MrStevenStudios’ debut game, Doodle Knight, had originally been scheduled to release today, October 30, 2026, according to a release trailer posted to the solo developer’s official YouTube channel. The game’s Steam page, however, appears to have other plans, removing the scheduled date from the profile, replacing it with a stagnant “coming soon” label. Although MrStevenStudios has yet to publicly address this delay, it is an issue many indie developers often face on Steam.
For smaller indie or solo developers like MrStevenStudios, this delay is typically for at least one of two reasons: the game was not manually launched by the developer, or the game may be stuck in a mandatory queue to be reviewed by Valve, the larger corporation behind Steam. Several developers fail to realize that they are required to log on to Steam in real time to launch their game, even if it is scheduled in advance for release at a certain time. Additionally, Valve requires that games are sent in for review at least two days before launch, meaning that if a developer is stuck in the ‘crunch’ period, their game runs the risk of a delayed release.
Currently, in regards to Doodle Knight, this just means that the only version of the game that can currently be played is the demo. Described as a “charming 2D puzzle-platformer that puts the power of creativity [directly into the player’s] hands,” players take on the role of a knight armed with a magical pencil alongside the traditional sword. They are encouraged to solve various puzzles using only their imaginations as they “explore a whimsical, hand-drawn castle filled with traps, and mind-bending puzzles.”
As shown in the release trailer, some of these challenges include drawing a series of stairs for the knight to walk from one side of the screen to the other, drawing a large square to launch the knight into the sky, and avoiding obstacles such as spikes. Doodle Knight features a fully fleshed out character customization system, complete with different skin tones to choose from, different outfits, the option to change the color the pencil draws in, and a color picker. If players wish to further customize their knight, MrStevenStudios has given them the option to “just make [their] own outfits” using the game’s pencil mechanic.
