After years of development, balancing, and your incredible feedback, Dirge has officially reached its final form. We will sunset any new development work as Dirge is now entering maintenance mode. The team is already underway with our next exciting yet to be announced project. We’ve battled through the dark corners of Hillview Manor, braved the eerie depths of Quetico Forest, and unraveled the shadows of Wakefield City together. Every monster, investigator, and haunting detail has been carefully crafted to bring you the spine-tingling, heart-pounding multiplayer horror experience we dreamed of—and now, that dream is complete. This post isn't meant to be an Elegy but more of a appreciative look back, and roadmap for the future.
Maintenance Mode
While Dirge will no longer receive new features, monsters, maps, or items, rest assured that our work isn’t entirely done. We’ll continue to squash bugs, optimize performance, and ensure that your investigations and monstrous escapades run as smoothly as possible.
Brief History
The journey of Dirge has been nothing short of hauntingly incredible. It all began back in 2016 as a college group project that, while ambitious, didn’t quite take off. But the dream lingered in the shadows. In 2018, a proof of concept was built by the talented trio of Manuel, Dominic, and Andres, laying the foundation for what was to come. Dirge as you know it truly took shape in 2019, when development officially began. By 2021, we opened the doors to Early Access, inviting all of you to step into the dark and help shape the game with your invaluable feedback. Finally, in 2024, we emerged from the shadows with the full release of Dirge.
Community Thanks
A massive thank you to our incredible player community—you’ve been the heart and soul of Dirge from the very beginning. From day one, we set out to make a game shaped not just by us, but by you. Your feedback, ideas, and passion guided us every step of the way, inspiring items, features, and characters we could never have dreamed up on our own. Unlike many other studios, we made it our mission to truly listen, and we couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve created together. This game wouldn’t exist in its current form without you, and for that, we are endlessly grateful.
Struggles
Creating Dirge was as much a labor of love as it was a journey of growth. As a fully self-funded team, we faced our fair share of challenges—everything from learning performance optimization on the fly to making the leap into multiplayer networking and replication. The team really had to jump head first into large a Pit of skillsets we didn't have to learn them the hard way.
We faced unexpected challenges! We entered the market with the wrong monetization strategy. We had early "game developers" who stream more than they actually develop dog piling on alpha builds more concerned with their own video views than actually providing useful feedback. Chinese players accessing an unreleased, confidential, incomplete, & untranslated build before release and tanking our reviews. Performance optimization being an uphill battle, especially for players running well below recommended specs, yet still leaving negative feedback.
Our decision to aim for a realistic art style set a high visual bar, and without the budget for premade assets or specialist hires, we rolled up our sleeves and built everything ourselves, or being extremely picky on publicly available assets if they were a near perfect fit. We in no way want to think of ourselves as asset flippers. We had to often rely on volunteered contributions as well. Despite these hurdles, we were fueled by your patience and support. Whether it was overcoming the sting of early review challenges or navigating industry changes, your encouragement kept us moving forward. The journey wasn’t easy, but every obstacle became an opportunity to learn, and we’re grateful to have grown alongside such an amazing community.
Triumphs
Despite the challenges, Dirge has been a story of incredible triumphs. We had a core team of just 3 to 5 people active at any point providing only a few part time hours a week. Still we achieved something truly ambitious—a massive indie game packed with features, maps, monsters, and mysteries to uncover. Over the years, we delivered regular updates, continually refining and expanding the game thanks to the inspiration we drew from you, our small but passionate fanbase. The game as it exists now only has Echoes of where it was at the start, that is just how much we were driven by you! Your enthusiasm fueled our creativity and kept us grounded, reminding us of why we started this journey in the first place. Together, we built something far greater than we ever could have imagined.
Horizons
As we close this chapter of Dirge, we’re taking a much-needed rest after nearly five years of continuous development. But don’t worry—the story doesn’t end here. We’re already brainstorming our next steps, with several exciting ideas on the table. From a platformer that descends into a limitless void, to a suspenseful, story-driven space horror featuring a truly nefarious monster, to single-player backstories exploring the lives of our beloved investigators, the possibilities are endless. We’d love for you to be part of shaping what comes next. Join us on Discord to share your thoughts and help guide the next adventure. This is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to create more with all of you!
Special Thanks to Contributors
- Andres Zambrano - Character Artist
- Nando Cordeiro - Sound Designer
- Billy Downs - Lazurus Rising - Lead Tester & Moderator
- MorgueMistress - Tester & Moderator
- Eddie Brown - Graphic Artist & Programmer
- Morten Wiberg (Stoiss) - Tester, Streamer & Danish Translator
- WiseZAURIEL - Streamer & Voice Actor
- Jalique Stewart - Environment Artist
- Leandro Cazo - 3D Animator
- Alexis Ghnassia - Trailer Editor
- Horace Pan - Chinese Translator
- ThatOneMagicWalnut - Tester & Streamer
- Wavemstudios - Soundtrack Composer
- Lusitanian Deviant Records - Soundtrack Composer