In a world ravaged by dragons, play as four heroes, solo or multiplayer, and fight hordes of enemies, adapt your build with the unique Ancestral Grid system, improve your city, and share it with your friends.

In Dragonkin: The Banished, you wander a world where powerful dragons have ravaged the land and caused evil creatures to appear. You play as four hero classes and set out to hunt and fight the most vile monsters. Every defeated enemy is one step closer to your ultimate goal: find and eliminate the four Ancestral Dragons.

After consuming Dragon blood, the heroes have acquired their own skills, unique powers and combat techniques. Based on your loot, chosen build and preferences, your powers and attack strength are transformed.

Ahead of its early access release on March 6, Eko Software is offering PC gamers the chance to discover the dark universe of Dragonkin: The Banished through a demo of the game during Steam Next Fest. The studio is also taking the opportunity to reveal the content of the major updates that will be added to the game over the coming months.

FROM TODAY UNTIL 3 MARCH: THE DEMO

A few days before Steam Next Fest, players will be able to get a sneak preview of the game's universe, where they will play as a choice of 3 heroes, accompanied by one of the 4 available dragonets. 

The demo begins with the game's prologue, during which the characters are already at a high level, giving players a glimpse of each character's power and the advanced skills that will enable them to take on the dragons. They can then discover the City of Montescail, an evolving hub where players can upgrade their equipment, trade with NPCs and personalise their experience. Finally, they can access one of the endgame modes, Dungeon Purification, where they face enemies and bosses of 2 biomes.

What to expect in this Demo?

Prologue

In this demo, you will get to explore the world of Dragonkin through the prologue, to give you a first look of the story.

3 pre-built characters starting at level 35 After completing the prologue, you will have access to 3 pre-built characters:

• The Knight, the Oracle, and the Barbarian

You can customize them to match your playstyle by:

• Modifying their equipment
• Adjusting their Ancestral Grid
• Managing their Wyrmlings
• Leveling up to level 50

The city of Montescail The city will be available but with limited content. However, you can still access several essential services:

• The Jailer allows you to change your Wyrmlings
• The Dark Merchant lets you sell unwanted items
• The Apothecary allows you to craft potions
• The Jeweler allows you to create rings

6 difficulty levels & 1 endgame activity For those looking for a challenge, the demo includes 6 difficulty levels and an endgame activity:

• Dungeon Purification, a repeatable challenge that can be played indefinitely

2 distinct environments You will be able to explore 2 distinct environments, each with 3 different variations:

• The Perdition Sanctuary
• The Sunken Temple

FROM 6 MARCH: EARLY ACCESS

After the game has been released into Early Access, players can dive into the first chapter of the story, on the trail of the Poison Dragon Lord.  In endgame, players can choose from a range of predefined hunts of increasing difficulty, as well as Dungeon Purification, boss fights and customised hunts. Exhilarating battles await against the poisonous and electrically-powered creatures featured in these early environments. To get the better of them, players will need to rely on the new Ancestral Grid skill system. By looting Fragments during their adventure, they will obtain new skills and modifiers that they can match to their class Grid to create truly unique builds. What's more, the City will come to life with a host of new services: players will be able to level up their city to unlock new merchants and bonuses, enabling them to optimise builds and itemise heroes in the Hack'N'Slash style.

IN THE MONTHS AHEAD: THE ROADMAP

The Dragonkin experience will be enhanced by several updates throughout the early access period, bringing new features to various aspects of the game: new abilities, content and game modes, particularly in endgame, will complete the gaming experience. Theorycraft will be expanded with the addition of a 4th playable character, new Fragments for the Ancestral Grid and new features for the City, enhancing hero builds. In autumn 2025, co-op will be available, offering online play for up to 4 players. This anticipated feature will enable exciting battles with friends, and will turn the City into a shared hub from which everyone can benefit.

Dragonkin: The Banished is coming to Steam Early Access on March 6, 2025 and will remain so for 7 to 10 months.

Four Heroes To Choose From:

• The Barbarian: As leader of the armies of the Northern people who live in hostile lands, the Barbarian's element is ice. Take hits like a true barbarian, freeze your enemies and deal huge melee damage with a devastating axe and hammer. The more damage you take, the more powerful your attacks.
• The Witch: Transformed by Dragon blood, the Witch dreams of a world in which dragons and humans can live together. The Witch's powers are based on the elements of electricity and water. With the Witch, you'll want to stand back to charge your spells and deal damage from range rather than getting too close to enemies.
• The Knight: Tutored and trained by the finest warriors since childhood, the Knight wields fire like no other. With the Knight, you have the ideal balance between melee and ranged attacks thanks to your formidable lance, which also spits out flames.
• The Archer: The personification of composure, the Archer boasts outstanding skill and can expertly manipulate the element of poison. If the arrow doesn't kill the target outright, the victim will usually succumb shortly after. Ideal for ranged combat, with the Archer you can also create a poisonous area around you to become unreachable.

The Ancestral Grid is an innovative mechanic to level up your character and make them a unique fighter. Each time you gain more power, you decide how to combine your upgrades to fill up the Ancestral Grid in the best way possible. Select from the abilities available and try out multiple combinations to optimize your hero. Based on your progress in the adventure and your preferences, you can also change your build whenever you want to adapt to new enemies. Each hero has their own Ancestral Grid and a wide range of possible combinations. Your hero will never be the same from one game to the next.

Travel across the world of Dragonkin, learn its story and confront whatever is threatening it. Volcanoes, tundra, swamps and many other environments: as you hunt you will discover everything the world has to offer. Each biome has its own regions, endemic monsters and specific resources.

Your city grows and changes based on your decisions and discoveries. During your adventure, gain experience and decide which area of its development to focus on. Upgrade your buildings and find new inhabitants, equipment and additional services. The co-op adventure goes beyond completing quests. All players in your session can expand the city and unlock new content.

An adventure to enjoy from start to finish with friends. Dragonkin can be played in local co-op with two players or online with up to four players (will be implemented in the final version of the game). You can also share your adventure with warriors you have never met before by joining their games.

Dragonkin: The Banished is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam) in late 2025.