Open Beta + Working Together at GDC (Patreon)

AlterStaff's time at the Game Developers Conference doubled as the team's first in-person meet-up! A lot happened in San Francisco, including epic merch giveaways involving a certain catgirl and witch. But it wasn't all fun and games—well, actually, it kind of was; we were at GDC after all!

1 booth visit = a generous supply of AI2U merch

This merch didn’t spawn out of nowhere. On Wednesday, March 20th, we launched our first-ever open beta for AI2U: With You 'Til The End on itch.io! Inspired by the success of its demo and predecessor, Yandere AI Girlfriend Simulator, the game is also available to wishlist on Steam. It's the first-of-its-kind escape room game featuring AI NPCs serving as your captors who will resort to drastic measures to keep you from escaping. Visitors to AlterStaff's booth got to play the game and provide direct feedback, which was an incredible experience for everyone involved in the development process.

Of course, Eddie was with us at GDC! She’s always there, watching everyone, all the time.

AI2U's open beta debut not only allowed us to finally share the AI escape room adventures with the world; it was accompanied by proactive reports from players informing us of its first known technical bug. This gave our primarily remote team a chance to troubleshoot in real time as opposed to our usual virtual or asynchronous work. We're happy to report that the issue was resolved on site and that players have resumed their shenanigans against AI2U's NPCs within record time. We’re incredibly grateful to our community for their support and patience as we looked into it. As developers, we anticipate bugs during open beta releases, and we’ll always be ready to tackle them for players–even if it’s in the middle of a gaming convention surrounded by other shiny and cool games.

Elysia charming passersby to explore her cabin.

It's been a busy couple of weeks with the launch and our team's time together, but we're thrilled to continue this journey as we continue working on AI2U and preparing its upcoming level. Stay up to date on our progress through this Patreon page and other socials that we'll share below.

Eddie capturing hearts and unsuspecting victims!

Discord ~ Join our community of senpai & naughty puddings. We also have Eddie & Elysia chatbots who are dying to chat with you!

Patreon ~ Free tier available, so you receive updates straight in your inbox.

Instagram ~ Pretty visuals from our games coupled with all sorts of updates.

X ~ Our characters miss the blue bird, but we'll still post updates here.

YouTube ~ Official gameplay teasers, trailers, and more video content.