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As Slay the Spire 2's impending Steam Early Access release threatens to suck up everyone's time and attention for the foreseeable future, another roguelike deckbuilder is moving well out of the way to avoid being "instantly buried under a legendary sequel"
First-person "Rock, Paper, Scissors" roguelike Handmancers was previously set to kick off its Early Access tenure on March 9 - just four days after Slay the Spire 2's release date - but it's since been delayed further into the future to avoid developer Mega Crit's inevitably huge launch. And it wouldn't be the first time this has happened to a roguelike indie dev, either.
"Our original plan was simple," the Handmancer studios writes on social media, explaining that it wanted the game to come out immediately after its spotlight at the Turn-Based Fest showcase. "Then literally the next day we saw the news - Slay the Spire 2 is launching on March 5."
pic.twitter.com/O7Hy7NGdAEFebruary 21, 2026
"And let's be honest - you'll be playing it, we'll be playing it, everyone will be playing it," the developer says. "We're huge fans and insanely excited. But launching a deckbuilder the same week as Slay the Spire 2? Yeah... we'd get absolutely crushed. Buying two deckbuilders in the same week? In this economy? Not happening."
The Handmancer studio hasn't fully locked down a new date yet, but it'll announce one sometime during Turn-Based Fest next month. And the team are looking at the situation in a 'glass half full' way. "More time means more polish, more balance work, and more content," it says. "Including a brand new boss that we originally planned for the first post-launch update."
Should you be interested, you can keep up with Handmancers on Steam.
In the meantime, check out our picks of the best roguelikes you can play right now.
