So our goal of delivering a complete Hex Gambit on Steam by the end of 2017 didn’t quite pan out, but a lot changed over the course of the year! A version for the Nintendo Switch™ was added to the docket, along with a single player mode and a pretty meaty league metagame. None of that stuff was even conceived of this time last year.

We are proud to look back on a successful Kickstarter campaign (no small feat) with all our rewards dished out on time so far. Our backers-only alpha feedback has been super helpful for cataloging bugs and adjusting the game balance. We’re spinning a lot of plates over here, fixing old stuff while implementing new stuff, but keep that feedback coming, playtesters! We’re listening, and it’s all being prioritized in our task list.

So what’s ahead for 2018? Hex Gambit: Early Access! It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. 2v2 play, an influx of fresh meat, and the heart of our multiplayer experience: the Apex Cup league comes online. Should be ready to go in Q1 of next year.

As for the final launch, our Kickstarter estimate was April 2018. It’s looking to me like sometime in the summer is more likely, but that’s really up to our Early Access performance. If the game finds an audience and we can fund a few more months of improvements, we’ll definitely take that opportunity. It’s our first console release, after all, so we want to bring our A-game. For next year’s New Years post, I hope to be writing about the awesome Hex Gambit DLC we have in the works!

Best of luck with all your projects, plans, and aspirations this year. Thanks for keeping up with us!

Working on some trophies today for Hex Gambit’s Apex Cup. On the far left we have the coveted season victory trophy, then additional awards for the top 10, 25, 50 and 75% within each faction.

Check back weekly for more progress on our upcoming turn-based strategy game, Hex Gambit. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for our mailing list to get email reminders when we hit big milestones, like the launch of our beta and the official release in 2018.

While Alex polishes Hex Gambit up for Early Access, I’m making some progress on new assets today. My next big art projects: Torga Stadium and the Sniper class.

Check back weekly for more progress on our upcoming turn-based strategy game, Hex Gambit. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for our mailing list to get email reminders when we hit big milestones, like the launch of our beta and the official release in 2018.

Coming soon to our backer-only Hex Gambit alpha: our stadium scenery is being remodeled for the Neptis Faction. The other home turfs won’t be ready in time for Early Access, but the plan is to create a unique design for each. Also making its alpha debut very soon: the captains’ tiles will let you know when your ability is ready, loud and clear.

Check back weekly for more progress on our upcoming turn-based strategy game, Hex Gambit. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for our mailing list to get email reminders when we hit big milestones, like the launch of our beta this year and the official release in 2018.

Attention Kickstarter PC backers: Looking for people to play the Hex Gambit alpha with? Drop into the community Discord server via the widget on the right and say hi!

For the rest of you waiting patiently, here’s a fresh peek at the upcoming Apex Cup we’re adding for next year’s beta. This is the”Torga Wins” map state, one possible outcome at the end of a season. I only wish a screenshot could do the fireworks justice.

Click to enlarge.

In the latest update to Hex Gambit‘s alpha (PC Kickstarter backers only), we’ve added a fix to help combat the first turn advantage that’s been plaguing our unfortunate Player 2s! Second player can now bolster their defenses with an extra spawn on their setup turn, which should prove helpful in turning back an aggressive rush from Player 1. We actually have a whole list of different ways to help even things out, but we figured we’d try the simplest approach first. Take it for a spin and let us know what you think!

Known issue: Games started before this patch still use the old rules. While the UI will say Player 2 has 5AP, their setup spawns stop working after 4. This update only works for games started after its release.

Also added this update, some of our music and sound effects are trickling in! Thanks again to all of our Kickstarter backers for helping make this quality sound and music possible. Coming soon: big improvements to the in-game UI.

Check back weekly for more progress on our upcoming turn-based strategy game, Hex Gambit. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for our mailing list to get email reminders when we hit big milestones, like the launch of our beta this year and the official release in 2018.

Alex and I both have our heads buried in our work, but I can spare a moment to give you guys the latest in Hex Gambit‘s development.

First a minor delay: we can technically ship something this month for Early Access, but it wouldn’t be a very good representation of the game, so we’ve opted to push to January. This gets us around the marketing madness of the holidays and gives us lots of time to get the game up to our standards.

Naturally, our PC Kickstarter backers will be seeing lots of updates to the alpha between now and then. Alex is focused on getting the sound framework in, implementing the in-game UI 2.0 I designed a while back (which will be much prettier and make a lot more sense), and taking our first stab at addressing the game’s first-turn advantage. I’m in the process of wrapping up the art side of the Apex Cup league metagame today, which you can see below.

Check back weekly for more progress on our upcoming turn-based strategy game, Hex Gambit. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for our mailing list to get email reminders when we hit big milestones, like the launch of our beta this year and the official release in 2018.

Today in the Hex Gambit alpha, a tiny tweak with big implications! Pillar tap Victory Points have been reduced from 2 to 1. Here’s a few goals we’re hoping to accomplish with this change:

• Give P2 more time to come back from a big early rush.
• Increase the minion combat focus.
• Make move unlocks feel more meaningful.
• Eliminate the “one mistake on turn 3, game over on turn 4” experiences.

Try a few games out, and let us know what you think of this approach!

Ever since our long-time composer Mike Reagan delivered the music for Hex Gambit‘s Kickstarter campaign, Alex and I have been dying to hear what he would do with the main theme. The result did not disappoint! Here’s your first taste of Mike’s work for Hex Gambit: our pro sports-inspired main theme.

Check back weekly for more progress on our upcoming turn-based strategy game, Hex Gambit. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for our mailing list to get email reminders when we hit big milestones, like the launch of our beta this year and the official release in 2018.

Click here for the Hex Gambit Pre-Early Access instruction manual.

The Pre-Early Access PC alpha of Hex Gambit is nearly upon us! This early peek at the game is exclusively for our Kickstarter PC backers, with download codes going out later today.

While the game is fully playable in Exhibition mode, some features like sound and our tutorial are conspicuously missing. As a workaround for the latter, we’ve prepared the instruction manual above to get you acquainted with the game’s rules and character abilities. Be sure to keep it handy in these early days, as our current interface is a work-in-progress and may not do a fantastic job of explaining things. Expect the game to get better every week on the road to Early Access!

We should also mention that a Pre-Early Access tournament is already being organized, which you can read all about right here.