Game Update - Campaign 2.0 Beta Patch #2 & Developer News

Jan 16th Hotfix #2 Build#9409

Important
Please ensure that the build number shown in the top-right corner of the main menu is 9409.
If it differs, perform a clean uninstall and reinstall of the game.

AI

• Breakouts are slightly less aggressive, with defenders holding deeper positions
• Man-to-man defensive pressure has been reduced, opening more offensive passing lanes to the defense
• Defense joins the offense less often and plays more conservatively to avoid being caught out of position on turnovers
• Tentative fix applied to prevent goaltenders from being unable to collect the puck underneath them after a save

General

• Various buffs applied to benchwarmer players
• Squad relics have received balance buffs
• Kelly Jelly has re-joined the Speedy Squad
• Sergei Lancelov has re-joined the Defense Squad
• Rory McShaggy has re-joined the Basic Squad
• Cam Amber has re-joined the Trio Squad
• Trio & Defense Squad relic now earns +2 (from +1)

Steam Community Hub Feedback Thread

Discord Community Server

Jan 15th Hotfix #1

• Reduced the accuracy of some opponent Campaign Team players across all difficulty levels
• Fixed several cases where goaltenders could become stuck or end up out of position
• Adjusted various goaltender stats
• Rebalanced the checking formula, as body checking was harder than intended in some situations
• Trio Squad – Reward selection is now offered to all 3 players instead of just 1
• Increased Maurice Cassoulet’s Speed stat
• Renamed difficulty levels to Rookie, Pro, and Veteran
• Added stats and abilities to some Benchwarmer players

We are fully aware that the game is currently too difficult, especially on the lower difficulty levels, and we agree that it does not feel right in its current state.

We are actively monitoring player feedback, run results, and internal statistics, and we are already pushing changes to bring the experience back in line with what these difficulty levels are meant to represent. Expect ongoing balance updates, with a strong focus on making the early and mid difficulties fair and enjoyable.

We know this is frustrating. We hear you, and we are committed to fixing it quickly.

Known Issues & Topics Actively Being Worked On:

• Difficulty Balance (High Priority) Difficulty Levels 1 and 2 are currently overtuned compared to previous versions. These difficulty levels are being actively rebalanced and will be adjusted in upcoming updates.
• Campaign Team Power Levels Some campaign teams and elite players are performing stronger than intended. Their attributes and behaviors are under review and will be adjusted where needed.
• Squad Player Stat Adjustments Some recent rebalancing passes may have been too aggressive. We are reviewing squad player stats and will be restoring strength in areas where the game currently feels unfair.
• Performance Issues on Portable Devices We are investigating performance drops and instability on handheld and portable hardware.
• Inconsistent AI or Goaltender Behavior Some AI and goalie behaviors can feel inconsistent or unreliable. Several fixes are already live, with more targeted improvements coming. Clips shared on Discord are extremely helpful for identifying edge cases.

Hello everyone and Happy New Year 2026!

We’re excited to bring you another update to the Campaign 2.0 Beta Branch! Your feedback has been a huge help in shaping this update, and we’ll be sharing some interesting numbers and stats at the end of the update post. For now, here’s what you can expect in this patch:

1. Developer Update & 2026 Plans
2. Gameplay Updates (AI, Goaltenders, UI/UX, Balance, Bug Fixes, etc.)
3. Campaign 2.0 – Global Player Statistics
4. Community Q&A

2026 Plans

As we’re now in 2026, we can officially say that this year will be Tape to Tape’s launch year!
While this milestone comes with a lot of work, we still plan to keep players updated as much as possible and may continue updating the Beta branch to support testing and feedback. However, we do not expect to add any new major content (such as squads or features) before the 1.0 launch. We want players to discover a wide range of new features all at once when the game officially releases.

Most of the core content is now complete, and our focus has shifted to balancing and polishing the game before we’re ready to stamp Tape to Tape with its official release seal. Expect significant improvements and refinements across the UI, UX, visuals, and audio experience. Our team is hard at work ensuring that the additional content and features feel satisfying and support many different ways to play and beat the game.

Our final major hurdle is console porting, which we’re actively working on. We’ll share more updates on that as soon as we can!

IMPORTANT

To trigger the game update, a full Steam restart may be required. Also, make sure to properly switch to the Beta branch by selecting the demo-0.2 branch in the Betas section of the game’s properties.

Gameplay Updates

While some new content has been added to the game, most of the major work in this update focused on improvements to the AI and goaltenders. As always, we’ll continue monitoring feedback, and we encourage players to join our Discord community and share clips of any notable moments especially situations where goalies may feel unfair or where the AI could perform better.

Please note that the following updates are not final and may change, be rebalanced, or be reworked as we gather feedback and data from players. The number of available squads will remain capped at four, with no additional unlocks planned before launch.

Gameplay

• Minor squad rebalancing changes
• Added another batch of new Relics and Power-ups
• Rewards are now tracked to ensure Power-ups and Relics you haven’t seen yet are more likely to appear
• Added new Chaos Event power-ups to the pool
• The Prisonners are now an alternate Act 1 boss, replacing Hockey FC
• Hockey FC is now an Act 2 Elite Team
• Shooting Stars are now an Act 2 Elite Team
• The Princess is now an Act 3 Elite Team
• Injury system rebalanced – the Fragile mechanic is now more visible and manageable
• Player selection algorithm improvements
• Shot accuracy system overhaul – fewer shots miss wide; lower-accuracy shots are more likely to result in easy saves, while high-accuracy shots hit target zones more often and with greater precision
• Point Sniper – Shot Power bonus replaced with a chance to trigger a critical shot
• Player skating improvements – better steering, turning, and responsiveness to micro-movements
• Reworked Magnet power-up functionality, as it could previously disrupt plays or potential goals
• Adjustments to the Grapple power-up
• Mjolnir hammer throw speed reduced
• Mega Rebound bounciness reduced
• Mega Lob power-up improvements
• Increased cooldowns on multiple abilities for balance
• Relic Freezer can no longer freeze cursed relics
• Campaign – slightly easier to maintain puck control when staggered on Expert difficulty
• The option to change lines during a period has been removed; lines can now only be changed between periods
• Play Now – goalies are slightly harder on all difficulties
• Play Now – the following teams have been reworked with new relics and power-ups: Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, New York, Toronto, and Boston. We’d love feedback on balance, as we’ll be updating the remaining teams with small identities to make Play Now teams more fun and distinctive.

