Drop in, kill demons, charge your blood magic and survive as long as you can.
Hell Byte Studios has announced that Blood Reaver, its debut dark-fantasy co-op FPS, will launch on Steam Early Access on April 15, 2026, at 4 pm UK time. Alongside the date announcement, there is a new trailer showing more in-game action.
Built by lifelong fans of the round-based wave shooter genre, Blood Reaver takes the escalating tension and survival depth that made Call of Duty Zombies a phenomenon and pushes it further, with visceral gunplay, blood-fueled magic and deep build crafting, all set in a rich dark-fantasy world hiding secrets in every corner.Face the demon hordes alone or with up to three friends. Either way, every run will test how well you adapt, build and survive.
Blood Reaver is a round-based wave shooter for 1–4 players. Each wave adds more enemies, faster and tougher. The game doesn’t slow down until you’re dead.
Combat runs on two systems.
Weapons follow a linear progression: pick them up, upgrade them, grow more powerful as the run goes on.
Abilities work differently: charge them by killing demons, then spend them on a powerful burst. Blood Magic, Ethereal Arts, or Forbidden powers, loadouts are chosen before the run, and built on from there.
Between waves, the Deck of Fates lets players draw upgrade cards for their character, while the Blood Infuser adds special properties to weapons. The combinations found across a run are what keep things different each time. Each map also contains environmental lore, clues about who the Blood Reavers were, how the demons can be stopped and what’s really driving the invasion.
“We grew up with round-based survival shooters. Blood Reaver is our love letter to that genre, but with a darker world, smarter systems and magic that actually feels powerful. We can’t wait for players to discover what’s hiding in the walls.”
— Jackson Hole, Hell Byte Studios
Key Features
- Blood-fueled abilities: Kill demons to charge powerful spells across three schools of magic, Blood Magic, Ethereal Arts, and Forbidden powers.
- In-run upgrades: Use the Deck of Fates and Blood Infuser to upgrade your character and weapons between waves.
- 1–4 player co-op: Play solo or with friends on Steam.
- Hidden lore: Each map contains story content that slowly pieces together the world of Blood Reaver.
- Round-based escalation: Every wave hits harder. Survive as long as you can.
- Dark-fantasy setting: Inspired by Doom, Bloodborne and Dishonored, built for players who want atmosphere with their gunplay.
The Blood Reaver demo is live on Steam right now. Try the combat, abilities and upgrade systems ahead of the Early Access launch on April 15 at 4 pm UK time. The game will be available on Steam for 14.99 USD
About Hell Byte Studios
Hell Byte Studios is the indie developer and publisher behind Blood Reaver. A team of lifelong wave shooter fans, they set out to build the game they always wanted, one that honours the genre while bringing something fresh to the table. Blood Reaver is their first commercial release.
