Tears of Metal

Tears of Metal is a medieval hack-and-slash co-op roguelike developed and published by Paper Cult, an independent studio based in Montreal, Canada. First unveiled at Summer Game Fest 2024, the game entered Early Access on July 22, 2026 on PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store, with PC Game Pass availability from day one. Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC versions are still to come, and Paper Cult said on launch day that the console release remains on track for later in 2026 and will join Xbox Game Pass at that point. The game sells for US$24.99, ran a 10% launch discount through the first week and a half, and the price is set to rise once it leaves Early Access. The game places players in command of a Scottish battalion tasked with reclaiming their island homeland after a catastrophic event known as the Dragon Stone Meteor brought waves of supernatural invaders and arcane powers to their shores. Players battle through over 45 handcrafted environments, combining more than 100 artifacts and upgrades to build powerful and unique loadouts each run. Tears of Metal supports solo play and online co-op for up to four players, including cross-play between the Steam and Microsoft Store builds. The game built a large following ahead of launch through public betas and a Steam demo that climbed to 16th by player count during the October 2025 Steam Next Fest, earned a place on that event's list of the 50 most-played demos, held an Overwhelmingly Positive review rating, and was played by more than 250,000 people, and it passed 100,000 wishlists within the first week of its reveal. Paper Cult announced on July 27, 2026, five days after release, that the game had passed 100,000 copies sold. Paper Cult previously developed Bloodroots, which launched in 2020 and reached Steam the following year. The studio has described Tears of Metal as the product of almost six years of work.

Early Access

Tears of Metal launched in Early Access on PC on July 22, 2026, unlocking worldwide at 15:00 UTC. The Early Access build offers the complete core experience, described by Paper Cult as fully playable from beginning to end, including three Acts, three playable heroes, and the village, Emblem, equipment, and companion systems. Paper Cult has indicated that the Early Access period will last between 4 and 12 months, depending on community feedback and development progress. The game went through multiple public betas and a widely played demo before launch, and the studio has said it will keep refining the experience throughout Early Access. Players can provide feedback through the official Discord server, Steam forums, and an in-game feedback tool. Paper Cult also offers an optional anonymous gameplay data collection feature. The studio plans to use this period to expand content including additional playable heroes, a new Emblem family, new equipment, Charms, and companions based on community response.

Early Access Reception

The Early Access launch was the studio's most successful release to date. Paper Cult announced that the game had passed 100,000 copies sold on July 27, 2026, five days after the unlock, and described the reception as beyond what the team expected. The studio did not say on which day the milestone itself was reached. On Steam the game holds a Very Positive rating, with 1,989 of 2,317 user reviews positive, about 86%, as of August 18, 2026.

The studio pushed six builds in the first eleven days, covering a day-one cross-play hotfix, two rounds of patch notes, two hotfixes and a larger balancing patch, and three more over the following fortnight. Multiplayer desync and mid-run saving were named as the two highest development priorities immediately after launch. The networking work shipped on August 13, 2026 alongside a reworked co-op revive and the game's first named companion; mid-run saving is still in development. See Update History for the build-by-build record.

Key Features

• Online co-op for up to four players, with full single-player support

• Over 45 handcrafted environments with varied objectives and secrets

• More than 100 artifacts and upgrades to discover and combine into devastating builds

• Multiple playable heroes with distinct combat styles and escalating abilities

• Permanent soldier skill progression between campaigns

• Expandable settlement that unlocks new shops, permanent upgrades, and optional high-risk challenge modes

• Special objectives that reward new characters, artifacts, and cosmetics

• Full controller support and Steam Cloud save synchronization

• 89 Steam Achievements, plus Family Sharing support

• Ten supported languages, including English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Simplified Chinese