...
Browse GamesSteam news
Full Steam announcements and update articles for this title.
Hello miners!
Check out the full development process, visual breakdowns of the improvements, and a sneak peek at the new animations in our latest devlog video below:
The Steam Summer Sale is officially starting today, and Deepstone Rift is part of it with a special discount!
To celebrate, we have just pushed a major update packed with brand new features, highly requested improvements, and extensive quality of life changes based directly on your play feedback. We took a hard look at the areas that were causing friction or hurting the player experience, and we’ve spent the last few weeks polishing them to a shine.
Here is a deep dive into all the new features and improvements hitting the game today:
The Gameplay Flow: Deepstone Rift features two distinct core phases you mine resources on the left side of the map, and you defend against incoming threats on the right side.
The Improvement: When the mining timer runs out, rushing across the map to build and prepare was taking up too much precious time and felt frustrating. We have added a dedicated sprint mechanic tied to a brand-new stamina bar, complete with crisp new animations to completely improve how moving feels.
The Strategy: Use it wisely! If you burn all your stamina dodging threats during intense combat, you won't have any left to sprint back to the mines. This introduces a great new layer of tactical choice to your resource runs.
The Issue: Previously, whenever a fast-moving enemy caught up to a slower enemy unit, it would run directly into it, clipping through the 3D model and looking incredibly messy.
The Fix: We have updated the enemy AI pathfinding using RVO (Reciprocal Velocity Obstacles). Fast enemies will now dynamically calculate a path around slower units in real time, passing them smoothly without overlapping.
Bug Squashed: We isolated and fixed a weird bug where hitting an enemy caused their health bar to randomly flash pitch black before resetting.
Juicier Combat: Health bar colors now work perfectly, and the bars themselves are cleaner and more compact. We’ve also added subtle visual screen shake on impact to make your weapon hits feel substantially punchier.
New UI Elements: We designed custom, unique health bars specifically for your defense doors and your own stamina bar.
Economy Management: Defense doors will now clearly display the exact gold amount required for repairs right on the UI, allowing you to manage your economy mid fight without guessing.
The Problem: Originally, we used a basic font just to ensure we supported every single language out of the box. Unfortunately, it compressed poorly and looked oddly blurry at different resolutions, causing real eye strain.
The Fix: We've totally reworked the system, hunting down specific, clean fonts for every single language we support and generating high quality assets inside Unity. Text is now bigger, incredibly sharp, and beautifully readable.
Main Menu: The old layout featured buttons that were far too small, and text would spill out if expanded. Pulling from UI lessons we learned the hard way on our last game, Northend Tower Defense, we threw out the old horizontal layout. We switched to a clean vertical stack with massive buttons, highly readable text, and a prominent community feedback button.
Dedicated Reset Button: Previously, if your strategy was failing and you wanted to retry a level, you had to exit all the way to the main menu and load back in, killing the flow of the game. We listened to your feedback and added a dedicated Reset Button directly inside the pause menu to instantly restart the map.
End Game Screen: We carried the same clean design language over to the victory/defeat screen, scaling up text for readability and using a vertical button stack so the entire game loop feels cohesive and polished.
Upgrade Tree: The old skill tree description text was tiny and blurry. We re-engineered the text blocks to be significantly bigger, sharper, and smoother to navigate.
Flow Improvements: In the old tutorial build, players were forced to lose a wave just to teach them how to use the upgrade tree. Losing in a tutorial doesn't feel great, so we fixed it. Now, you win the battle first and are introduced to the upgrade tree while feeling victorious.
Target Queuing: We discovered some players were missing a major gameplay feature, so the tutorial now explicitly teaches you how to target specific rocks for your diggers to mine, completely optimizing your economy.
The Treasure Chest Bug: Previously, when you opened a treasure chest to pick a card, the game was supposed to pause, but players could still slide around and mine rocks in the background. We've locked this down; time now freezes perfectly when cards are up, ensuring clean, exploit-free gameplay.
Recolored Act2 maps to reflect new biome look, to make more variations to the game, and be more consistent, with the visual goals we have in mind.
If you've been waiting for the perfect time to jump back into the mines, grab the game during the Steam Summer Sale discount and check out all the new updates!
