Hi everyone,
I want to be transparent about an important change in direction for Poly Canker. After a lot of testing and rebuilding, I’ve decided to shift the game to a focused single-player warm-up shooter for the foreseeable future.
First, to everyone who wish listed the game expecting multiplayer: I am truly sorry.
I know many of you were looking forward to an online PvP experience, and I don’t take that lightly. This decision wasn’t easy, but I believe it’s the right move for the game at this stage.
Please check the full Steam store page description for complete details on what’s included and what has changed. Everything is explained clearly there as well.
Why the change?
Implementing multiplayer especially reliable, dedicated servers proved to be extremely time-consuming on a solo developer schedule. Rather than delay the entire project indefinitely or release something unstable, I made the choice to focus on a clean, simple, polished single-player experience that actually works right now.
What Poly Canker is now:
• A straightforward, fast warm-up FPS
• A small snowy forest map with targets and simple AI
• Instant respawn, random loadouts, optional 3rd person
• Something you can fire up for a quick 5–10 minute aim session
What it is not (at this time):
• Not multiplayer
• Not progression-based
• Not an online PvP shooter
Will multiplayer ever come?
Possibly, but not in the near future.
I’m not ruling it out, and I’m not promising it either. I want players to get a feel for the movement, mechanics, and gameplay foundation. If multiplayer is added later or becomes part of a future, larger project, this warm-up shooter will have been the stepping stone.
Why this is still the best move right now?
This direction allows players to actually enjoy a real, functioning experience instead of waiting months or dealing with broken online systems. It also gives me room to fix small issues, polish the mechanics, and gather meaningful feedback during playtesting.
What’s next
During the playtest you might notice:
• Some AI pathing quirks
• Minor visual effects that will be improved
• Areas outside the map that may suggest future expansion (these will be refined later)
I already have a list of bugs to address before release, including improved grenade effects and tightening the invisible wall boundaries.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this project so far. I genuinely appreciate the patience, understanding, and interest in what I’m building. I hope this new direction still provides value and gives you a fun, straightforward warm-up tool before your main FPS sessions.
— Andrew
Haunting Rift Games
Solo Developer