Witch The Showdown Hits Steam Early Access On November 19
The developer's own Steam note says the indie team is deliberately taking a release date that falls on the same day as Grand Theft Auto VI, which the studio calls a matter of life or death.
Key Facts
- Witch the Showdown launches in early access on PC via Steam on November 19, 2026.
- The early access build is planned to include 8 enemies, 31 cards, and 2 playable characters.
- Citales Games plans a full release with 16 enemies, 60 cards, and 3 playable characters.
- The playable characters announced are protagonist Luze and rifle user Neon.
- A hands-on build of Witch the Showdown will be shown at Tokyo Game Show 2026 on September 17 and 18 at booth BT112.
Reporting from 3 sources: Denfaminicogamer, Automaton, Game Spark.
Publisher Perp Games and developer Citales Games announced on September 16 that Witch the Showdown will enter Steam early access on November 19, 2026. The single-player action game fuses high-speed parry combat with deck-building. Players time parries and dodges against enemy attacks to earn a resource called mana, then spend it to play cards from their hand as counterattacks. Every opponent is described as boss-class, and a single misjudgment can be fatal. Five difficulty levels run from Rookie to Master; the highest is built for core action and competitive players. A turn-based combat format is also selectable alongside the real-time format. Duel Mode uses a fixed pre-built deck, while Tournament Mode is a roguelike run where players beat rivals in consecutive battles and spend credits on new cards and items. Protagonist Luze is joined by rifle user Neon, whose backstories unlock as in-game manga. A hands-on build will be shown at Tokyo Game Show 2026 on September 17 and 18 at booth BT112.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions are planned for 2027, after the Steam launch. The early access period is planned to run about one year.
In early access the game ships with 8 enemies, 31 cards, and 2 playable characters. At official release the plan is 16 enemies, 60 cards, and 3 playable characters. New characters and many new cards are planned for the early access build, expanding deck options beyond the current demo.
Cards cover normal attacks and effects such as counters. Filling a gauge for one attribute triggers a Burst, which can auto-parry for a time or let attacks land without spending mana. Filling three attribute gauges opens a window to attack without taking enemy hits.
The demo has been on Steam since April 24 and holds a "Very Positive" rating with 92 percent of 57 user reviews positive.
Citales Games creator Nanashi Kiryu gave a hands-on report and interview at Tokyo Game Dungeon 10, held in November 2025, covering front guard, just dodge, and the Elemental Burst built from attribute cards.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.