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Steam News17 June 202618d ago

Steam Next Fest Demo Update

Thank You for the Feedback First of all, thank you so much to everyone who has played the demo so far and taken the time to share feedback with us.

In this update8

Full notes

Full Staged update

Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.

What changed

8 fixes7 additions11 changes0 removals
  • Gameplay
  • Maps
  • UI and audio
  • Fixes
  • Performance
  • Server
addedA New CharacterOne of the biggest additions in this update is Miri , who is now available as the sixth playable character and can be selected directly in the lobby.
addedNew Difficulty OptionsAnother major addition is the new difficulty system. Based on your feedback, we wanted to give players more control over how challenging the demo feels, so the game now includes three difficulty settings.
changedNew Difficulty OptionsEasy removes the time limit entirely, Normal keeps the experience as it was before, and Challenging reduces the available time by 20 percent. On top of that, placing wrong objects on the stage now also has a negative impact on your final rating across all difficulty settings.
changedMore ImprovementsAlongside these bigger additions, this update also includes a range of improvements and fixes across gameplay, UI, audio, and overall stability.
addedAddedNew difficulty settings: Easy, Normal, and Challenging Easy mode removes the time limit Challenging mode reduces the timer by 20 percent
changedAddedWrong objects on stage now negatively affect the level rating

Staged changes

addedOne of the biggest additions in this update is Miri , who is now available as the sixth playable character and can be selected directly in the lobby.
addedAnother major addition is the new difficulty system. Based on your feedback, we wanted to give players more control over how challenging the demo feels, so the game now includes three difficulty settings.
changedEasy removes the time limit entirely, Normal keeps the experience as it was before, and Challenging reduces the available time by 20 percent. On top of that, placing wrong objects on the stage now also has a negative impact on your final rating across all difficulty settings.
changedAlongside these bigger additions, this update also includes a range of improvements and fixes across gameplay, UI, audio, and overall stability.
addedNew difficulty settings: Easy, Normal, and Challenging Easy mode removes the time limit Challenging mode reduces the timer by 20 percent

Thank You for the Feedback

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who has played the demo so far and taken the time to share feedback with us. Seeing people jump into Staged, play together, and tell us what worked and what could be better has been incredibly helpful for us and genuinely very motivating.

A lot of the changes in this update come directly from that feedback, and we are really excited to finally share them with you.

A New Character

One of the biggest additions in this update is Miri, who is now available as the sixth playable character and can be selected directly in the lobby.

We wanted to expand the cast a bit more and give players another fun option when jumping into the chaos with friends.

New Difficulty Options

Another major addition is the new difficulty system. Based on your feedback, we wanted to give players more control over how challenging the demo feels, so the game now includes three difficulty settings.

Easy removes the time limit entirely, Normal keeps the experience as it was before, and Challenging reduces the available time by 20 percent. On top of that, placing wrong objects on the stage now also has a negative impact on your final rating across all difficulty settings.

A Small Look at What Is Coming

To give players a small glimpse of how much more there will be in the full version, the demo now starts with a short overworld intro sequence.

It is a small addition, but it helps set the tone and gives a better sense of the world of Staged before jumping into the levels.

More Improvements

Alongside these bigger additions, this update also includes a range of improvements and fixes across gameplay, UI, audio, and overall stability.

We have continued refining interactions, smoothing out rough edges, and addressing issues that came up while people were playing the demo.

Patch Notes

Added

  • Miri as the sixth playable character, selectable in the lobby

  • New difficulty settings: Easy, Normal, and Challenging

    • Easy mode removes the time limit

    • Challenging mode reduces the timer by 20 percent

  • Wrong objects on stage now negatively affect the level rating

  • New overworld intro sequence

  • Initial achievement system with the first set of unlockable achievements

  • Star count display in the overworld

  • New picture interaction

  • New particle effect for destroying scale game objects

  • Key hint buttons can now be pressed in the lobby

Improved

  • Reworked level lighting

  • Smoother object pickup and carry interactions

  • Improved ragdoll behavior to prevent excessive physics reactions

  • Shorter preround time for faster round starts

  • FOV slider now applies and saves correctly

  • Improved main menu audio and music playback

  • Visually reworked difficulty UI

  • Improved snapping system

  • Various UI improvements

  • Improved overworld visuals

Fixed

  • Fixed a demo level issue

  • Fixed act rating not displaying correctly on the client

  • Fixed level popups not loading correctly

  • Fixed cable game light issues

  • Fixed a crash on standalone game launch

  • Fixed a pause menu error when no pawn is possessed

  • Fixed crane controller jitter and sync issues

  • Fixed score syncing from client to server

  • Many more small fixes and stability improvements

Source

Steam News / 17 June 2026

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