- Leavers Rift Version 1.0 - Out Now! - 5 February 2026
Leavers Rift 1.0: Out Now!A Journey Ends, a New One BeginsA journey is only as meaningful as the community you share it with. While the Early Access of Leavers Rift may not have been a financial breakthrough, it was an experience I am deeply grateful for as a solo developer. Honestly, it might have been for the best. Processing feedback from thousands of players would have been a massive challenge for one person. Instead, the feedback from a small, dedicated community felt more like advice from friends. For that, I thank you!Today, this specific journey ends, but a new one begins. Version 1.0 is officially finished. The corresponding patch went live yesterday, and the final content update was released in late December. So, feel free to scroll down past this post if you want to see the detailed changes.Language SupportI completely reject the use of generative AI for moral reasons. Wolfha…
- 1.0 Launch Prep: The "Visual Clarity & Speed" Update - 4 February 2026
Leavers Rift is ready for 1.0.With the official launch tomorrow, we’ve pushed one final "Early Access" update to Leavers Rift. This patch is all about "Less is More", stripping away visual noise and optimizing the backend so you can spend less time looking at loading screens and more time in the action.Patchnotes:NPC Progression Fix: NPC introduction events now trigger correctly in Region 3. No more missed introductions!Visual Clarity in Region 1: We’ve removed short grass from Region 1. Since it didn’t cast shadows, it mostly added clutter. The result is a much cleaner aesthetic and a nice boost to loading speeds.Arena Optimization in Region 3: The glowing grass has been trimmed down. This reduces visual noise in high-intensity arenas and opens up the backgrounds, making it easier to focus on the combat.The Big Performance Boost (Foliage Baking): We have baked the entire world’s foliag…
- Leavers Rift 1.0 Launches February 5 - 7 January 2026
Leavers Rift will leave Early Access and launch as version 1.0 on February 5.The full release includes all planned core content, balance adjustments, and performance improvements developed during Early Access.If you’ve been waiting for the complete experience, February 5 marks the official release.The following features were added since the start of Early Access:10 new enemies30+ new relics18 new eventsFourth hero: Soul Marionette9 new game boards across 3 new chaptersThe second half of the storyMinor gameplay additionsOngoing optimization, bug fixes, and balance updatesSupport will, of course, continue. A deckbuilder can never be perfectly balanced.Player feedback will also continue to be taken into account.Thank you to everyone who played, tested, and provided feedback during Early Access.
- Leavers Rift – Final Early Access Content Update - 19 December 2025
This final update for Leavers Rift brings together the largest content drop since Early Access began.Alongside the new content, this update delivers balancing changes and multiple quality-of-life improvements to improve pacing, readability, and overall game flow — especially in the early chapters.As with the previous update, several smaller roadmap updates have been bundled into this release. This approach allowed for faster iteration, more focused debugging, and a smoother development pace without compromising quality.Thank you for playing Leavers Rift and for supporting the project through its final Early Access phase.Major new featuresNew Hero: Soul MarionetteExperience the most unique hero in Leavers Rift. Your direct attacks and defenses are very limited, but your enemies will fear you. Create powerful connections to drain life or apply damage-over-time debuffs. Spawn soulless bodi…
- Leavers Rift - Content Update I - 12 September 2025
Patchnotes 0.2.0Content Update IHello everyone!This is the first major update for the Early Access of Leavers Rift!I decided to combine the planned content updates I and III into one big update, as both contain new enemies, relics, and events. This made debugging them much easier and more efficient. Especially since several combats were reworked or completely redesigned, as the new enemies are now part of them.10 new enemies30+ new relics18 new events (6 per region)More than half of the new relics are part of the events. Some cursed relics will also find their way into your collection, whether you like it or not, depending on your decisions during certain events.Half of the new enemies have settled in Region 2, the Suffering Desert, where the variety of enemies was still somewhat limited, especially since most of the previous Region 2 enemies also have alternative forms in other regions…
- Leavers Rift - Early Access live! - 7 August 2025
Early Access for Leavers Rift is now live!Here's what you can expect: 3 heroes, Legionnaire, Jinni, and Sun Mantis, each with 60 unique cards. 30+ hours of content. About half of the story spread across 3 chapters. 9 hand-crafted maps to explore, 3 per chapter. Dozens of enemies with their own unique mechanics and cards. ~ 100 relics. Dozens of events. In addition, it is optimized and debugged."A lost child has been soothed, but the eternal sleep will return.You look up into the sky, where space and time are continuously devouring each other.Your day will come. But for now, it means facing the adventure anew..."All feedback is welcome. Have fun!
