Heartbound

Heartbound has been in Early Access since December 24, 2018 and remains so today. The developer (Pirate Software) has maintained an unbroken monthly update cadence since February 2025, shipping a new development build on the first of every month. The game is structured around multiple chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 are complete, and Chapter 3 (Animus) was wrapped up in early 2026. Since then, the developer has moved into Chapter 4, which spans two major areas — Muspelheim (a lava-filled machine world with fire penguins as new central characters) and Niflheim. Monthly patches from May through August 2026 show steady, consistent progress: new penguin characters and their unique language system were introduced in May, the Firepipes room was completed in June, the Throne Room environment and the Flipper Five storyline were written and implemented in July, and the August 1, 2026 patch lists the Muspelheim Inner Gate and Slums as the next targets, with the Muus boss encounter (a card-based combat system) still being developed. Known incomplete elements acknowledged by the developer in the most recent patch include missing polish on The Aspects encounter, localization gaps past the Mossbacks section, and ongoing work on the Muspelheim combat system. The developer explicitly lists upcoming content in every patch. There is no indication of any slowdown — the monthly rhythm has held without interruption since February 2025, and the scope of remaining work (the rest of Chapter 4 plus at least one additional area referred to as Jotunheim, and a redacted chapter) is substantial.