Hello everyone,
Levels reworked! Watch video below:
Also a huge thank you to everyone who joined the recent QA session. Your reports helped us track down a long list of issues across tutorials, turrets, weapons, and UI. Here's everything that landed in this patch:
Tutorial & Onboarding
Fixed energy collection counter not displaying and bullet count showing incorrect values in tutorial mode.
Steam achievement now correctly unlocks after completing the tutorial.
Fixed game freeze caused by upgrading turret learning time prematurely after the first wave.
Save files are no longer wiped when replaying the tutorial.
Turrets
Sawblade projectile chaining now works as intended.
Added build prompts to guide players placing towers.
Sawblades no longer linger on the field after the defense phase ends.
Mine turret now properly deploys explosive mines.
Rolling turret attack behavior fixed. (enemies were not releasing them backward)
Fixed erratic UI when building a second roller turret.
Bow & Arrow turret can now be selected and upgraded on hover.
Cannon tower can now be built in Level 1 after unlocking the upgrade.
Barrel turret ghosting effect after firing has been cleaned up.
Triple-barrel burst fire upgrade now unlocks correctly. (was only applying stun)
Some tower upgrade issues has been resolved.
Weapons & Combat
Fixed AK47 not firing after being picked up from a treasure chest mid-defense.
Fixed AK47 buff disappearing unexpectedly in the second wave.
Bullet stun effect now correctly applies.
Summoned guard's first shot now deals proper damage.
Stunned characters now stop shooting and display a stun effect.
Pause & Game State
ESC now properly pauses mining.
Character can no longer shoot while paused, and monster movement is correctly frozen.
Turrets no longer freeze mid-attack if you pause right before their shot.
Incoming wave counter no longer ticks down while the game is paused.
Levels & Progression
end of the level now gives proper time to collect end-of-level rewards. (now its collect automatically)
Skipping outside the door no longer traps your character outside the room.
Door now closes correctly when the defense phase begins.
Chapter 1 boss crystal drops now grant the correct loot value.
Extra gold nugget drop effect now works.
Double reward effect for gold now applies correctly.
UI & Visual
Tech tree have improved graphics.
Items dropped by monsters are now visible (no longer just a glow).
Gates now recover health between rounds instead of waiting for full destruction.
weapons & ammo now display in the bottom-left HUD.
enemies route is now drawn alongside the info panel in the right way.
Fixed text overflow at the rolling turret position.
mining-phase arrow prompts. (now only appear during defense)
Magnet pickup after monster death now properly disappears.
Keep the reports coming — every bug you flag makes the next patch tighter. See you on the battlefield.
⚙️ Gameplay & Mechanics
Door Repairs: Doors can now be repaired after taking damage, giving you more staying power during intense waves!
Advanced Door Control: Overhauled the door mechanics by introducing a new "push distance" variable. Every door in the game can now be precisely controlled.
Gem Optimization: Gems dropped by enemies will now combine on the ground. This keeps the battlefield much cleaner and helps improve performance during massive waves.
Dynamic Chest Spawns: Chests will now reliably spawn every 25 to 60 seconds during the Mining phase.
Cannon Tower Polish: Rolled out general improvements and tweaks to the Cannon Tower to make it feel better in combat.
🗺️ Level Design & Environments
Level Color Enhancements: Upgraded the color palettes across our stages to make the environments pop. We will be continuously improving level visuals over the long term!
Level 3 Fixes: Resolved platform collision issues and fixed the UI and enemy behaviors tied to the hidden door.
Level 6 Pathing: Fixed an issue where enemy pathing could break on this stage.
Global Colliders: Cleaned up various collision boxes across multiple levels to prevent entities from getting stuck or clipping.
🎨 Visuals, UI & Quality of Life
Upgrade Tree Visuals: Gave the new progression tree a massive visual glow-up with improved graphics and satisfying new animations.
General UI/UX Polish: Added various updates to the user interface and in-game animations for a smoother, more responsive experience.
Build Borders: Added clear visual borders while in Build Mode so you know exactly where you can and cannot place your towers.
Wave Tracker Improvements: Upgraded the enemy wave counter and incoming enemy indicators to give you a clearer read on the battlefield.
Localization Updates: Pushed updates to the game's localization files for better and more accurate text translations.
🐛 Bug Fixes
Fixed a frustrating bug where the camera would suddenly snap to the wrong position while placing towers.
Fixed an issue where UI buttons would occasionally vanish or fail to appear.
Fixed a visual bug where purchase buttons wouldn't change color instantly when your money balance updated.
