Dev Update - 2025 Reflection | 2026 Plans

Hey everyone! Happy New Year!

I wanted to write this post to share some of my thoughts with you all and let you know about my plans for developing Kingdom of Passion moving into 2026.

== Beta 0.8 Release Update ==

First, I'm sure many of you are curious about the release for Beta 0.9.

Right after the holidays, I fell quite ill (this winter season has been rough!) so I'm a bit behind my original plans.

I'm planning to release Beta 0.9 in January but it'll probably be in the later half of the month now. I'll share an accurate release date soon! My sincerest apologies.

== 2025 Recap ==

2025 has been a very insightful year developing Kingdom of Passion!

A personal highlight was working on the first major story update with Medusa! That update was taxing but worth it in the end seeing the puzzles come together. I have a few more dungeons like that one in mind and the second one should be coming up pretty soon!

In many ways, I'm happy with how progress is going with KoP, but there are many areas that I think could use improvement.

One challenge that's always been difficult for KoP is the reality of dev creep. I think my ambitions for this project really were quite lofty from reality when starting. Since then, I've tried to scale back ideas and approach the game from a more healthy & sustainable mindset.

That means that in 2026, there are a few ideas I have to potentially help with development!

== 2026 Plans ==

Moving into 2026, my plan is to keep pushing and developing more while keeping the overall scale of KoP a bit more reasonable.

I'm also hoping to do more X.5 updates (ex: Beta 0.9.5). These are shorter updates that provide a new quest/event while keeping the wait for new content lower.

Another thing that I want to do is make some character story updates more bite-sized and fun. I have to keep reminding myself that not every side-character needs an entirely new dungeon to have a fun, meaningful story! I'm hoping these ideas should still be rewarding and satisfying for players. Penny is a character I'm especially excited to work on later this year as I think her story will be on the sillier (and sexy) side.

=====

Thank you for your continued support for Kingdom of Passion! I look forward to what the new year will bring for this adventure in Valencia!

I hope you all have a Happy New Year! Stay safe!

See you all soon with Beta 0.9!