Witchfire’s massive Reckoning update launched December 12, 2025, and it fundamentally changes how the dark fantasy extraction shooter plays. The Astronauts added a full melee weapon system replacing the basic punch with actual medieval weapons, World Corruption that progressively makes maps harder and more rewarding, and Torments mode for players who think the base game is too easy. This version 0.8 update represents the game approaching its final mechanical form, with developers saying most core systems are now in place. To celebrate, they announced Witchfire has sold over 500,000 copies in early access, proving there’s an audience for roguelite extraction shooters where you hunt witches with cursed guns and forbidden magic.
World Corruption Changes Everything
The headline feature is World Corruption, a new gameplay layer that dynamically evolves the map as you play. This isn’t just visual changes. The system introduces high-risk, high-reward mechanics that fundamentally alter how expeditions unfold. As corruption spreads, areas become more dangerous with tougher enemies, environmental hazards, and brutal modifiers. But the rewards scale accordingly, giving you access to better loot and more Witchfire currency.
This addresses one of Witchfire’s core progression challenges. In early access, players could grind safe areas repeatedly for steady but slow advancement. World Corruption forces risk-taking by making the most corrupted areas the most profitable. You can still play conservatively, but optimal progression requires engaging with the corruption system and accepting higher danger for better rewards. It’s a smart solution that maintains player choice while incentivizing the risky extraction shooter gameplay the genre thrives on.
Melee Weapons Finally Arrive
Since launch, Witchfire’s melee has been a basic strike button that felt tacked on. The Reckoning replaces it with dedicated melee weapons including morgenstern (spiked mace), katar (punching dagger), shields for defensive play, and fighting with bare fists for purists. Each weapon has unique movesets, special techniques activated through specific action combinations, and synergies with your firearms and magic.
The melee overhaul changes combat flow significantly. You’re no longer purely a ranged gunslinger who occasionally punches when enemies get close. You can build around melee as a primary damage source, using guns to soften targets before closing for devastating combos. Or you can play defensively with shields, blocking attacks and counterstriking. The variety transforms Witchfire from a shooter with melee into a game where melee and ranged combat are equally viable approaches.
Three New Firearms
Alongside melee weapons, the update adds three new firearms that encourage aggressive play. The Tribunal charges through dashing and sliding, letting you unleash devastating explosions by staying mobile. The Fatum is a submachine gun for close-range sustained damage. These weapons are designed to combine with melee, magic, and movement in fluid combat chains rather than being standalone tools.
The design philosophy here is clear: The Astronauts want combat to feel like a dance between shooting, spellcasting, and melee rather than picking one approach and sticking with it. Tribunal rewards constant movement. Melee weapons punish passive play. The corruption system makes standing still deadly. Everything pushes you toward dynamic, aggressive combat that utilizes your full arsenal.
Torments Mode For The Hardcore
Torments is the ultimate skill test for experienced witch hunters. This mode adds brutal modifiers and challenges on top of the already-difficult base game. Specific details about what Torments entails haven’t been fully detailed, but based on the name and the developers’ description as testing ultimate skill, expect permadeath runs, limited resources, or extreme enemy buffs.
Adding difficulty modes to roguelites is tricky. Too easy and hardcore players get bored. Too hard and it becomes artificial difficulty through stat inflation. The best difficulty modifiers change how you play rather than just making numbers bigger. Given Witchfire’s pedigree from the team behind Bulletstorm and Painkiller, they understand the difference between challenging and punishing. Torments will hopefully sit in that sweet spot where victory feels earned rather than lucky.
Training Ground And Interactive Bestiary
One of the most requested features, a proper training ground, is finally here. The shooting range includes an interactive bestiary where you can practice against enemies you’ve already defeated in the campaign. This is huge for build testing and learning enemy patterns without risking a run. Want to see how your new melee loadout performs against specific boss patterns? Go to the training ground and practice until you’ve mastered it.
