Developer Poncle has announced a demo for its upcoming deck-building spin-off Vampire Crawlers, arriving on Steam and Xbox Game Pass on February 23, 2026. The game, a roguelite take on the Vampire Survivors universe, promises fast-paced turn-based combat and extensive card customization. This follows the title's reveal last November, which has already garnered over 200,000 wishlists.
Vampire Crawlers, the first major spin-off from the popular Vampire Survivors, was unveiled in November 2025 during an Xbox Partner Preview event. Poncle, the developer behind the original, described it as a 'turbo turn-based, card-driven blobber with rogue-lite elements,' aiming to blend accessibility, replayability, and flashy action into a deck-building dungeon crawler. The game explores familiar dungeons with 'functioning walls,' allowing players to build 'busted' decks, accumulate experience for new cards, headbutt chests for customization gems, and chase weapon evolutions to trigger cascading effects that 'break the game.' Poncle envisions it as the start of a series of spin-offs, preserving core pillars like immediacy and lightheartedness while adapting to new genres. It supports both tactical pacing and speedy play, with no need to pause for animations. The Turbo Turn mechanic enables rapid attacks that spread to all targets without excessive resource management, making it beginner-friendly, while relics, treasures, and gem customizations offer depth for veterans, including damage boosts and strategic combos. The full release is slated for 2026 on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam, iOS, and Android, with Day One availability on Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate. Impatient fans can now access the first episode of Poncle's 'Let's Explore Vampire Crawlers' video series, released on January 23, 2026, which showcases these features. Additional episodes will follow in the coming weeks. The demo launches during Steam Next Fest on February 23, providing an early taste of the game's mechanics ahead of its potential full-year debut.
