Half a Million Players for an Unfinished Game
Witchfire just hit a milestone that would make most indie developers jealous. The Astronauts announced this week that their dark fantasy shooter has sold over 500,000 copies since entering early access in September 2023. That’s a remarkable achievement for a game that’s still months away from its version 1.0 release, especially considering it spent its first year as an Epic Games Store exclusive before finally hitting Steam in late 2024.
The timing of the announcement coincides with The Reckoning, a massive content update that fundamentally changes how combat works in Witchfire. After spending eight years in development, the game is finally approaching completion, with the full release planned for mid-2026. But the 500,000 sales figure proves players don’t need a finished product to recognize something special when they see it.
What makes this success even more impressive is how niche Witchfire appears on the surface. It’s a single-player first-person shooter that blends roguelike progression with extraction mechanics and RPG systems, all wrapped in a grim gothic fantasy aesthetic. That’s a hard sell in marketing terms, which is why The Astronauts eventually dropped most of those genre labels and started calling it simply an RPG shooter.
The Reckoning Changes Everything
The update that dropped alongside the sales announcement represents one of the final major content additions before Witchfire leaves early access. The Reckoning introduces proper melee combat for the first time, moving beyond the basic punch mechanics players relied on previously. You can now equip dedicated melee weapons including the Morgenstern (morning star), Katar (punch dagger), and Buckler shield, each offering different tactical options during combat.
This doesn’t mean Witchfire is abandoning its gun-focused gameplay. The developers made it clear that melee weapons are meant to complement firearms and magic rather than replace them. The classic punch attack got upgraded to a proper one-two combo with an uppercut finish, and players can swap that out for melee weapons when the situation demands close-quarters carnage.
Three new firearms join the arsenal as well. Fatum is a machine pistol with three spinning barrels that gets spicy when they align. Martyr is a homing weapon that believes in second chances. Most exciting is the Tribunal, a triple-barreled shotgun that should pair beautifully with the new melee options for aggressive playstyles.
What The Reckoning Adds
- Four melee weapons – Morgenstern, Katar, Buckler, and upgraded punch combo
- Three new firearms including the triple-barrel Tribunal shotgun
- World Corruption mechanic that makes environments more dangerous as you collect resources
- Interactive shooting range with bestiary for testing weapons and learning enemy behaviors
- Codex Malleficarum challenges that unlock new Torments (hardcore difficulty modifiers)
- Steam Deck verification with improved accessibility options including arachnophobia filter
- New Velmorn vault replacing the originally planned two smaller vaults
What Makes Witchfire Different
Witchfire comes from former Bulletstorm and Painkiller developers, which explains the satisfying gunplay at its core. But instead of creating another linear shooter, The Astronauts built something more ambitious. You play as a witch hunter exploring a cursed land controlled by a powerful witch, completing expeditions to gather resources and grow stronger before returning to your sanctuary.
The loop works like this: Enter a semi-open world zone through a portal, fight enemies and complete objectives to gather Witchfire (the game’s main currency), then choose whether to extract safely with your loot or push deeper for better rewards. Die and you lose temporary progress but keep permanent upgrades. It’s that risk-reward tension that keeps players coming back for one more run.
The new World Corruption system amplifies this dynamic. As you collect more resources during a run, the world itself fights back harder. Enemies get tougher, new events trigger, and the danger escalates. But so do the potential rewards. You can also find Surge spheres scattered around maps that provide temporary buffs to balance out the increasing difficulty, creating a constant push-pull between risk and power.
The Long Road to 1.0
Witchfire was announced at The Game Awards way back in December 2017. After going dark for years, it resurfaced at Summer Game Fest 2022 with updated gameplay footage and a vague release window. In October 2022, The Astronauts announced they were shifting to an open world structure, delaying the game into 2023. It finally hit early access on Epic Games Store in September 2023, then came to Steam a year later in September 2024.
That’s a long development cycle, even by indie game standards. But the team has been transparent about their process, regularly posting dev diaries explaining design decisions and responding to player feedback. The game changed significantly during early access based on community input, becoming more accessible while maintaining its challenging core.
