix - 27 April 2026
Bug fixFixed an issue that occurred when disabling a task within a workplace
- Demo Update 0.33.2 - 24 April 2026
Game BalancesAdded a tutorial for the Monk Priorities panel.UX/UIAdded more information to the Monk Priorities panel.Added a button in the workplace selection menu to open Monk Priorities panel.Bug fixFixed incorrect room warming values shown for objects under construction.
- Demo update 0.33.1 - 20 April 2026
ImprovementsChanged how workplace priorities are sorted: they are now ordered by category instead of globally.Added quality levels to beverages.FixesFixed an issue where walls blocked worshippers from entering the monastery.Fixed incorrect assignment of monk descriptions to their skills and traits.Fixed an issue preventing monks from drinking mead.Fixed the tooltip text for the "Illumination Comfort" indicator.
- Monastery: Ora et Labora Demo is LIVE! Try it now! - 15 April 2026
Dear Abbots and Abbesses!We are incredibly excited to announce that the demo for Monastery: Ora et Labora is officially live and ready for you to play right now!Over the past few months, we ran two playtests to see how the game was shaping up. Firstly: a massive THANK YOU to everyone who participated! Your feedback, bug reports, and suggestions were incredibly helpful and directly shaped the build you are about to play today.In this demo, you can manage your monastic community and build your monastery following the instructions of Prior Teodobaldo. In detail, in this demo you can:Manage a group of monks, each with unique traits that influence their work and behaviorGrow wheat and barleyProduce mead and two different types of beerCook and craft essential goods such as soup, bread, honey, and beeswaxWelcome worshippers during mass at the monasteryFulfill requests from the local communityF…
- Monastery: Ora et Labora Demo arrives April 15th - 8 April 2026
Greetings, Abbots and Abbesses! We are incredibly excited to announce that on April 15th, the gates to the cloister will open with the release of the Monastery: Ora et Labora Demo.Your support during the last two playtests was vital. Thanks to your feedback, we’ve polished the gameplay and introduced several completely new features to help you manage your monks and your resources effectively. New Features Monks’ Skills & TraitsMonks now have skills and perks that influence their behavior and tasks. Customize your startName your monastery and pick your first 3 monks. Workplace priority systemIt is now possible to change the priority for each individual workplace within the same category (Farm, Production, etc.) in order to better manage the production chain. The CodexA new panel where unlocked tutorials and game information can be reviewed at any time. Resource Pre-selectionYou can now s…
- Second playtest complete! + What's next - 5 February 2026
The current playtest will end on February 9, so these are the last few days to play. But this is far from the end. We’re working hard on a demo, with many changes and improvements based directly on the feedback you shared with us.Here are some numbers from the latest playtest 👇1,537+ unique players200+ feedback forms submittedMedian playtime: 1h 15mAverage playtime: 2h 20m16 players played for 20+ hours 🤯3400+ wishlist additions 🙏What's next - DemoThe demo will introduce several new features and improvements requested by players during the playtest, aimed at improving the overall game experience. These are some of them:Workplace priority system: You’ll be able to set priorities for individual workplaces within the same category (Farm, Production, and so on), allowing for finer control over the production chain.The Codex: A new panel where all unlocked tutorials and game information c…
- Second playtest is now live! - 5 December 2025
Dear Abbesses and Abbots,Our Second Playtest is officially live right now, and everyone is invited to take part.This new playtest includes several improvements, polish passes, and new features based on the incredible feedback we received during our first testing phase. We can’t wait to hear what you think this time around!👉 If you need details on how the playtest works, check out our previous news post here:
- Games in Italy 2025 - 4 December 2025
We are incredibly proud to announce that Monastery: Ora et Labora has been selected to participate in the Games in Italy 2025 Sale Event! This event is a celebration of the creativity, passion, and craftsmanship of the Italian game development industry, and we are honored to stand alongside so many talented studios from our home country.If you haven't already, now is a great time to Wishlist the game or share it with a friend who loves deep management simulations and don't forget that tomorrow we're opening the second playtest of the game, so if you want to try it out, go ahead and “Request access” on our Steam page. Thank you for your continued support and for being part of our community.The Dragonkin Studios Team
- New playtest December 5th - 28 November 2025
Dear Abbots and Abbesses,We are excited to announce that the second public playtest for Monastery: Ora et Labora is almost here! Starting today, you can request access directly on our Steam page using the green “Request Access” button. Access will be granted in one week, so make sure to sign up early!ChangesGameplay & SystemsReworked the Monastic Rule.Reworked Monks Need.Reworked the Prayer System.Added Taxes.Reworked field placement mechanics.Improved task priority behaviour.Now monks eat bread.Improved storage management.Added automated dirt cleaning.You can now skip to the next day without viewing the daily report panel.The number of worshippers is now limited according to the Monastery’s Progression.New ContentAdded stained-glass windows, colored windows.Windows now let more natural light enter the monastery.Added new worshipper models (male, female).Added new decorations.Added new…
