Free tools Windows power users keep installed

One-click scans. No signup required.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more

Maldhalla, a survival roguelite developed and published by solo creator eyejoker, launches on Steam on October 16, 2026, at 10:00 UTC (19:00 KST). Its automatic-fire combat asks you to survive escalating enemy waves, shape a build through upgrades and weapon combinations, and defeat a boss every three minutes.

Release time and developer

The Steam release is scheduled for October 16, 2026, at 10:00 UTC, which is 19:00 KST. Inven Global and SteamDB list the same release timing. Steam names eyejoker as both developer and publisher, while the developer’s own announcement describes eyejoker as the solo developer of Maldhalla.

The project expanded beyond its June demo. Eyejoker says the full release contains 21 characters, 32 weapons and 100 achievements, with bosses such as the Giant and Bone Dragon redrawn with individual attack patterns.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

How Maldhalla plays

Maldhalla is built around the survival-roguelite loop familiar to bullet-heaven games: weapons fire automatically while you move, enemies arrive in increasingly dangerous waves, and each run becomes a series of upgrade decisions. Because aiming is automated, survival depends on positioning, movement routes, threat prioritization and choosing upgrades that work together.

#1 Best Overall
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $50 (plus $4.95 Purchase Fee) - For Online Use Only
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.

Endless waves and timed bosses

Enemy strength increases as a run continues. A boss arrives every three minutes, turning the regular wave pattern into a recurring damage and positioning check. Examples include the ground-slamming Giant and the fire-breathing Bone Dragon. In the developer’s community update, the Bone Dragon is identified as the Dungeon’s 30-minute boss on Normal Mode.

Repeated encounters are not presented as simple stat checks: the developer says bosses were given their own attack patterns, so learning movement cues matters alongside improving a build.

Characters, weapons and build synergies

Every character has a distinct starting weapon, passive ability and active skill. The 21-character roster therefore changes how a run begins and what kinds of upgrades are valuable.

What’s actually slowing this PC down?

Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Rank #2
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $25 (plus $3.95 Purchase Fee) - For Online Use Only
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
System Advertised content How it affects a run
Characters 21 Each has a starting weapon, passive and active skill.
Weapons 32 Includes melee, ranged, area and elemental types.
Gems 21 Improve statistics such as damage, critical chance, evasion and lifesteal.
Blessings 60 Rarity ranges from Common to Legendary.
Relics Activated by specific two- or three-weapon combinations Adds a synergy layer beyond ordinary level-up choices.

Relics are the main combination system. Holding the required pair or trio of weapons activates a relic, so selecting a powerful individual weapon can have an opportunity cost if it prevents a stronger combination. Gems provide statistical tuning, while blessings supply another pool of effects with rarity tiers from Common through Legendary.

Unlocks, achievements and ranked play

Progress is tied to achievements and continued play. Achievements unlock characters, weapons and relics, and the Steam listing advertises 100 achievements in total. The game also advertises nine competitive ranks, from Rookie to Immortal, with seasonal leaderboards.

A pre-launch community notice says that a Steam account setting a ranked record before 19:00 KST on October 16 receives a Pioneer title. That cutoff is tied to the Korean launch time, so players in other regions should convert it locally before attempting to qualify.

Rank #3
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $100 (plus $5.95 Purchase Fee) - For Online Use Only
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.

The store states that Maldhalla has no payment system allowing players to buy power. Unlocks are earned through achievements and progression rather than a purchase that directly improves a character or build.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Demo, platforms and controls

A free demo is available on Steam. The listed release features and platform services are:

  • Single-player play
  • Steam Achievements
  • Steam Cloud
  • Steam Leaderboards
  • Family Sharing
  • Full support for Xbox, DualShock and DualSense controllers

Automatic firing means the default control challenge is movement and positioning rather than manual targeting. Controller users can therefore focus on navigation, ability activation and upgrade selection without giving up the game’s central combat model.

Rank #4
$500 Apple Gift Card—Email Delivery
  • For all things Apple - products, accessories, apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, iCloud+, and more.
  • Perfect for App Store purchases and subscriptions—get apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, and more.
  • The perfect gift to say happy birthday, thank you, congratulations, and more.
  • Available in $15 - 500, Card delivered via email or SMS
  • Use it for purchases at any Apple Store location, on the Apple Store app, apple.com, the App Store, iTunes, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple News+, Apple Books, Apple Arcade, iCloud+, Fitness+, Apple One, and other Apple properties in US only

Accessibility and compatibility notes

Steam lists six accessibility options:

  • Save anytime
  • Camera comfort
  • Custom volume controls
  • Play without quick-time events
  • Touch-only input
  • Play-at-your-own-pace

Steam Deck compatibility is currently marked unknown, so buyers should not assume the game has a verified or playable Deck rating at launch. Intel-based macOS systems are marked incompatible. The Steam language table lists 19 interface languages, including English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese and Brazilian Portuguese. Full audio is not listed for those languages.

Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Does Maldhalla use AI?

Steam’s disclosure says generative AI tools were used only as an assistive workflow for pre-generated store and marketing text, localization drafts and supporting 2D visual-asset iteration. Eyejoker says all such content is reviewed, edited and approved by the developer.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

The game does not generate AI content during gameplay and does not connect players to an external AI service. That means the disclosure concerns development and promotional production, not an in-game AI system or a player-facing chatbot.

Best Value
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $200 (plus $6.95 Purchase Fee) - Glam (For Online Use Only)
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.

What to expect at launch

Maldhalla’s identity comes from the interaction of several systems rather than from manual shooting: automatic weapons, character-specific abilities, timed bosses, weapon-combination relics, gem statistics, blessings and achievement-based unlocks. Players who enjoy planning a build while continuously repositioning against stronger waves will find that the game’s main decisions happen between attacks and level-up choices, not through aiming reticles.

The free demo provides the most direct way to check the movement feel, visual style and upgrade pace before the October 16 release. For the full version, the notable unknown remains Steam Deck compatibility; other listed features, including controller support, cloud saves and seasonal leaderboards, are documented on the Steam store page.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 4
$500 Apple Gift Card—Email Delivery
$500 Apple Gift Card—Email Delivery
The perfect gift to say happy birthday, thank you, congratulations, and more.; Available in $15 - 500, Card delivered via email or SMS
$500.00

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.