The bestiary integration is particularly smart. It’s not just target dummies. You’re fighting actual enemies with their real AI behaviors, attack patterns, and health pools. This lets you genuinely prepare for expeditions rather than just testing raw DPS numbers. For a game where knowledge and skill matter as much as build optimization, having a consequence-free practice space is essential.
Accessibility Improvements
The update adds several accessibility features including font size adjustments and an arachnophobia filter. The spider filter is timely because The Reckoning introduces a new spider-themed Calamity, powerful cursed events from the witch’s arsenal. Players with severe arachnophobia can now engage with that content without triggering phobias, which is thoughtful design that doesn’t diminish the horror atmosphere for those who want it.
Accessibility in horror and dark fantasy games is an ongoing conversation. Some argue that censoring scary content undermines artistic vision. Others counter that letting players customize their experience increases the potential audience without harming those who want the full vision. The Astronauts clearly land on the side of player choice, which aligns with Witchfire’s overall design philosophy of letting players approach challenges in multiple valid ways.
Extraction System Overhaul
Extraction from expeditions has been completely reworked, though specific details about what changed weren’t extensively covered in announcements. In extraction shooters, the extraction phase is critical. It’s where you decide whether to push for more loot or play it safe and secure what you’ve earned. Bad extraction mechanics undermine the entire risk-reward loop that makes the genre work.
Witchfire’s extraction presumably needed adjustment because early access players found it either too forgiving or too punishing depending on circumstances. The rework likely addresses edge cases where extraction felt arbitrary rather than skill-based. In a game where losing your accumulated loot means losing progression, extraction needs to feel fair even when you fail. Skill should determine success, not random enemy spawns or unclear extraction point mechanics.
Two New Gameplay Modifiers
The update includes two new gameplay modifiers that offer variety and additional challenges for experienced players. While specifics weren’t detailed in the announcement, gameplay modifiers in roguelites typically include things like increased enemy aggression, limited healing, bonus damage in exchange for reduced defense, or time limits on objectives.
Good modifiers let players customize difficulty and playstyle without fragmenting the community. You choose the modifiers that interest you without affecting other players’ experiences. This creates replayability for veterans who’ve mastered the base game and want fresh challenges without waiting for new content updates.
500,000 Copies Sold
The Astronauts announced Witchfire has crossed 500,000 copies sold in early access across Steam and Epic Games Store. For an indie studio’s first-person shooter launching into early access, that’s genuinely impressive. The game launched exclusively on Epic in September 2023, then came to Steam in September 2024. Hitting half a million sales demonstrates sustainable audience interest beyond just early adopter curiosity.
Those numbers also validate the early access model for this type of project. Witchfire launched in a rough state with significant balance issues, limited content, and frustrating difficulty scaling. The Astronauts used early access to iterate based on player feedback, dramatically improving the game through updates like the Gnosis system that replaced the original punishing difficulty scaling. Players who bought in early got a flawed but interesting game. Players buying now get a substantially more polished experience approaching completion.
Steam Deck Verified
Witchfire now has official Steam Deck Verified status, meaning it runs well on Valve’s handheld without requiring manual tweaks or workarounds. For a first-person shooter with fast combat and precise aiming requirements, Deck support is non-trivial. The developers clearly put effort into optimization and control scheme adaptation to make it work properly on the smaller screen with thumbsticks rather than mouse aim.
Steam Deck verification matters for sales and player retention. Verified games get promoted on the Steam Deck store, exposing them to handheld-focused players who might otherwise miss them. And for people who own the game on PC, Deck compatibility means they can continue their progression while traveling without needing a gaming laptop. Cross-save between desktop and Deck is seamless, maintaining the roguelite loop regardless of platform.
Close To Final Form
The Astronauts positioned The Reckoning as bringing Witchfire close to its final form regarding core mechanics. Version 0.8 isn’t the finish line, but it represents most major systems being implemented. Future updates will focus on content additions, balance refinements, and polish rather than fundamental mechanical overhauls. This is good news for early access players tired of relearning the game with each major patch.
