Buying two deckbuilders in the same week? In this econo-my? Not happening.
Steam’s early March calendar is starting to look like a danger zone for small roguelike publishers. Several indie game developers are shifting release dates or publicly weighing their options as one highly-anticipated major sequel looms over the schedule. That’s because on 19 February, developer Mega Crit confirmed that Slay the Spire 2 will enter Early Access on 5 March, landing squarely in one of the busiest release windows of the year.
For players counting down the days to the sequel of one of the most influential deck-building roguelikes ever made, this was massive news. For smaller studios operating in the same genre or even the same week, it presented a scheduling headache that is already forcing difficult decisions.
Handmancers, Mini Tank, Omelet You Cook, and others move out of Slay the Spire 2's way
The most vocal about their delay so far comes from 58BLADES and its roguelike deckbuilder Handmancers. The game had originally been scheduled to launch during Turn-Based Thursday Fest, a seven-day annual Steam event beginning on 6 March, just one day after Slay the Spire 2 arrives. The devs posted the announcement on X (formerly Twitter):
The studio laid out their reasoning with humour: “Our original plan was simple: drop Handmancers during #Turn Based ThursdayFest. You watch the showcase and boom: 'Handmancers Available Now.' Perfect, right?”
Then came the news of Slay the Spire 2. “And let's be honest, you'll be playing it, we'll be playing it, everyone will be playing it. We're muge fans and insanely excited. But launching a deckbuilder the same week as Slay the Spire 2? Yeah... we'd get absolutely crushed.” They acknowledged the practical impact on players as well: “Buying two deckbuilders in the same week? In this econo-my? Not happening.”
Other shifts have been quieter. Algorocks’s Mini Tank Mayhem, a tower defence and deck-building strategy game, saw its 3 March release date pushed back to 30 April, then revised again to 29 April. SteamDB records show the change happened within hours of Slay the Spire 2’s latest trailer going live. No official reason has been given, but the timing has fuelled speculation among players.
Some teams anticipated the clash earlier in the year. SchuBox Games moved up the 1.0 launch of Omelet You Cook back in January. Co-developer Dan Schumacher explained that once Slay the Spire 2’s window became clear, “Every streamer we’d reach out to will be playing it. Every roguelike enjoyer will be checking it out.”
Not everyone is retreating. Bermrad confirmed that its hack-and-slash roguelite Trials of Valor will still release on 5 March, sharing the exact same date, sharing the news with the same humour as 58BLADES, copy-pasting the first portion of the announcement, before saying they weren't moving the release date.
ThunderRam Studios also confirmed that Grimslair remains locked for 6 March, stating there will be “no hiding in the bushes until the hype train passes.”
It is not the first time a major sequel has reshaped the release calendar. In September 2025, several publishers adjusted their launch plans to avoid clashing with Hollow Knight: Silksong, as anticipation around Team Cherry’s long-awaited follow-up dominated attention across Steam and other consoles.
Slay the Spire 2 enters Early Access on 5 March, 2026.
