The Midnight Walkers : Director’s Comment ｜ After the Steam Next Fest

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who participated in the Steam Next Fest. Every time we hold a playtest, I’m reminded of how much remains to be improved.

We deeply apologize to those who may have felt unsatisfied, and we sincerely thank all of you who have waited for us with patience and encouragement.

Your sharp feedback and heartfelt support constantly push us to improve faster and in the right direction.

Before we move on to the next stage, I’d like to share a few updates with you.

[Game Price Announcement] The price of The Midnight Walkers has been set at $19.99 , and will be adjusted for each region based on Steam’s regional pricing policy.

Sales of the game will serve as one of the key driving forces that allow our small studio to continue developing and improving The Midnight Walkers.

We also hope that this will contribute to more effective enforcement against cheat program users.

Originally, we had planned to price the game at $24.99, but after receiving many requests from players around the world asking for a more accessible price,

we decided to lower it so that more people could enjoy the game.

While this isn’t a dramatic change, we hope this adjustment will make it a little easier to enjoy The Midnight Walkers in these challenging times.

[Development Direction After Early Access Launch] Through this recent playtest, we once again realized that there are still many areas where our game needs improvement.

We believe the feedback you’ve shared should be addressed with the highest priority.

Accordingly, features such as skins and the in-game shop will be postponed, and the dev team will focus on stability, balance adjustments, and resolving gameplay inconveniences first.

[Class Balance and Design Direction] As mentioned in my previous comment, during this Steam Next Fest Playtest, our team attempted to refine multiple systems and contents all at once.

In doing so, some of the core elements did not reach the level of polish we intended.

Since the start of the test, our developers have been reviewing gameplay data and analyzing feedback in daily meetings to prepare for what’s next.

We’ve acknowledged that Brick is currently too stable and mobile, making it comparatively powerful, while classes and weapons that require more delicate control feel under-rewarding for their level of investment.

We plan to revisit overall values including duration, cooldowns, and resource consumption to deliver a wider range of viable builds and more dynamic team play experiences.

Instead of a few combinations dominating the battlefield, our goal is to restore the intended clarity and diversity of gameplay.

We will further solidify counter relationships between roles so that **Tanks feel like true Tanks, Supports like true Supports, and no single playstyle can dominate every situation.

Additionally, we are closely reviewing other feedback shared by the community — such as team-filling mechanics, Duo Mode, movement while smoking, and intermittent frame drops — and will continue to address these issues step by step, starting with those that can be resolved in the short term.

[Direction for Improving the Farming Experience [/b][/h2] and Gear Customization] We plan to increase the overall value of items by fine-tuning equipment, item drops, and loot from chests and field sources. Each item’s acquisition source will also be fine-tuned and improved.

We will also improve the readability of key equipment information, and simplify complex or hard-to-understand terms and effects to make them clearer and more intuitive for players.

[Combat Feedback and Controls] The tactile satisfaction of melee combat and the responsiveness of ranged weapons are at the core of our gameplay.

We will continue fine-tuning hit reactions, stagger effects, sound design, visual effects, and camera feedback to create a more impactful and satisfying combat experience.

We’re also reviewing several weapon animations that felt uncomfortable to use, and will make adjustments to improve their handling and usability.

[Anti-Cheat and Teaming] This playtest marked our first official collaboration with an anti-cheat solution provider.

During the integration process, the connection between the anti-cheat system and the client proved weak, exposing multiple vulnerabilities.

As a result, from the early to mid stages of the test, we saw numerous extreme cases of cheat program usage. Our operations team devoted all available resources to issuing sanctions and restoring order, but unfortunately many players had already been affected.

By the later stages of the test, cheating patterns became increasingly varied, and the operations team responded by analyzing these new patterns and applying targeted countermeasures.

We also confirmed numerous teaming incidents during this period.

In addition to manual reports, our operations team plans to strengthen detection through data analysis and AI-based pattern recognition, enabling faster and more accurate responses.

We had intended to introduce an **automatic compensation system** for players affected by cheating or unfair play, but it was not ready for this test. During Early Access, we will conduct regular data reviews to provide batch compensation and progressively automate the process.

Although our team is still small and progress can be slow at times, we have so much more to show you and we won’t stop moving forward. What we are preparing is not a one-time patch, but the start of a continuous development process.

Balance improvements will be ongoing, and we plan to deliver frequent updates even after the Early Access launch. Your honest and passionate feedback guides us toward better decisions every day.

We listen, we fix, and we move forward.

Please continue sharing your candid thoughts with us.

We promise to turn that feedback into **tangible changes and a more engaging experience.**

Our goal is to make *The Midnight Walkers* a game that’s even more thrilling and rewarding to play.

To all Survivors who joined us for the Steam Next Fest

Thank you once again, from the bottom of our hearts.

See you soon!

— Director Ray and the Oneway Ticket Studio Dev Team