Sirocco

Sirocco launched into Steam Early Access on May 2, 2025 as a free-to-play 5v5 arena game. Its early months were marked by regular feature patches and balance updates. On August 20, 2025, the developer shut down dedicated servers indefinitely, making the game unplayable through official matchmaking. This was followed by the "Riptide" update on October 22, 2025, which reworked the game to use a peer-to-peer networking system — restoring basic playability for custom and bot matches, coordinated through Discord. That post disclosed the studio had become effectively a solo project, with only one developer working directly on the game, and that update frequency would slow. Development has continued since then. On June 30, 2026, the developer shipped a major feature patch introducing a Steam-integrated peer-to-peer lobby system with new host options (bot toggles, random captains, random weapons), balance adjustments, and extensive bug fixes. That post also outlined upcoming planned work: player stat tracking, a ranked lobby balancing system, and a return of the skins and skin-crafting systems. On July 20, 2026 — the most recent update — the developer added ranked mode for 4v4 and 5v5 matches, lobby chat, private lobbies, LAN hosting support, a team-balance button, and further bug fixes. These two recent updates confirm the developer is actively working on the game. However, the June 30, 2026 post explicitly describes the team as still just one developer and one part-time contributor working when they have time, and describes the codebase as being "in a mess" from the server transition. Official matchmaking and full backend services — including player progression and skins — remain offline. The game is still explicitly in Early Access with core systems not yet restored to their pre-shutdown state. Ongoing development is clear, but the very small team and continued absence of foundational online infrastructure leave the long-term trajectory uncertain.