Shadowstone, a Sunderfolk spin-off announced in February by Secret Door and Dreamhaven, has kicked off a public playtest at the Future Games Show Spring Showcase this Thursday, March 12. The move represents a deliberate shift in how independent publishers test games in the modern era, and for Dreamhaven in particular, it carries weight beyond the usual marketing value.
Dreamhaven, the company unveiled in 2020 by Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime, has had a rocky commercial run. The company's games thus far, including Sunderfolk, Wildgate, and Lynked: Banner of the Spark, have failed to find large audiences. While Sunderfolk was well received by critics and has positive user reviews on Steam, that hasn't kept Dreamhaven out of the red. Morhaime warned in 2025 that Dreamhaven's "monthly expenses are outpacing revenue," and less than two weeks later the company laid off an unspecified number of employees.
Against this backdrop, Shadowstone matters. Publisher Dreamhaven and Sunderfolk developer Secret Door have announced Shadowstone, a turn-based cooperative tactics roguelite game for up to four players. The game is set in the same game world as Sunderfolk, the tabletop-inspired RPG from Secret Door that uses smartphones as controllers. But this new title strips away the phone controls. Unlike Sunderfolk, it's structured as a run-based roguelite where players fight through tactical encounters, upgrading their spells along the way.
The playtest will give players a sample of the game ahead of release in either solo or multiplayer matches of up to four people. Crucially, progress in the playtest will not carry over to the full release, but there's no NDA so you can talk about (and, I would assume, stream) your sessions all you like. This is the modern approach to player feedback. No artificial gatekeeping; just transparency and trust.
"Every run requires its own strategy based on a constantly evolving pool of skill cards, versatile equipment, and adaptive powerups," Dreamhaven said when Shadowstone was announced. The core appeal is straightforward: roguelites reward experimentation, and the cooperative element adds replayability. Deliberate positioning and manipulation of elements in each encounter is core to the turn-based tactical gameplay. Each attempt to escape the shadowstone infested ruins presents a new nightmare with an endless array of randomized rooms and monsters. Players must adapt their strategy every run, relying on a constantly evolving pool of skill cards, versatile equipment, and adaptive powerups.
The question is not whether the game looks competent. It does. The question is whether it can find an audience in a crowded market. Early access is set to come out sometime in 2026, a pretty wide window that still leaves substantial uncertainty about timing and market conditions. For a studio running on empty, that uncertainty is itself a risk.
Shadowstone launches into Steam Early Access in 2026 for $14.99, making it accessible to players willing to invest in an early access title. The free playtest removes the financial barrier to curiosity. Whether that translates to sustained engagement remains to be seen, but it's the right approach for a publisher trying to rebuild credibility with players and investors alike.