The Reckoning represents the second-to-last major early access update. One more big content drop is planned before The Astronauts shifts focus to balancing, polishing, and preparing for the full launch. The 1.0 release will include the complete story, the final region, and whatever surprises the developers have been holding back.
Why Players Keep Coming Back
The 500,000 sales figure is especially impressive when you consider Witchfire’s journey. It launched as an Epic exclusive when many PC gamers refuse to buy anything outside Steam. It entered early access in a rough state with punishing difficulty that turned off casual players. The original genre descriptions (soulslike extraction roguelite) confused people about what kind of game it actually was.
Yet players stuck with it. The Steam version currently sits at over 1.7 million wishlists, suggesting the audience could grow significantly once the game hits version 1.0. Reviews consistently praise the gunplay, the atmosphere, and the addictive loop despite acknowledging the game remains unfinished.
Credit goes to The Astronauts for treating early access seriously rather than using it as an excuse to ship a broken game. Major updates like Ghost Galleon (April 2024) and now The Reckoning have added substantial content while addressing core issues players identified. The team rebalanced difficulty, improved tutorials, added accessibility features, and continuously refined systems based on feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Witchfire fully release?
The Astronauts is targeting mid-2026 for the version 1.0 release. One more major early access update is planned before the team shifts to polishing and finalizing content for the full launch.
Is Witchfire only available on PC?
Yes, Witchfire is currently only available on PC through Steam and Epic Games Store. The developers haven’t announced plans for console versions, though that could change after the full release depending on success and resources.
How much does Witchfire cost?
Witchfire is priced at $29.99 USD during early access. The developers occasionally run sales that drop the price by 20 percent, and it’s unclear whether the price will increase when version 1.0 launches.
Do I need to play online or does it have multiplayer?
Witchfire is entirely single-player with no online requirements or multiplayer features. It’s designed as a solo experience where you face off against AI enemies and environmental challenges.
How long does it take to finish Witchfire?
Since the game is still in early access, there’s no complete story to finish yet. A full playthrough of current content takes roughly 20-30 hours, but the roguelike nature means players who enjoy the loop can put in 100+ hours experimenting with builds and tackling higher difficulties.
Can you play Witchfire on Steam Deck?
Yes, The Reckoning update added official Steam Deck verification. The game now runs properly on Valve’s handheld with optimized UI scaling and performance settings tailored for the device.
What’s the difference between Witchfire and other roguelike shooters?
Witchfire focuses on gothic fantasy atmosphere and blends extraction shooter mechanics (risk-reward decisions about when to leave) with traditional roguelike progression. Unlike pure roguelikes where runs are completely fresh, Witchfire has persistent upgrades and a semi-open world structure.
Who made Witchfire?
The Astronauts, a Polish indie studio founded by former People Can Fly developers who worked on Painkiller and Bulletstorm. Their previous game was The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, a narrative walking simulator that won a BAFTA for game innovation.
Is It Worth Buying in Early Access
The 500,000 sales milestone suggests plenty of players think so. Witchfire offers immediately satisfying gunplay wrapped in systems that take time to fully appreciate. If you loved Bulletstorm’s creative violence or enjoy roguelikes that emphasize mechanical skill over random chance, there’s a lot to like here even in its current unfinished state.
The early access caveat matters though. The game lacks a complete story, one region remains unfinished, and balance issues still exist despite continuous patches. Some players report getting bored after 10-15 hours once they’ve seen most of the content, while others happily grind for perfect builds across 50+ hour playthroughs. Your mileage will vary based on how much you enjoy the core loop.
What’s undeniable is that The Astronauts has earned player trust through consistent communication and meaningful updates. The Reckoning isn’t a minor patch slapping on a few weapons and calling it a day. It’s a fundamental expansion of the combat system that changes how the game plays. If the final update before 1.0 maintains this quality, and the full release delivers on the story and final region, Witchfire could end up being one of the best indie shooters of 2026. For now, it’s already proven itself worthy of the 500,000 players who took a chance on an unfinished game from a small Polish studio with big ambitions.