- Our First Playtest is Complete – Thank You, Everyone! - 17 September 2025
Hello Abbesses and Abbots,Our very first public playtest has officially come to an end, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. A huge thank you to everyone who joined, played, and shared feedback with us!🙏📊 Here’s a look at the playtest in numbers:380+ players joined the playtest.Our most dedicated testers logged 200+ minutes of gameplay (some couldn’t stop playing 😅)The game received an average rating of 4/5—a strong start, with plenty of room to grow.20+ feature requests were submitted, many of which are already in our backlog💡 Some of your most-requested ideas included:Automating dirt cleaning 🧹Adjusting balance—currently it’s a little too easy to make money (our generous worshippers make big donations!).Expanding ties with the local community through events, requests, and more.What’s next?Over the coming months, we’ll be focusing on:Refining balance and progressionImprovi…
- DevGAMM Awards 2025 – Community Vote - 5 September 2025
Great news Abbots and Abbesses!Our game Monastery: Ora et Labora has been selected for the DevGAMM Awards 2025 – Community Vote!Help us win! Voting is quick and simple:Go to https://devgamm.fillout.com/community-vote2025Log in with your email.Find Monastery: Ora et Labora in the list and submit your vote.You can also share the link with friends to help spread the word.Please note: one vote per email, and voting closes on October 5.In the meanwhile our public playtest is going on and will remain open until 5:00 PM on September 15 (CEST). Don’t miss the chance to try the game for free before it closes!Thank you very much for every vote. It means a lot! 🙏Dragonkin Studios team,
- Open Playtest is live! - 29 August 2025
Dear Abbots and Abbesses,The wait is over – our public playtest is now LIVE!This is your chance to step inside your very own medieval monastery, manage the monks, and experience life in a world where prayer and labor go hand in hand.🎮What’s in the Playtest?Manage your monks’ daily schedule between prayer, work, and rest. Produce goods like wheat, honey, manuscripts and beer.Build up your monastery’s economy and meet the community's requests.🛠️ How to Join the PlaytestFor information on how to join the playtest, follow the instructions in our previous article:
- Open Playtest Starts August 29 - 22 August 2025
Dear Abbots and Abbesses,We are excited to announce that the first public playtest for Monastery: Ora et Labora is almost here! Starting today, you can request access directly on our Steam page using the green “Request Access” button. Access will be granted in one week, so make sure to sign up early!🛠️ How to Join the PlaytestHead over to our steam pageClick the “Request Access” button under the Playtest section.Wait until we approve access (in about a week).Once approved, you’ll be able to download and play the test build!💬 How to Share FeedbackYour thoughts are vital in shaping the monastery’s future! After playing, you can:Post in the Playtest Feedback section of our Steam Community.Join our Discord CommunityFill out our playtest feedback form (the link is within the game)🙏 Wishlist & SupportIf you enjoy what you play, the best way to support us is to:Wishlist Monastery: Ora et La…
- Debut Festival 2025 + Open Playtest Announcement - 7 August 2025
Greetings, Abbesses and Abbots!We’re excited to announce that Monastery: Ora et Labora is officially featured in Debut Festival 2025 thanks to the team of Gamedev.ist! 🥳It’s a huge honor to be showcased alongside so many incredible games, and we can’t wait for more players to discover the peaceful (and sometimes unpredictable) life inside a medieval monastery.But that’s not all, we’re also preparing something special for you...🔔 A public playtest will open in about two weeks! 🔔You’ll soon have the chance to step into the sandals of an abbot, guide your monks through prayer and labor, and oversee the production of goods like honey, barley, and sacred texts.This playtest will be your first hands-on experience with the game, and your feedback will help shape its development as we move toward release.📅 Stay tuned — we’ll announce the exact date very soon!In the meantime, don’t forget to…
- 🎉 We Showcased Monastery: Ora et Labora at Ortigia Comics & Games! - 7 July 2025
Hello everyone!From July 3rd to 5th, we had the incredible opportunity to present a preview demo of Monastery: Ora et Labora at Ortigia Comics & Games, one of Sicily’s events for comics, games, and geek culture!We were thrilled to meet so many passionate players and creators. Watching people get their hands on the game for the first time, managing their own medieval monastery was both exciting and left us full of appreciation.🙏 A heartfelt thank you to the event organisers for hosting us, and to all the playtesters who stopped by our booth. Your feedback, questions, and enthusiasm gave us great energy and fresh perspectives as we continue development.🛠️ We’re now back at work, polishing, tweaking, and preparing the next steps. 📢 Stay tuned — exciting news and updates are on the way soon!As always, you can wishlist the game and follow us here on Steam and Discord to be the first to he…
