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Press release:
Wiesbaden, Germany – 20th February, 2026 – German publisher Assemble Entertainment, in partnership with indie developer Half Soup Labs, is excited to announce their upcoming cozy mining adventure Glintseeker Island, launching 2027.

Glintseeker Island is a 2D pixel art mining exploration game with RPG elements and a unique excavation mechanic inspired by the Underground of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl and the caves of Stardew Valley. Players explore procedurally generated caves across different biomes. They dig for ancient treasures, fight enemies, and face challenging bosses deep underground. Each mining run rewards resources that can be sold or used to upgrade hammers with gemstones, expand the backpack, repair village buildings and complete quests for local villagers. Along the way, uncover the island’s long-buried story.

If you yearn for the mines, a playtest is available now on Steam.

Mine and Explore beneath the surface
As the title suggests, mining for valuable resources is the name of the game, but grabbing some precious rocks is far from easy. Rather than simply holding down a button to gather ores, this game’s mining feature is an interactive game inside the game. You have to break away rocks strategically to uncover treasures, but be careful not to cause the walls to collapse, or you’ll end up empty-handed!

The underground mines are teeming with life. As you journey through several cave biomes, you’ll encounter vastly different landscapes, enemies and dangers, as well as treasures. To help you navigate these biomes, you’ll find a variety of useful tools, such as an ice hammer to traverse water.

Nostalgic & Cozy vibe
If caving in Stardew Valley hits your vibe, Glintseeker Island takes you on a similar journey, but with procedurally generated caves and the addition of puzzles, clever inventory choices and even some bosses sleeping beneath the surface. In the cozy village surrounded by lush forests, meet helpful villagers who guide you as you uncover the island’s secrets and help them rebuild their home.

Is bigger better? Yes!
One important key to progressing in your adventure is continually upgrading your equipment, especially the hammers. Start with a simple, worn-out pickaxe, then unlock and upgrade to a more powerful hammer. Eventually, you will wield a massive, legendary hammer that can slice through stone like butter! Hammers are used in both fighting and mining. So choose your hammers wisely, as each one has its own strengths and strategies that can make the difference between success and failure.

Features:

Procedurally Generated Caves: Explore diverse biomes with unique enemies and loot.

Excavate Treasures: Dig up countless treasures in a captivating mining minigame.

Hammer Time: Find over a dozen legendary hammers, upgrade and enhance them.

Combat and Boss Battles: Fight underground creatures and face challenging bosses.

Inventory Management: Manage limited space and upgrade your backpack.

Backpack Puzzles: Solve item puzzles in your tile-based inventory.

Village Progression: Complete quests, restore the village and upgrade your home.

Puzzles and Story: Solve puzzles and uncover the island’s hidden history.

Pet Shadow: Yes, you can pet the dog ✅

A game of simplistic complexity, nostalgia, progressions and surprises! ⛏️

ABOUT HALF SOUP LABS

Half Soup Labs is a small indie game studio based in Germany, founded by three friends in Hamburg and Offenburg. The team is currently working on their debut title, Glintseeker Island, an Idea born from fond childhood memories of mining games and pixelart.

ABOUT ASSEMBLE ENTERTAINMENT

Assemble Entertainment is an independent publisher based in Germany, best known for indie hits such as Sticky Business, Roadwarden, Decktamer, Paddle Paddle Paddle, Asgard’s Fall and the Endzone franchise. Since 2016, Assemble has released more than 50 games across different genres, including cozy, horror, strategy and roguelike, and has established itself as a trusted partner for bringing original indie projects to market.