The Big Update is coming !
Hi everyone!
As many of you know, we’re preparing a major update that brings the core of Herd: The Musical Battle RPG to its final form. Once that’s in place, we’ll shift our focus to the rest of the experience we want to deliver—and polish based on your feedback.
Because our team is small and the change list is long, this update will roll out in several stages.
First Steps onto the Stores
This update also marks our first steps onto distribution platforms. We’re targeting Google Play first, then the Apple App Store (which requires a port). From now on, these will be the places where you can try the game—opening the door for players worldwide to get hands-on and tell us what they think.
This is where things get real for us: the beginning of a long-term co-development with the community that forms around the game on these platforms.
Internal Release → Early Access
We’re kicking off this week with an internal release on Google Play. The goal is to test the updated mechanics and newly added content internally and with a very small external tester group. This internal “cooking” period helps us reach a quality bar we’re happy with—then move straight into Early Access.
We’re also finishing some parallel content while debugging and polishing what’s already done. The public release will land in the coming days/weeks, but we’ll lock the exact date only when we have an internal release candidate that feels solid. We’re close.
This also means a few content pieces (notably some characters) may arrive shortly after the public release, in a follow-up patch to the Big Update.
Get ready: you’ll be invited to play Herd in Early Access on Google Play, followed by the Apple App Store!
Why Early Access Matters
With our arrival on the stores, we’re entering a phase where we’ll actively promote the game and grow our player base. That’s essential to help us make the right decisions, adjust direction, and act on the feedback and reviews you share.
What’s in the Big Update
We ended up including a bit more than planned so the first release feels as good as possible given our scope and schedule. For example:
- A system that gives each character unique VFX when using melody abilities—landing alongside our class system designed to make every character feel distinct and fun to play.
- Time invested in feedback and onboarding polish to make the first sessions more enjoyable.
That’s just a glimpse of a longer list of improvements we felt were crucial for a solid first Early Access.
Rethinking Priorities: Solo First
We’ve had a lot of conversations about what comes next—especially the features that will make the experience richer for new players during Early Access.
Originally, we planned to spend the end of the year on multiplayer battles—a big topic we care deeply about. But for ranked and versus to be meaningful, we need a healthy player base first.
So we’re pivoting to strengthen the solo experience now: delivering steady content, high replayability as early as possible, and demonstrating long-term potential with a real progression and character development loop.
Because we won’t be touching core systems much anymore, we can split these features into smaller chunks and release them incrementally—letting your feedback guide us along the way.
Roadmap (Work in Progress)
Here’s what we’re planning:
- Crafting System
- Solo Campaigns
- Character Progression System
- Collection (characters, abilities, skins, etc.)
- Daily Quests & Challenges
- Solo Leaderboards
- Replays & Performance Sharing
Together, these will deliver the experience we’ve envisioned from the start: collect characters, abilities, and items; progress a favorite character; build the best ability deck; and take on the solo campaign and various AI challenges.
This is the kind of content we aim to deliver by year’s end, moving Herd into a new phase of development. Early Access is our chance to listen closely and let your feedback shape these features.
Monetization Principles
This upcoming content also lets us introduce the first monetization elements, which we’ll detail in dedicated posts. Just like the rest, we’ll iterate based on your expectations and feedback.
Our pillars are clear:
No pay-to-win. No forced purchases. No progression walls.
As the design stands today, you can earn everything by playing. You’ll also be able to accelerate progression if you want, and purchase cosmetics—perfect for sharing in your replays.
See you soon in Herd’s Early Access on Google Play—and thank you for being here at the very start of this journey!