AI & Goaltenders Updates

A lot of the feedback has been about the AI and goaltenders, and we hear you. We’re actively working on fixes, reworking formulas, and testing improvements but nothing is ever perfect. We strongly encourage players to share feedback, clips, or screenshots whenever something feels unfair or could be improved. This helps us better understand specific situations and address them when needed.

Elite campaign teams now use new AI behaviors inspired by real hockey strategies, such as crash-the-net pressure, tight protect-the-net defense, or aggressive man-to-man coverage. These are not full realistic simulations. The game is fast, chaotic, and exaggerated by design, and the AI operates within those constraints.

These strategies come with deliberate strengths and weaknesses. Some behaviors are intentionally simplified or exploitable by design, allowing elite teams to feel distinct while still giving players room to adapt and punish mistakes.

For now, these strategy-driven AIs are exclusive to certain campaign opponents. Applying them to player-controlled teams would require significant additional design, technical work, and balancing, and is something we may explore in the future but not in the short term.

AI Changes

• Campaign teams now feature different playstyles (man-to-man coverage, aggressive crash-the-net, defensive protect-the-net, etc.)
• Defensemen now return to defensive positions more reliably
• Breakouts – AI now uses multiple strategies when transitioning to offense
• Pass reception improvements – AI positions more effectively to receive passes in all zones
• Puck pursuit improvements – more aggressive and intelligent puck-chasing behavior
• Improved defensive play and formations when playing with or against 3–4 player teams
• When stickless, AI now prioritizes picking up a stick – fixed cases where AI failed to retrieve dropped sticks
• Various minor AI adjustments

Goalie Changes

• Complete goalie save formula overhaul – positioning, puck tracking, shot calculation, rebound control and recovery, follow-ups, animations, and bug fixes
• Goalie skill stats rebalanced
• Skater prediction algorithm improved (affecting goalie positioning)
• Goalies now cover the puck more often; harder shots have a higher chance of producing rebounds
• Desperate saves (dives, pad-stackers) can now trigger on low save-chance shots
• Improved performance while enraged
• Fixed edge cases where goalies failed to pick up the puck
• Campaign – opponent goalie difficulty now scales by act (stronger in Acts 2 and 3)
• Goalie Throwstick animation speed increased; projectile speed reduced for balance and timing is more randomized

System Updates

• UI & UIX – new screens, transitions, visuals, and more (many elements still WIP)
• Tiebreaker / Shootout options removed – now selectable directly in Play Now only
• Anthems can now be reliably skipped
• Added and fixed multiple VFX for power-ups and status effects
• Area-of-effect abilities now display a visual radius
• Animation rework – shooting, passing, backhand shots, knockouts, stick throws, and more
• Puck customization with home team logos and colors
• New stick skins added to match certain power-ups (Safe Bounce, Rebound Magnet)
• New SFX and improvements to existing sounds
• Improved controller assignment and fixes for Steam Remote Play and Local Co-Op
• Render scale option added to graphics settings
• Player name indicator toggle added
• Various graphics quality improvements
• Various replay system improvements

Community Q&A

• Hockey FC Boss: Petition to remove this boss
We didn’t remove it, but Hockey FC is now an Act 2 Elite Team.
• Are we going to get new squads to unlock?
No new squads are planned for now. However, an additional squad will be unlockable once the game officially launches.
• What happens to achievements and progression from Early Access?
Achievements will be reset and replaced with a large number of brand-new ones. Only progression from the Campaign 2.0 Beta will carry over. The Early Access branch will be retired.
• The AI cheats and there’s a lot of rubber-banding.
The only intentional cheating comes from the Referee’s team shenanigans. That said, we understand frustrating moments can happen. Continued tuning of the AI and goaltenders is ongoing, and the work is never truly done. Sometimes, goalies are simply meant to be scored on—but we’re always exploring ways to reduce the feeling of being “cheated.”
• Additional modes and features?
We’ll explore additional modes and features post-launch, with more updates planned after version 1.0.
• Fights?
Yes it’s coming. Just not quite ready yet.
• Online?
No online mode is planned, but Steam Remote Play is available.

Campaign 2.0 Stats

Here are some stats since the launch of the Campaign 2.0 Beta! Before we dive into the bigger breakdown, here are a few highlights:

Total games played: 595,705
Overall win rate: 88.0%
Total shots taken: 6,115,664
Most goals scored against the Golfers: 71 (71–1 win)
Most shots in a single game: 113 (113–39)

And finally, a special shoutout to one particularly wild game against Hockey FC... the final score was a 24–19 win!

ACT 1 – Clear Rate: 65.3%

ACT 2 – Clear Rate: 60.9%

ACT 3 – Clear Rate: 65.5%

General Manager Picks

Power-ups Pick Rates

Relics Pick Rate

Hope you enjoyed the stats! We will definitely share more in future posts!

Looking forward to hearing your feedback on this new patch, see you soon!

- The Tape To Tape Team