Hey everyone,
We have an important update regarding the release schedule for Dithered. We are officially moving our launch date from Q1 2026 to July 23, 2026. We know you are eager to help Penny escape the static and fight back against the horrors in the dark, but we need a bit more time.
There are two main reasons for this decision, and we want to be completely transparent with you:
1. Honing the Nightmare After reviewing our recent internal playtests, we realized that the core mechanics need more iteration to meet our standards. Penelope's "Desperate Aggression" combat with the heavy wooden ruler needs to feel weightier, and the platforming sequences through her trauma shards require tighter precision. Dithered is a game about a glitching, dissolving reality, but we refuse to let the actual gameplay feel glitchy. We are taking these extra months to focus on core quality issues, specifically overall polish, presentation, and pacing. We want to ship a game we are truly confident in.
2. Surviving the Horror Congestion We also have to look at the reality of the current market. Q1 2026 has proven to be an incredibly crowded season for the horror genre, dominated by massive AAA releases like Resident Evil: Requiem. As a small indie team at Bugged Games, launching in the shadow of these giants means our game might get entirely lost. To borrow a phrase from a fellow indie publisher who recently faced a similar release dilemma, we don't want to do our game a disservice by "wading into waters we can clearly see are blood red." Moving to the post-summer sale window in July gives Dithered the breathing room it needs to find its audience and survive.
We do have some immediate good news: this release delay does not affect our playtest schedule. If you requested access on our Steam page, keep an eye on your inbox! Our closed playtest is still kicking off very soon! We need your hands-on feedback now more than ever to help us refine the combat and platforming over these next few months.
What’s Next? We aren't just going to stay quiet until July. This adjusted timeline gives us the perfect runway to participate in the upcoming Steam Next Fest (June 15 - 22, 2026). During this event, we will be releasing a highly polished, public demo so everyone can experience Penelope's journey, meet Coco and Molly, and face the Ticking Horror themselves right before our full launch.
We appreciate your patience, understanding, and continued support. Wishlists are the lifeblood of our team, so if you haven't already, please consider adding us to your list. Meantime we invite all of you to our discord, where you can chat with us... or meet characters from The Static.
Thank you for believing in Dithered!
— The Bugged Games Team