- Patch Notes - Early Access - 0.1.2 - 5 August 2025
Patch Notes - 0.1.2Balancing: Nerfs: Enemies:Formless standard attacks weakened.Wingtail Calf's “Crying for Help” is now triggered at 10% HP.Monolith's reactive modules adjusted. No random sandworms or discards anymore.Cards:Shadow Crawler's Fingers costs 1 Mana now.Buffs:Enemies:All enemies in regions 2 and 3 have more health. Previously, enemies were scaled linearly without taking the additional mana into account.Other: Shadow Crawler has an additional text box: (unequipped relics)Monolith's reactive modules feature additional tooltips for every possible outcome.The placement of some enemy actions has been adjusted to make it easier to display tooltips.The bonus effects of the chapters have swapped places.Chapter 2: Healing after bosses halved. (Previously: All enemies have 25% more health)Chapter 3: All enemies have 25% more health. (Previously: The combat step counter is triggered 5…
- Patch Notes - Pre Early Access Release - 0.1.1 - 20 July 2025
Patch Notes - 0.1.1New Features: Instructions added to the main menu. If an enemy has a modified caution counter, damage cards now show the calculated values.Balancing: Nerfs: Convincing Strike. ATK+ has been removed. The Legionnaire is designed to scale ATK+/DEF+ primarily through weapon morphs.Sporedragon Mother's "End is near..." only increases every second skill of the player. Still increases for EVERY skill of the Mother. This allows rust only decks to defeat the first boss now.Bugs fixed: The first story scenes of all NPCs were designed specifically for region 1, which led to the ‘bug’ that get-to-know stories in region 2 and 3 showed images from region 1. Now there are new images for the unlikely but possible case that you meet the characters in region 2 or 3 for the first time.
- Leavers Rift - Demo now live! - 15 July 2025
Hey everyone!The Leavers Rift Demo is now live!After years of development, the first public build of Leavers Rift is now available as a free demo on Steam.What is included?First hero: The Legionnaire - with all his relics and cardsALL current relics, events, neutral cardsThe entire first chapterAll 3 regions with all enemiesWhat is not included?Heroes: Jinni and Sun MantisChapter 2 and 3Achievements / UnlockablesEverything that's planned to be added to the main game during Early Access, like:Hero Soul MarionetteChapters 4-10new enemies and bossesRegion 4new relics, events, neutral cardsmore AchievementsHow many hours does the demo offer?Well, it’s still a roguelike, so… infinite?Jokes aside: A full run with the Legionnaire through chapter 1 takes about 3 hours - assuming you make it on your first try.The demo will be permanently available for the time being.If you enjoy the demo, please…
- Who is Wolfhain? - 15 July 2025
Who is Wolfhain?Hi everyone! I'm Matthias - solo developer of Leavers Rift.But maybe you're wondering: Who's behind all this?From Fantasy Novels to Game DevBefore I began crafting Leavers Rift, I spent years as a fantasy and drama hobby writer. Worldbuilding, surreal stories, and emotional arcs have always fascinated me. Game development started as a side project - a way to bring my own worlds to life in a more interactive form. What began with small experiments grew into something much larger...In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.Leavers Rift: My Debut ProjectThis is my first game. Art, design, code, writing - nearly every piece comes from me. Of course there are some assets, like some generic rocks. But about 95% is selfmade without any budget or connections.Why Early Access?The first Act of Leavers Rift is already fully playable, but it’s built to grow. I want to balance new…
