EVILBANE is developed by Netmarble Monster and published by Netmarble. The game is built on Unreal Engine 5 and is described as a spiritual successor that expands the studio's Raven universe. The team has framed it as a way to grow that brand into a co-op action RPG, rather than as a continuation of any earlier title's content.
Studio and Engine
As the developer, Netmarble Monster is responsible for the game's design and production, while Netmarble handles publishing. The choice of Unreal Engine 5 supports the dark fantasy visuals and the real-time, melee-and-ranged combat the project is built around. During early testing, the team's stated focus was on tuning the fun and feel of combat before expanding other systems.
Reveal Timeline
EVILBANE has surfaced at a number of industry events since 2025. The table below lists the public showings announced so far. Wishlist pages for the game went live on Xbox and Steam on September 25, 2025, the same week as the Tokyo Game Show broadcast.
Date | Event | What Was Shown |
|---|---|---|
June 2025 | IGN Live | First reveal of the game |
Late September 2025 | Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 broadcast | A new trailer aired |
November 2025 | G-Star 2025 in Busan | First public playable demo, with four characters and an exclusive mission, played on the ROG Xbox Ally X handheld. An official trailer was released alongside the show |
Early Testing
A pre-alpha test ran through a console insider program on Windows PC from August 29, 2025 to around November 24, 2025. It began in the United States and Canada, expanded to Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France in September, and from early October was open to every region except South Korea. The test's stated goal was to tune the feel of combat. A separate Steam playtest had not formally begun as of early March 2026. More on these test phases can be found on the playtests page.
Developer Communication
Since the reveal, the team has leaned on talking directly with players, mainly through the game's official Discord server. Starting in April 2026 it has published a monthly developer note there, sharing new game information and progress, and has held a question-and-answer session with the community. The notes through mid-2026 covered the home base and character customization in April, introduced two new monsters in May, and walked through costume design and production direction in June. The studio has described folding player reactions into development from the early stages as a core principle for the project.
The team has also said it is looking into external IP collaborations, though nothing specific has been confirmed. Treat any crossover as exploratory until an actual partner or content is announced.
Direction and Influences
The project is led by game director Kim Sang-hun, who has worked on online action and shooting titles across PC and mobile, among them Huxley, DIGIMON Online, and Animus: Revenant. He has put the team's aim in plain terms: build an action game that is genuinely fun to play, and develop it alongside player feedback rather than presenting it finished.
Two design touchstones have been named. Left 4 Dead informs the cooperative side, and the Division series is cited for its tactical flow and its customization. Both line up with what the game has shown so far: squads working a mission together rather than players grinding in parallel, and a fighter you assemble from your weapons and your Heavenstone Skills. The same interview set out the shape of the world, covered on the gameplay page.
Positioning Within the Raven Lineage
EVILBANE has been positioned as part of the broader Raven universe that Netmarble has built over the years. The studio has described the project as expanding that world into a new genre and platform set, though it has not detailed how closely the story or characters connect to earlier entries in the lineage.