Indie developer Spiderware is bringing its browser MMORPG Soulbound to Steam Next Fest, dropping a demo ahead of the game’s Steam Early Access launch on July 21. The game started out on browser and Discord, where it’s already pulled in more than a million players, and the Next Fest build offers over seven hours of gameplay for anyone who wants to check it out before next month’s release.
Soulbound is a pixel-art MMO built around a virtual world where combat, progression, and mystery are all tangled together. You build a custom character from over a dozen abilities and upgradeable skill trees, leaning into a tank, healer, or DPS role depending on how you want to play. The dungeons are fast-paced and roguelite in structure, and you can run them solo or take them on with a guild.
The setup has you waking up inside that digital reality to face The Anima, a collection of malevolent entities out to destroy you, before a robotic companion pulls you out and points you toward fighting back. Your first move is buying and setting up a home base, which doubles as your progression hub for upgrading salvaged materials and crafting new gear. It’s meant to grow and change alongside your character rather than sit there as a static menu.
Co-op is a big part of the pitch, with dungeons supporting up to three players who split the materials buried in the deeper floors, alongside a roster of NPCs to meet as you work to unite the world’s cities against The Anima. We spent some time with the demo, and it plays like an interesting blend of Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, and MMO elements all rolled into one. As fans of co-op games, this is one we’re keeping an eye on.
The demo is available now during Steam Next Fest and covers the first few chapters of the story, with the arena-based dungeon combat, the gear and crafting systems, and the housing questline all playable. There are also in-game and Steam leaderboards if you want to compare runs.