According to the 2024 roadmap that’s presumably been updated, the plan included two major updates through 2025 with a potential 1.0 release near year’s end. The Reckoning being December 2025 suggests one more major update before full launch, likely in mid-to-late 2026. That timeline aligns with early access development that takes player feedback seriously rather than rushing to 1.0 before the game is ready.
Italian Localization Coming
In an exclusive interview with IGN Italia, the director confirmed Italian localization is coming in the next update during 2026. While this seems like a minor detail, localization matters enormously for regional markets. Italy has a substantial PC gaming community that often gets overlooked by smaller developers who focus on English, French, German, and Spanish. Adding Italian shows The Astronauts are committed to accessibility beyond just English-speaking markets.
Localization also signals confidence in the game’s long-term viability. You don’t invest in translating your entire game into additional languages unless you believe it will sell enough copies in those regions to justify the cost. The 500,000 copies sold presumably include enough Italian players that full localization makes business sense.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did The Reckoning update release?
December 12, 2025 on both Steam and Epic Games Store. It’s version 0.8 and represents one of the largest updates since early access launch.
What is World Corruption?
A new gameplay layer that dynamically evolves maps with high-risk, high-reward mechanics. As corruption spreads, areas become more dangerous but offer better loot and rewards.
What melee weapons were added?
Morgenstern (spiked mace), katar (punching dagger), shields for defensive play, and bare fists. Each has unique movesets and special techniques.
What are Torments?
An extreme difficulty mode for experienced players. Specific details are limited but it’s described as the ultimate test of skill with brutal modifiers and challenges.
How many copies has Witchfire sold?
Over 500,000 copies in early access across Steam and Epic Games Store since launching in September 2023.
Is there a training ground now?
Yes. The update adds a shooting range with an interactive bestiary where you can practice against enemies you’ve already defeated without risking a run.
What accessibility features were added?
Font size adjustments and an arachnophobia filter to replace spiders with less triggering visuals, particularly relevant for the new spider-themed Calamity.
When will the full 1.0 release happen?
Not officially confirmed but likely mid-to-late 2026 based on the roadmap and the developers saying The Reckoning brings the game close to its final mechanical form.
Why The Reckoning Matters
Witchfire launched into early access as an interesting experiment: what if you made a roguelite extraction shooter with Souls-like difficulty and Bulletstorm-style combat creativity? The initial response was mixed. The core concept was compelling but execution had significant issues around difficulty scaling, progression pacing, and mechanical depth. The Astronauts could have done what many early access developers do: make minor tweaks, add some content, and call it done.
Instead, they spent two years fundamentally reworking systems based on player feedback. The Gnosis system replaced punishing level-based difficulty. World Corruption adds dynamic risk-reward that changes how you approach expeditions. The melee overhaul transforms combat from shooting with occasional punches to fluid combinations of ranged, magic, and melee. These aren’t surface-level changes. They’re structural improvements that address core criticisms while maintaining the original vision.
The Reckoning represents early access working as intended. Players bought an ambitious but flawed game, provided feedback, and developers actually listened. The result is a substantially better experience that justifies the early access period rather than using it as an excuse to charge money for an unfinished product. Not every early access game gets this treatment. Many launch, receive a few patches, then quietly disappear when player numbers drop. Witchfire hit 500,000 sales specifically because The Astronauts demonstrated consistent commitment to improvement.
For players who bounced off Witchfire during the Epic exclusive period or the initial Steam launch, The Reckoning is the update that brings you back. The fundamental issues that made the game frustrating have been addressed. The content is more substantial. The mechanical depth is genuinely impressive now with melee, corruption, and all the existing systems working together. If you liked the concept but hated the execution, this is your second chance. And if you never tried it, this might be the perfect entry point before the 1.0 launch in 2026.