Different Strokes
Released Nov 2022
A collaborative online painting game where players can create, edit, and rate each other's art!
93% positive · 1,590 reviews
Not yet
Released, but still in active development
Medium confidence
Active Development
Not yet
Released, but still in active development
Medium confidence
Active Development
Where to get it
Free on Steam
Evaluation
Different Strokes launched on November 9, 2022 as a free-to-play collaborative online painting game, with a Deluxe Edition DLC releasing the following day on November 10, 2022. The game has been continuously updated since launch through a steady stream of feature patches and major updates.
The developer's update history shows a sustained pattern of improvements: feature patches shipped in July and August 2023, an announcement in December 2023 of a planned major update, and a development status post in April 2024 noting that a big update was still in progress but the developer wanted to finish their other game "Kingdom of Night" first. A September 2025 post promoted a demo for Kingdom of Night, suggesting that project was nearing completion.
Following that, the developer returned to shipping substantial content for Different Strokes: a February 7, 2026 update added 8 new languages and Steam Workshop support for custom brushes and fill patterns, and an April 1, 2026 update added further content including a new achievement. These two updates confirm the developer did return to active work on Different Strokes as intended.
The most recent developer communication was on April 1, 2026. The established pattern of updates — ranging from a few months to roughly a year between notable releases — means the current gap of approximately 6 months since the last update (as of October 1, 2026) is consistent with the developer's historical rhythm. No statement ending development has been made, and the store description continues to reference an "ever-expanding gallery" and weekly themed gallery events, reinforcing the game's design as a continuously evolving online experience.
Evidence
Update shipped with new content including a new achievement — most recent developer communication.
Major update added 8 new languages and Steam Workshop support for custom brushes and fill patterns.
Content
1 of 1 released · no outstanding content
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
—
Achievements
13
Platform
Windows
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Not rated
Players
Single-player · Multiplayer
About this game
Paint! Fix! Explore!
A collaborative online painting game where players can create, edit, and rate each other's art!
Check out the Deluxe Edition DLC to unlock 9 additional colors and numerous extra features:
- smaller brush sizes
- brush smoothing
- brush and paint bucket fill patterns
- straight line tool
- canvas zoom/rotation
- studio room for viewing your paintings/liked paintings
- painting easel for saving up to 3 draft paintings
Your friend, a conceptual artist, has invited you to their latest exhibition.
You enter expecting to see their art adorning the walls, but to your surprise, the VISITORS are the ones drawing the art — they’re even drawing over each other’s work! It’s up to you to protect the exhibition from being covered in artwork that is, intentionally or otherwise, truly awful.
Gameplay consists of:
- exploring the ever-expanding gallery
- painting your own artwork on blank canvases
- editing other player's artwork
- rating completed artwork
All of the art exhibited in the game is 100% created and remixed and rated LIVE by other players. Yes, we host all of this art and load it in dynamically. We hope that you will choose to fix the (inevitable) unacceptable art!
In addition to the main gallery there is also a portal to the "gallery of the week". Every week there will be a new gallery with a particular theme. The main gallery is pretty crowded so your art may have a better chance of standing out in the gallery of the week!
Paintings have a "share link" button that takes you to a web page you can use to share your work with other people outside of the game.
Player's can optionally create a user account. When logged in, any paintings you create/edit will be marked with your username. Other players will be able to click on your username to see all the paintings you have created.
You can choose between setting up an account with a separate username/password that can be used cross-platform (Itch.io / browser version) or to login using your steam account in which case your account will always be tied to Steam.
From the logged in screen you can see notifications when other players like your paintings and see how many total likes they've received.
Join the Discord!
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Oct 1, 2026
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