After shutting the game down years ago, Counterplay Games has announced that Duelyst’s source code and assets are freely available to everyone. It’s separate from Duelyst 2, an updated version developed by Dream Sloth Games after licensing from Counterplay.
Speaking to PC Gamer, lead producer Richard Heyne said, “The truth is, to this day we still look back fondly at what our little game achieved, and reminisce with our community on Reddit and Discord. We are even following some Duelyst-inspired games and projects! Through it all, one thought strongly resonated within our minds – people are still talking about Duelyst.
“We are experiencing some major changes in our industry: new technologies and consoles, and even massive consolidations that have occurred over the past couple of years. While only time will tell how these changes will alter the landscape, these shifts can potentially hit indie developers the hardest. That’s why we want to recognize that these developers, be they sole individuals or small teams, are vital for the growth and diversity of our industry.”
With the source code and assets available, this opens the doors for other projects based on Duelyst. It can also assist the modding community in various ways.
“There are no strings attached. All the source code and game assets are for you to use and for the community to leverage how they like. There’s no approval or permission from us, and you can grow, sustain, and monetize it however you would like. Enjoy and have fun!” said Heyne.
Duelyst first launched in 2016 and garnered positive acclaim for its art style and approach to tactics and collectible card games. However, later updates faced backlash due to the balance changes. Counterplay also announced action RPG Godfall around the same time, so it makes sense that resources were devoted elsewhere. Not that Godfall was that well-received anyway, but we digress.
Duelyst would shut down in February 2020, with servers taken offline. Time will tell if the source code’s availability could result in something significant, so stay tuned.