Fixed an interface glitch that caused "0 Gems" to display incorrectly.
Cleaned up end-of-match behaviors to fix issues with lingering bullets and gems on the Game Over screen. Thank you, keeping sending us feedback!
✨ Major Features & Progression
New Upgrade Tree: Enemies now drop Gems, which can be spent in our brand-new progression tree. Use Gems to unlock and upgrade towers, character stats, diggers, and collectors.
New Guard Companions: You can now purchase Guards from the tech tree that actively follow your character and help you fight off enemies!
Character Overhaul: We have completely revamped the player character with a brand-new 3D mesh, updated animations, and totally rebuilt shooting and mining systems for a much better feel.
⚔️ Gameplay & Combat
Simultaneous Spawner Logic: Overhauled the enemy spawner system to allow for simultaneous spawns, making defense waves much more intense and dynamic.
Anti-Camping Hazard: Watch your head! We introduced Ceiling Rockfalls to punish players who try to camp in one safe spot for too long.
Tower Build Capacity: Introduced a tower build limit to balance out the defense phase and encourage more strategic tower placement.
Streamlined Game Flow: Removed the old "Preparing Mode" entirely and added a highly requested "Skip Mining" button to keep the action moving at your pace.
🗺️ Level Design & Mechanics
Pathing Redesign: Completely redesigned the enemy spawn points and paths across all existing levels for better balance and flow.
Blocking Doors: Reworked the blocking door mechanics to make them more reliable and intuitive during gameplay.
🎨 Visuals & Audio
Original Soundtrack: Added an entirely new, atmospheric soundtrack to the game.
Fresh SFX: Implemented new sound effects across the board for a punchier audio experience.
Collector Animations: Collectors now have a satisfying new animation where they physically throw mined minerals back to your base.
Brighter Projectiles: Enhanced character bullets with brighter colors and a more appealing design to make combat easier to track.
🛠️ Quality of Life & UI
Camera "See-Through" Shader: Implemented a new shader that makes walls and chests transparent when they block the camera, ensuring you never lose sight of the action.
Phase UI Animations: Added smooth new UI animations that clearly announce the transition between the Defending and Mining phases.
Improved Build Mode: Build mode now features clear, icon-based on-screen text prompts (Left Click to Build / Right Click to Cancel) alongside new animations.
Shorter Tutorial: Reworked the onboarding tutorial to be much faster, easier to understand, and quicker to get you into the actual game.
Mineral Tooltips: Added helpful tooltips that display exactly how many minerals you have.
🐛 Bug Fixes
Fixed the infamous "Ghost Bullets" bug where your shots would occasionally pass right through enemies without dealing damage.
Fixed an issue where Collectors would slack off and stop gathering minerals during the Defend phase.
More bugs fixed. Thank you for your continued support, please if you have feedback let use know!
Hello miners,
Over the last week we listened to your feedback and reports and we delivered on fixes, here is a break down of what's changed and fixed:
Fixed an issue where saves resets every time player close the game and opens it again
Fixed an issue with text to be continue showing on every end screen
Removed a Trap arrow covering the end screen
Fixed Some UI elements blocking tower selection
Fixed an issue where shortcuts for towers from 1 to 10 numbers does not works
Fixed an issue where game stay dimmed after unpausing
Fixed an issue where worker spawn in random places away from the base, and no animation on spawn and no particle systems
Fixed an issue where game plays weird sounds on main menu
Possible fix for an issue where block selection shader, gets big white bloom (if you encounter this issue please report it)
Fixed an issue where tutorial and and digger unit getting stuck due path finding
Fixed an issue where main character getting stuck
Fixed an issue where junk tower getting stuck aiming at dead enemies
Fixed an issue where main character can't move after destroying a block
Fixed an issue in the stacked goblin enemy unit
New and improved hover system for towers
Add safety checks to make sure that game don't get stuck on certain waves (if you encounter such a problem please let us know)
Reworked the guard unit
pathfinding issue (should fix the tutorial and digger stuck)
character new settings (should fix the stuck)
junk tower stuck
Added even more safety to make sure waves end
Improved diggers code
Fixed an issue where chef goblins get stuck
Fixed an issue where workers can go through blocks
We are waiting more feedback, and bug reports, and your thoughts on the game!
