What’s Next for Into the Fire? 👀

Welcome to another development update for Into the Fire. First of all, thank you once again for taking part in the latest Into the Fire playtests.

More than 11,000 players ran into the cataclysm zone, rescued survivors, extinguished fires, built structures, fought fire spirits, and petted good, old doggo. 🐕

Since then, we have been very busy reviewing your feedback, analyzing the data, and improving the parts of the game that needed more clarity, better pacing, or simply more time in the oven.

Today, we want to show you what we have been working on, what is changing in Into the Fire, and what comes next. So, why don't you grab yourself something to cool you off a little bit, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show? Without further ado, let's get rolling! 🔥

Just a quick disclaimer before we move on: What you're about to see is still work-in-progress and does not represent the final version of particular features, so please keep that in mind.

What We’ve Improved Since the Last Playtests

One of the biggest areas we focused on after the previous playtests was making the game easier to understand without losing the pressure and chaos that define Into the Fire. On the one hand, you should definitely feel the tension, chaos, and the danger of going into the cataclysm zone.

On the other hand however, you should be able to understand what the game expects from you, what tools you have, and how your decisions affect each run. That is why we have been improving several key areas.

Better Onboarding and Tutorials

The first major area we've focused on is a better onboarding experience for new players. Into the Fire has a lot going on: rescue objectives, fire spreading through the environment, crafting, resource management, building, extraction, survivors, and on top of that, managing your Camp between the runs.

During the last playtests, we saw that many players were learning the game while already being under a lot of pressure. That created some great chaotic moments, but it also made certain systems harder to read than we wanted.

So we have been improving tutorials and early-game guidance to make sure new players can understand the basics faster, without slowing the game down too much.

The goal is simple: you should spend less time wondering what to do, and more time making hard decisions in the middle of a collapsing disaster zone.

Building Barricades and Bridges

Another major thing we have been working on is adding some infrastructure options for the players.

You can now build barricades and bridges which opens up new ways to react to the cataclysm that surrounds you.

Barricades can become really useful while fighting with a couple of fire spirits. I've also heard some whispers that they might become really handy in your camp, but no spoilers yet. 🤫

Bridges, on the other hand, can help you cross gaps created by earthquakes. When the ground breaks apart and a path disappears, building a bridge may be the difference between reaching survivors in time or having to find another, riskier route.

Obviously, these two structures won't be indestructible, so you will still have to be careful when you place them. Building them while you're followed by a couple of fire spirits won't be a good idea, don't you think?

This is something we are especially excited about, because it makes the environment feel more dynamic and gives players more tools to adapt when the island changes during a run.

Okay, but let's assume that you didn't prepare these items before going into the mission because you didn't have proper materials for instance. What then? Don't worry… We've got you covered.

Apart from building bridges, you'll be able to use the environment that surrounds you to your advantage. Take the electricity pole for example - from now on you can knock it down and use it to safely cross to the other side.

And Yes, We Are Also Working on Animal Rescue 🐐

Many of you reacted strongly to the rescue fantasy of Into the Fire – not just as a mechanic, but as the emotional core of the game. So we also want to confirm that we are already working on animal rescue.

We are not ready to show everything just yet, but this is something we want to explore further, because saving lives in Into the Fire should not be limited only to human survivors. For now, I can only share this really great GIF of us testing how it works within the engine. Not gonna lie - it already looks majeeeeestic (sorry, not sorry).

Obviously, the animation is still work-in-porgress. Don't worry.

New Playtests Begin on August 31st 📅

We are also happy to announce that the next Into the Fire playtests will begin on August 31. You can already sign up on the Into the Fire Steam page. If you participated in previous playtests, you do not need to do anything – you will have access when the new playtests begin.

This next round will be very important for us. We want to see how the new onboarding, tutorials, waypoints, building improvements, and other changes feel in the hands of players.

Your feedback helped shape these updates, and now we want to see what works, what still needs improvement, and what else we should consider before the demo.

Speaking of a Demo...

We're also thrilled to announce that the public demo for Into the Fire is already in the active development and it is still planned for 2026. However, before we get there, we want to make sure that the core experience is in a much stronger place. That is exactly why we are running another playtest.

We want to check whether the changes we made actually improve the gameplay for the players. We also want to understand what else could make the demo clearer, more exciting, and more representative of what Into the Fire is meant to become. So if you want to help us shape the game before the demo, the upcoming playtest is the best way to do it.

Join The Soul Seekers Hub

If you want to share feedback, report bugs, ask questions, or simply talk with the team and other players, we highly encourage you to join our Discord.

Your feedback during the last playtests has already helped us improve the game in a big way, and we would love to hear from you again when the next round begins.

JOIN OUR DISCORD

See you among the flames 🔥

Thank you for staying with us until the end of this update. Into the Fire is changing, growing, and becoming clearer with every round of feedback – and we are very excited to show you what comes next.

The next playtests begin on August 31st, so mark that day in your calendar, soul seeker! Last but not least, don't forget to sign up for the playtests on Steam if you haven't done that yet, wishlist Into the Fire, and get ready to save as many innocent lives as possible. Until next time! 👋

Into the Fire ~Starward Industries Team