Community

Growth

The community's growth happened in distinct waves. The first notable moment was Haenir Studio's first TikTok on April 16, 2022, which generated 1.3 million views and over 10,000 Steam wishlists from a single post. But the real inflection point was the November 2022 gameplay reveal trailer. Before the trailer, Blight: Survival was an unknown indie project. After, it was one of the most wishlisted games on Steam.

The trailer generated 1.25 million Steam page visits in three days. The IGN YouTube upload hit 2.5 million views in a week. Wishlists surged 190%, climbing the game from #166 to #48 on Steam's Top Wishlisted chart. The TikTok hashtag #blightsurvival reached 10 million views in its first week.

By March 2023, the game had accumulated over 650,000 wishlists. The current number is likely significantly higher given continued organic growth, but no updated public figure has been released.

Community involvement

Haenir Studio has involved the community in development decisions more than most studios. A Twitter/X poll on enemy type designs in May 2023 directly shaped the official six-category enemy system. Fan armor concepts influenced official art direction. The developers held a Discord AMA in June 2025, giving community members direct access to ask questions about mechanics, release timing, and design philosophy.

The community has also created its own resources. An independent wiki at blightsurvival.wiki.gg exists, though it's in very early stages (79 pages as of early 2026). Fan art, lore speculation, and active discussion have maintained interest despite the extended development period.

The wait

The extended development timeline has created some community tension. The game was first revealed in late 2022 and still has no playable public release as of early 2026. Steam discussion threads with titles like "4 Years on wishlist" and "Still waiting..." reflect genuine frustration from players who have been watching the game for years. The developers have been transparent about the timeline, but transparency doesn't eliminate impatience.

The counterargument, raised by other community members, is that the small team is building something ambitious and rushing would produce a worse game. The partnership with Behaviour Interactive in 2024, the developer updates through 2025, and the public playtest plans for 2026 have given the community concrete milestones. Closed playtests through bhvr.com/playtest provide the first opportunity for some community members to actually play.

Social presence