Monday Update - January 5, 2026

We're back!

Today is Michael Hodge's first official day on the Session Syndicate team! Time to get things moving in the new year and work towards early access launch, hopefully later this year.

This update will likely be longer than usual, since we had a lot to discuss in our weekly meeting. Here is what we are up to.

Steam Key Giveaway

You've probably seen my posts on social media about the Steam key giveaway on the flow trail. If not, here is the gist:

1. Record some clips and/or make a sick edit on the new flow trail on the demo map

2. Post it on social media (TikTok, IG, or YT) and tag us in it

3. I'll pick my 3 favorite and give a Steam key for the full game

I'm going to start looking through them today. I'll give out a key or two today, and then check later this week and give out the remaining keys. Get your videos up before Friday if you want to have a shot!

Steam Playtest Feedback and Stats

Thanks to the playtest, Steam wishlists are up. Before the playtest started, we had 2,848 wishlists. Now we have 4,280!

• 10,294 people have joined the playtest

• 8,849 of those 10k have actually opened the game

• Average DAU (daily active users) is 1,038

• Max DAU we had was 1,776

• Average peak concurrent players is 69

• Max peak concurrent was 145

• 78% of players play on controller (I thought this would be higher)

The feedback from the playtest has been overwhelmingly positive. We've had hundreds of comments from players telling us how much they love the game, how it reminds them of real riding, and that it's the best MTB game... and we're less than a year into development. 🤯

There are still so many things wrong with the game, and it's basically just a physics demo at this point, so to get feedback is very reassuring and motivating.

The biggest complaints so far:

• Need better support for keyboard/mouse (KBM) controls

• Need better optimization

We will be working on both of these things over the next two weeks, along with a bunch of other stuff. Let's dive into those details next.

Goals for the Next Two Weeks

First, we will be using Codecks (our roadmap and planning software) much more moving forward. We barely used it before. Remember, this is a public website and you can visit it anytime to see what we are working on by going to this link: https://open.codecks.io/cranked

Here is what we hope to accomplish over the next two-week sprint.

• Keyboard & Mouse (KBM) Support: The team decided to fully support KBM controls after discovering that 20% of playtesters use them. Instead of removing support, we will fix the jumping mechanics, add rebinding capabilities, and implement other improvements.

  • I need some KBM players to help us test the controls until they are dialed, since nobody on the team plays with KBM. If you're a dedicated KBM player who has played other action sports games on KBM and want to help us test, please let us know!

• Discord and Patreon CTA: To drive Patreon conversions, we will swap the "Discord" button when trying to select the Open World map for a "Patreon" button. The Discord button will be moved below the two map selection options.

• Critical Crash Fix: Fixing a recurring crash, likely a memory leak.

• Optimization: Hodge thinks we can make a few simple changes to improve things in this department. We'll try some low-hanging fruit first, then move on to more in-depth options if those don't work.

• Settings Menu Overhaul: Reorganizing the settings menu into separate tabs for controls, graphics, and gameplay, and fixing things up in general.

  • Adding a steering sensitivity option for both 1st and 3rd person views.

  • Adding a reset to defaults button.

• Automated Build Servers: set up a server to automate builds for Steam and Patreon, which will save me a lot of time in the future. Currently, I'm manually making six different builds and uploading them to Steam/Patreon.

• Fix the Linux Patreon builds: they are currently broken, but we think we can fix this easily. Once it's fixed, I'll fire up new Patreon builds with the new flow trail stuff, as well as progress from Antgrass on the tech trail on the Open World map that he's been working on.

• Art: Maggie returns from break on Wednesday this week. I need to chat with her to see what she wants to work on next. The options are:

  • Continue with the bike shop (she wants to add the Rad Dog sign and mural)

  • Start working on the new branded replica gear from a super secret gear brand

  • Open World environment art

  • Fix up the male rider model

What's After That?

After we finish the list above, we will start moving on to some more exciting features!

• Multiplayer: Implementing multiplayer on the Open World map will be our next priority. Multiplayer will be restricted to paid Patreon members until we launch in early access on Steam.

• Third Person: After multiplayer is up and running, we will go back to improving third person. This includes making it feel better, improving rider animations, making scrubs and whips look and feel better, and much more.

• More Surface Materials: Add physics properties for other surface materials like loam, gravel, mud, etc. The sooner we get these in, the sooner Cedric can start adding them to his trails.

• Challenge and Progression Systems: Get the core systems in place so I can start adding challenges to the first zone of the Open World map, so we can start testing them as a community.

• Modding Support: Add modding support for creating maps and get the basic foundation set up.

• Basic VFX: Add some basic VFX like speed trails, motion blur, and dirt particles.

Once all of that is done, we will officially be out of pre-alpha and into the alpha phase. The main features we need to complete to move from alpha to beta phase will be bike and rider customization. After those are done, it will mostly be about adding more content (challenges, trails, customization, etc.) and iterating on systems until things feel ready for EARLY ACCESS!

Our goal is to launch in Early Access on Steam at the end of July, so we can time it in conjunction with Crankworx Whistler. Let's see if we can make it happen!

Congrats if you made it this far! That's all I have for this week. We'll be streaming on Thursday at our regular time, 3 PM EST.

Jake says hi. Paw update - turns out he has a dislocated toe and needs surgery to amputate part of it. So hopefully, once he gets that, he'll feel much better! Hope everyone has a great week. 👋 🫶