BetaDwarf Shadow-Drops Vaultbreakers Demo on Steam, Square Enix to Publish
Square Enix Collective's publishing deal for a studio it invested in during 2025 puts an established co-op developer's escape ARPG in front of players before the full version's five-hero roster is finished.
Reporting from 1 source: Game Spark.
BetaDwarf released a free Steam demo for Vaultbreakers during the Triple-i Initiative Showcase broadcast, and named Square Enix as publisher through Square Enix Collective. The top-down co-op escape action RPG supports up to 3 players and follows the Vaultbreakers against an ancient darkness. The demo covers the first Vault, a boss battle, and two playable characters, Nymera and Bjornir. The full version plans five heroes and a PvPvE mode.
After multiple closed playtests, the demo is the first public build, built around quests that lead to the first Vault and a boss fight at the end. Two of the planned five heroes are playable: Nymera, an elven ranger, and Bjornir, a warrior built on ice attacks and durability. PvE offers two difficulty settings, and co-op supports up to 3 players.
The remaining three characters are set for an alpha PvPvE playtest on October 15. In the full game, the faction Chosen of Maldrakor is run by advanced AI or other players, and PvP is positioned as optional tension rather than deathmatch.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.