Development

April 2026Gameplay

The first shared adventure

Two players could share a world, fight creatures, find and equip loot, and return to saved characters.

The characters were capsules on a grey plane, and combat was still silent. Even then, finding a better weapon changed the next fight: the first small version of the adventure worked.

April 2026Under the hood

A reusable spell runtime

We built spells from reusable targeting rules and effects. New abilities could combine those pieces, making it easier to author and experiment with class mechanics.

The first version powered two classes. May brought combat conditions and more building blocks for movement, shields, resources, and pets. New mechanics still need code, but that work can then serve other spells.

April 2026Under the hood

A foundation for new quests

Quests gained reusable definitions for objectives, dialogue, and rewards, with progress saved between sessions.

That separated writing a quest from rebuilding its machinery. In late May, discovery, world interaction, and item-use objectives expanded the kinds of adventures those definitions could describe.

April 2026Under the hood

Your sword stays your sword

Individual items gained lasting identities and rolled bonuses that followed them through equipment, vendors, and player trades.

Two swords of the same kind could be different finds. Trading one had to preserve that exact item and its bonuses, including when ownership moved to another character.

April 2026Under the hood

Shared rules for character builds

Equipment, buffs, and talents began using a common system for bonuses to stats and spells.

A bonus could change damage, cast time, cooldown, or resource cost through the same rules. This gave combinations a shared foundation as we added more ways to shape a character.

May 2026Gameplay

Shaping the opening class roster

We gave the opening roster of fourteen classes their own spell kits for levels 1–10, spanning close combat, healing, spellcasting, and companions.

Starting abilities, unlocks, and class-specific rewards made those ideas playable. This was a first pass at each class's role and rhythm; names, mechanics, and the roster itself would continue to change.

Meet the classes

May 2026Under the hood

Tooltips connected to the rules

Mechanical spell descriptions began drawing from the same structured definitions that describe their effects.

Changing a spell's numbers or supported effects could also update its explanation. Keeping those connected reduces the places where outdated descriptions can hide as we revise abilities.

May 2026Gameplay

Rimwatch takes shape

Rimwatch gained the pine-covered hills and rocky terrain that would become the setting for the opening adventure.

The first playable version gave us a place to arrive and explore. In June, we began shaping the camp, characters, quests, and encounters into a connected starter route.

June 2026Gameplay

Stepping into ranked arena

Ranked 1v1 brought player-versus-player combat into dedicated arena matches, with matchmaking, visible ranks, and ratings saved between sessions.

July added Solo Shuffle: queue on your own, then play six rounds with changing teams. The same class kits now had to work against other players as well as creatures, with new matchups to learn and balance.

June 2026Gameplay

Salvager's Cache takes shape

Our first dungeon began bringing together its own creatures, bosses, and rewards for group adventure.

Over the following days, its quests, entrance, and instanced space joined the opening route. This was an early playable slice; encounter pacing and the reasons to return would keep changing.

June 2026Under the hood

An adventurer that writes reports

We built a test character that could accept quests, fight, loot, and turn in rewards while recording what happened.

The first version teleported between objectives; walking navigation followed in July. These runs help catch broken routes and compare changes, while human playtesting tells us how the game actually feels.

June 2026Project

A hosted game and a launcher

A downloadable client connected to the cloud-hosted game. We tested signing in, entering the world, and fighting a creature on the hosted server.

A launcher and update path arrived alongside it, with further fixes over the following days. Getting a build onto another computer became part of the development process.

June 2026Gameplay

The first profession loop

Gathering, starter recipes, crafting, and apprenticeship quests came together in a small playable slice of non-combat progression.

Characters could learn recipes, collect materials, and make something useful, with their training saved. The initial selection was small; it established the loop that later professions and recipes could build on.

July 2026Gameplay

Distinct paths within each class

We reworked Mastery into distinct specializations, with three disciplines per class and Keystone choices that changed how a build played.

The fifteen-class roster now had forty-five authored disciplines. A Reaver could focus on weapon mastery, surviving punishment, or strengthening allies with war cries; ability behavior and tooltips continued to receive follow-up work.

July 2026Gameplay

Making spell effects clearer

We replaced many early spell effects and filled visual gaps across the level 1–10 abilities, including impacts, shields, transformations, and lasting auras.

Some effects had been suggesting the wrong shape or timing for an ability. This pass brought those visuals closer to what the spells actually did, with further refinement still to come.

July 2026Gameplay

A working player marketplace

Listing an item, buying it, and collecting the proceeds worked through a complete marketplace test.

The less visible work mattered too: holding listed items, charging fees, returning cancelled listings, and keeping purchases and proceeds consistent. Sellers could leave an item for someone to buy later.

August 2026Gameplay

Rebuilding our characters

We replaced the early character and equipment presentation system, rebuilding how appearance choices and worn gear come together.

Bodies, clothing, weapons, and animations all had to agree. This checkpoint established the replacement foundation; visual polish and more distinct appearances for the lineages continued afterward.

August 2026Project

A name and a home

The game became Makers' Wake, and its first website brought the name, world, and development story together.

The project had been growing under an internal working name. It now had a public name and a place where people could discover it and follow what came next.

August 2026Project

Private pre-alpha announced

We announced invite-only testing of the opening level 1–10 route through Rimwatch and Salvager's Cache.

Invited players could begin shaping characters and venture into the dungeon together. It was an early testing milestone, with a limited slice of the world and plenty still changing.

Read the announcement

September 2026Gameplay

Deeper builds, a sharper dungeon

Early Skill breakthroughs began changing how abilities behave, while Salvager's Cache gained more deliberate encounters and more purposeful rewards.

The changes reached from priority interrupts and party target markers to rare gear that grants Skills. Revisiting the first dungeon and early class progression remains part of building the game.

Explore the patch notes

The first chapter is playable.

A first adventure, with room to grow.

What is playable now

What we are focused on now

The story so far.

The first shared adventure

A reusable spell runtime

A foundation for new quests

Your sword stays your sword

Shared rules for character builds

Shaping the opening class roster

Tooltips connected to the rules

Rimwatch takes shape

Stepping into ranked arena

Salvager's Cache takes shape

An adventurer that writes reports

A hosted game and a launcher

The first profession loop

Distinct paths within each class

Making spell effects clearer

A working player marketplace

Rebuilding our characters

A name and a home

Private pre-alpha announced

Deeper builds, a sharper dungeon

Built at an indie pace.

Meet the developer.

Veev