Today, Crudelis turns 10.

This game exists because of friendship, persistence, and the people who believed in it.

I want to take a moment to share the story behind Crudelis - and why this anniversary matters so much to me.

The idea for the game took shape back in 2012, when I was working as a journalist for a few internet outlets and still finishing my studies. At the same time, I was quietly dreaming of releasing my own game. I shared that dream with my closest friends, and they felt the same spark I did. We were young, inexperienced, and had absolutely no idea how to make a game - but we wanted to build our own small world.

Not long after, we informally formed Whiskey Jack Games and began working on Crudelis. It quickly turned out to be much harder than we expected. Over time, our team of four became just two: Jan and me. We lived in different cities, so everything we did was remote. Even so, we were close friends - Jan and I had known each other since at least 2008 - and working on the game brought us even closer. We were close like siblings, and for years we did everything we could to finish the game. We worked long hours, supported each other, and kept going because we had promised we would.

When we finally released it, I felt relief more than anything else. We had planned to finish in 12 months; it took more than three times that. We were financially broke - but we had reached the finish line. And we were proud of what we had made.

That was a very special moment.

Three months later, Whiskey Jack Games disbanded. The game wasn’t earning enough for us to live on. We found other jobs and kept meeting online in the evenings. Despite the distance and the changes, we stayed friends.

Then one day, Jan disappeared.

He stopped replying to my messages. All contact was cut in a single evening. That was nearly five years ago, and to this day I don’t know what happened. I remember we were playing an online co-op game late at night, both tired, and decided to call it a day. We agreed to meet online the next day and continue.

That day never came.

It was Saturday, July 17, 2021. Steam still shows “July 18” as the last time the game was played. I’ve never been able to open it again - not without knowing what happened to Jan.

And now it’s 2026. Crudelis has been on the market for 10 years, with over 10,000 copies sold. My life has changed completely. As a small tribute to Jan, I’ve decided to release the game for free.

I still need to get in touch with Steam and the other storefronts to organize this, so I don’t yet know the exact date. But the 10th anniversary felt like the right moment to share this news.

I also want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who bought Crudelis and gave it a chance. Your trust and support meant more to us than you might realize. And thank you to everyone who helped during the long production process - every contribution, big or small, helped shape the game into what it became.

It’s not as good as we once dreamed it would be. But it’s the most important game I’ll ever make - because I made it with Jan. It was something we created together.

It may not be worth much.

But to me, it’s worth everything.

Janek - if you ever read this, please let me know you’re alive.

I really miss you.

eM.