Arkheron is the debut game from Bonfire Studios, the studio that former Blizzard chief creative officer and World of Warcraft lead designer Rob Pardo founded in 2016.
It is a fast, isometric PvP game where teams of three climb a haunted Tower that distorted memories keep reshaping, and the items you loot, called Relics, rewrite your build in the middle of a fight.
Bonfire confirmed on October 29 that the Tower opens on November 27, 2026 across Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and on November 9 it laid out the ways to try the game before buying.
In the US that date is the Friday after Thanksgiving, so the free Opening Weekend lands right on the holiday weekend. Everything below was checked against the Steam store page and Bonfire's own announcements as of November 10, 2026.
Where something has not been announced yet, such as the exact launch hour, this guide says so instead of guessing.
Arkheron Early Access at a glance (as of November 10, 2026)
| Topic | What is confirmed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Release date and time | Early Access starts Friday, November 27, 2026 | The launch hour has not been announced yet. Bonfire's Japanese announcement lists Saturday, November 28 in Japan time, so Asia may get it a calendar day later. Watch the Steam page and official channels. |
| Platforms | Steam (PC), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S | Steam lists cross platform multiplayer and full controller support. The PC version needs Windows 10 or later. |
| Opening Weekend | November 27 to 29, the full game is free for everyone | Bonfire says there are no limits, no requirements and no purchase needed. |
| Friend Pass | Free download with the Tutorial and Training modes | Party up with someone who owns Arkheron to play Spires and Ascension, even across platforms. |
| Price | US$24.99 for the standard game, US$49.99 for the Supporter Edition | The Siren and The Night's Advocate packs are US$14.99 each on their own. Other regions get local pricing. |
| Modes | Ascension: 15 teams of three climb the Tower. Spires: 3v3 fights floor by floor | In Ascension the field shrinks every floor until one team stands at the summit. |
| PC minimum specs | Intel Core i5-9600K or equivalent 6 core, 8 GB RAM, Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB | 25 GB available space, broadband internet connection |
| PC recommended specs | Intel Core i7-9700K or equivalent 8 core, 12 GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 2070 8GB | 25 GB available space. That is lower than the July closed beta listing of 12 or 16 GB RAM and a 35 GB SSD. |
Buy now or try it free first? What Early Access means for Arkheron
Bonfire is upfront that this is not the finished game.
Its October 29 announcement says Arkheron is still in development and a long way from the competitive experience the team wants at 1.0, and it lists the work ahead: making the game easier to learn and fights easier to read, improving matchmaking, performance and stability, and adding depth to Ascension and Spires.
If you are on the fence, Opening Weekend from November 27 to 29 is the low risk way to find out whether the combat clicks for you.
After that weekend, Friend Pass means only one person on a team needs to own the game for all three to play Spires and Ascension, and selected Discord Partner Servers can invite their members to play free for a limited time.
There are two editions: the standard game at US$24.99 and a US$49.99 Supporter Edition that adds two cosmetic packs, The Siren and The Night's Advocate, which also sell separately for US$14.99 each.
Buying any edition between November 27 and 30 also adds the Armored Swan pack with a chroma exclusive to the Early Access opening.
Bonfire has spelled out its monetization rules too: every Collection, its version of a battle pass, can be earned for free during Early Access, and the studio says there will be no pay to win, no loot boxes and no gacha. It also expects the price to rise as content grows toward 1.0.
A few announcements are still coming before launch: the Early Access Eternal roster with a new Eternal, the Prologue story arc with the first Collection and quests, Partner Server details, and a live event for Opening Weekend.
The provisional 1.0 patch notes posted on November 5 for a tech test already describe a new assassin Eternal named Shasur who roots and silences enemies, but treat the final roster as unconfirmed until Bonfire announces it.
How to be ready when the Tower opens on November 27
- 1Check your PC against the Steam specsCompare your CPU, RAM and graphics card with the minimum and recommended rows above. If you are not sure what is inside your PC, how to check your PC specs on Windows 11 walks through it. Clear at least 25 GB on the drive you plan to install to.
- 2Wishlist it and watch for the launch hourThe hour is not public yet. Wishlist Arkheron on Steam, PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S so the launch notice reaches you, and keep an eye on Bonfire's weekly announcements, which the studio says will continue until November 27.
- 3Line up two teammatesArkheron is built around teams of three. One person buys the game, the other two grab the free Friend Pass, and you queue together, even across platforms. The November 5 patch notes also add Discord integration on PC, so friends can join your party straight from your Discord activity. If your squad is not connected there yet, start with how to add friends on Discord.
- 4Learn the basics in Tutorial and TrainingAccording to the November 5 provisional patch notes, the Tutorial now leads into three floors of 3v3 Learning Spires, you can wait in the training room while you queue, and Training Ascension and Training Spires let you pick a bot difficulty. Use them to decide whether you want to chase a full four Relic set to become an Eternal or mix pieces from different sets.
- 5Decide how you will capture your fightsA last second beacon steal near the summit will not happen twice. Pick your recording setup before the first match: how to record Steam games compares Steam's built in recording with dedicated apps. Record a short test before the Tower opens and check the sound and quality.
What to recheck before launch day
- Launch hour: not announced as of November 10, so recheck the Steam page and Bonfire's X and Discord.
- Eternal roster: the final Early Access lineup, including a new Eternal, is due before launch.
- Progress wipe: anything earned in the November 6 and 7 tech tests is wiped before Early Access.
- Launch bonus window: the Armored Swan pack and its exclusive chroma come with purchases from November 27 to 30.
- Xbox players: Game Pass members get the full game for the first three months of Game Preview from November 27.
Want to keep your Arkheron fights on video?
DOR is a free Windows app that detects supported games when you launch them and records the whole match. For a brand new release like Arkheron, start screen recording yourself (default hotkey F7), and the recording lands in My Clips.
From there, trim just the summit fight and save it in 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1. To stitch moments from several runs together, open DOR Studio (dor.gg/studio) to merge videos, add effect templates such as shake zoom and punch zoom, text and BGM, then export an mp4 or share a dor.gg link.
The full workflow is in turning clips into a highlight reel. The free plan records at 720p or 1080p and 30 or 60 FPS, with 1080p at 30 FPS by default, and on supported NVIDIA cards such as the RTX series DOR records with NVENC hardware encoding. If you are worried about the performance cost, see how to choose a lightweight game recorder.