Rock and stones / Northend Games Team
Hello miners,
Fixed an issue where tutorial and and digger unit getting stuck due path finding
Fixed an issue where main character getting stuck
Fixed an issue where junk tower getting stuck aiming at dead enemies
Fixed an issue where main character can't move after destroying a block
Fixed an issue in the stacked goblin enemy unit
New and improved hover system for towers
Add safety checks to make sure that game don't get stuck on certain waves (if you encounter such a problem please let us know)
Reworked the guard unit
Thanks for your feedback, if you encounter any bugs, please send it our way!
Rock and Stone, Northend Games TeamHello miners,
Added:
Description for each worker unit describing what they do
A quick hotfix to solve critical issues, thanks for your feedback!
Fixed an issue where shortcuts for towers from 1 to 10 numbers does not works
Fixed an issue where game stay dimmed after unpausing
Fixed an issue where worker spawn in random places away from the base, and no animation on spawn and no particle systems
Fixed an issue where game plays weird sounds on main menu
Possible fix for an issue where block selection shader, gets big white bloom (if you encounter this issue please report it)
Thanks for your feedback, if you encounter any bugs, please send it our way!
Rock and Stone, Northend Games Team
Hello miners,
A quick hotfix to solve crtical issues, thanks for your feedback!
- Fixed an issue where saves resets everytime player close the game and opens it again
- Fixed an issue with text to be continue showing on every end screen
- Removed a Trap arrow covering the end screen
- Fixed Some UI elements blocking tower selection
Important note: for existing players who played the game, they have to play it again to unlock the towers. If you new player or haven't played much, this won't effect you, but now is solved permananlty so everything onward should be okay.
Thanks for your feedback, if you encounter any bugs, please send it our way!
Rock and Stone, Northend Games Team
Greetings, Miners and Tower Commanders!
The day has finally arrived. The pickaxes are sharpened, the gunpowder is dry, and the mines are open for business. Deepstone Rift has officially entered Early Access!
From the bottom of our gold-filled hearts, we want to raise a massive thanks to YOU, our community. Whether you played the demo, shared feedback, or just wishlisted us hoping to smash some goblins, your support has been the fuel for our forge.
Why Early Access? Because a true dwarf knows you don't dig a mine alone. We’ve built the foundation, the big battles, the lethal towers, and the chaotic goblin waves, but now we need you to help us polish this gem. We want to hear your war ideas and your battle plans to make the game even better.
So, what are you waiting for, lads? Those green-skinned looters aren't going to stop themselves! Get in there, build your defenses, protect the loot, and let’s show those goblins who really owns the underground.
Thank you for being part of our clan. Let’s get to work!
Rock and Stone! The Northend Games Team
Hello everyone!
You can now play Deepstone Rift Demo with the latest Fixes & Additions!
Added:
15 New languages has been added
Camera Shake Toggle Option
Patched:
Camera jittering has been fixed
Character can get up on rocks, has been fixed
Tutorial gets stuck on multiple steps, now has been fixed
Adjusted camera behavior to be more smooth
Fixed Issue with resolution
Fixed issue where character gets stuck between Towers
Player can fall through map has been fixed
Thanks for everyone reporting issues, we will keep on improving!
Have fun,
Northend Games
Hello everyone! We are glad to be releasing the demo for everyone to try!
In Deepstone Rift you will Fight big battles in the mines, get to mining and collecting gold and minerals. build and upgrade your towers, power up with treasure chests. Defend your base from looting goblins! using variety of weapons and tower, from RPG, ak47, canons towers, to sawblade towers and more!
Watch the Trailer
Here's our roadmap!
Keep in mind this is an alpha gameplay, which means there is bugs and balance issues! please lets us know if you encounter anything or you have ideas on discord! We will appreciate anything that makes the game better..
Have fun,
Northend Games Team
Thank you everyone for Wishlisting the game, we are happy to see you enjoying the game. And we have been reading your feedback! We are working on delivering the best experience possible! Our demo will be in the next fest, get your pickaxes ready!
About
This page aggregates Steam news feeds, patch notes, and developer announcements for Deepstone Rift, sourced from official Steam community posts.
Major updates, balance changes, and seasonal events often correlate with player-count spikes — cross-reference announcements here with the live charts on the main Deepstone Rift statistics page.
Articles link back to Steam for full changelogs. SteamScope refreshes news entries as new posts are published to the game's Steam hub.