- Comfort Update: Screen Shake Toggle - 16 July 2026
Some of you told us the screen moved a bit too much while drilling - now it's your call. New "Screen Shake" toggle in Settings. Turn it off to remove all screen shake - while digging, during earthquakes, and on the final breakthrough. On by default, so nothing changes unless you want it to. Available in all 12 supported languages. Thanks for the feedback - keep it coming! ⛏️
- Fix: the game could reinstall itself after uninstalling — and how to clean it up - 8 July 2026
We shipped a fix for a serious bug, and we owe some of you an explanation and an apology.What went wrongOn first launch, Desktop Driller used to automatically enable the "start with Windows" option, and it registered that startup entry in the following way: instead of pointing to the game's own executable, it pointed to Steam with a command telling Steam to launch the game.Steam's uninstaller does not disable that entry, so it stayed behind after uninstalling. At every login, it told Steam to launch a game that was no longer installed, and Steam responded by adding it back to your library and queuing the download. Because the game is free-to-play, it could even re-add the license to accounts that had removed it.This was a bug, not a dark pattern. It was never meant to survive uninstalling, and we are sorry for the time and trust it cost you.What we changedThe startup entry now points to…
- Fixes & Improvements - 2 July 2026
Fixes & Improvements Fixed: in some cases the game could reappear in your Steam library or re-download itself after being uninstalled. This no longer happens. New: launching at Windows startup is now optional. New players choose during the tutorial; updating players are asked once. You can change it anytime in Settings. Improved: confirmation dialogs (such as the quit prompt) are now larger and easier to read. Fixed: error messages in Race mode now show the actual details.
- 224 Drills. One Desktop. Meet the Whole Crew. - 21 April 2026
Hey drillers! 👋Want to see every single drill skin in Desktop Driller in one shot? Say no more. Desktop Driller isn't just one drill poking holes in your desktop, it's a whole cast of them, each with its own personality, colors and shape. Every collectible you uncover while digging unlocks a unique drill skin. How the skin system works10 shape templates: Classic, Hammer, Spike, Tank, Rocket, Claw, Spiral, Diamond, Mecha, Arrow Colors pulled straight from the collectible: the game reads the item's 16×16 pixel art and maps the dominant shades onto the drill (body, cabin, bit, tracks, accent) Deterministic pairing: a given collectible always produces the same drill. No RNG. No duplicates. Ruby -> deep red Spiral. Obsidian Shard -> dark Spike. Brass Compass -> warm Hammer. You get the idea. The full lineup 224 drills. 11 biomes: Surface, Volcanic, Aquifer, Cavern, Lava Chamber, Deep Ice, U…
- New look, same drill! - 15 April 2026
If you played the Desktop Driller demo, you probably noticed the UI had a certain... intensity to it. Bright colors, sharp contrasts, everything competing for your attention in a 236×340px (or 1.5x, 2x, etc) window. It worked, technically. But it didn't feel right.A few of you told me exactly that. The feedback from demo players was clear: the game sits on your desktop for hours, it should feel comfortable to look at, not like a neon sign in the corner of your screen.So I redesigned the whole thing.A new paletteI threw out the old colors and built a new palette from scratch. 10 colors total, all with softer, warmer tones. Think less arcade cabinet, more cozy companion. The kind of thing that blends in with your desktop wallpaper instead of fighting it.I wanted something you could glance at all day without it getting on your nerves. The palette covers the whole UI (shop, prestige, collec…
- Looking for Twitch Streamers to Test Our Twitch Integration! - 8 April 2026
Hey Drillers! 👋 We're looking for Twitch streamers to help us test two of Desktop Driller's most exciting features: Twitch Mode and Twitch Race. 💬 What is Twitch Mode? When enabled, every message your chat sends becomes a drill hit in-game. Your viewers literally help you dig deeper. Monetary support? That gets a special in-game shoutout too. 🏁 What is Twitch Race? Multiple streamers compete in real time to see who can drill the deepest. Think of it as a community-driven race to the Earth's core. 🔍 What we're looking for: We need streamers of any size willing to try these features live, give us feedback, and help us iron out any issues before launch. Whether you have 10 viewers or 10,000, we'd love to hear from you. Interested? Drop a comment below or join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/5CmGVf6F9z Thanks for being part of the journey. Let's dig in! ⛏️
- Better Performance, Smoother Drilling - 6 April 2026
Hi everyone!I’ve just uploaded a new update for the Desktop Driller Demo on Itch.The main focus of this update is performance.I’ve worked on improving the game so it now runs more smoothly and uses fewer system resources overall. The result should be a noticeably more fluid experience, especially during longer play sessions.This kind of optimization is particularly important for Desktop Driller, since it’s designed to stay with you while you do other things on your PC. The goal is to make it feel lighter, smoother, and more comfortable to keep running.With this update, the demo should now:feel more responsiverun more fluidlyput less strain on your systemIf you already tried the previous version, this is a great time to give it another shot and tell me how it feels on your machine.As always, feedback is hugely appreciated - especially if you notice improvements, unexpected issues, or per…
- Desktop Driller: Demo now available on Steam - 2 April 2026
We are pleased to announce that the official demo for Desktop Driller is now available for download. Along with the core gameplay, this version introduces a new feature: Twitch Mode.Twitch Mode IntegrationThis mode allows you to connect the game directly to a Twitch channel. Once connected, the drill is driven entirely by chat activity rather than local inputs.Message Impact: Every chat message translates into a hit. The strength of the hit scales with the length of the message.Community Interaction: The drill can now acknowledge viewers by displaying their names on screen.Integrated Alerts: The game includes native notifications for subscriptions, bits, and raids, removing the need for external overlays during gameplay.Development FocusDesktop Driller was designed as a background application. By adding Twitch integration, we want to provide a collaborative experience where a streamer's…
