«Previous post | Next post»

Press release:
Leamington Spa, UK – October 08, 2026: Musical bullet-hell Afterbeat is out now on PC via Steam. Players can dive into a cacophony of lights, music, pulses and blocks for £13.75 / $14.99 / €15.49, with a 25% launch discount available during the first week.

Afterbeat’s 1.0 launch delivers its biggest update yet, with a fully revamped Story Mode featuring multiple endings, 22 levels, five bosses, new mechanics and environments. The update also introduces a significantly upgraded Level Editor, giving players more tools to create and share custom levels, alongside a redesigned Custom Level hub for discovering community creations.

The launch further adds improved tutorials and multiplayer UI, local file importing for custom levels, and localisation across Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and Russian, making Afterbeat more accessible to players around the world.

Previously known as Project Arrhythmia, Afterbeat launched into Early Access in 2019 and currently holds an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ rating on Steam.

Afterbeat features rhythm-based gameplay and local co-op for up to four players, challenging players to survive evolving, music-driven levels where everything moves to the beat.

About the game

Afterbeat is a musical bullet-hell in which all things beautiful are deadly. A cacophony of lights, music, pulses and blocks, Afterbeat features tight bullet-hell style gameplay where up to 4 players in local co-op must navigate their way through evolving scenes and obstacles, all timed to the beat.

STORY

Set in 207X, a mysterious disease called “LMNS” has been ravaging the world. A lone Chiral researcher, Anna Schroeder, attempts to find the cure with her trusty supercomputer companion HAL. Stumbling upon various “Projects,” the duo decides to investigate the efficacy of a cure using a pulse/rhythm-based interface.

CURRENT FEATURES

Complete Story Mode: Over 20+ hand-crafted, heart-pounding levels interwoven with an engaging story.

Dodge The Beat: Stages consist of mesmerizing, musically timed scenes, each one telling a story. Feel the rhythm and feel your way around the hazards! Anna will judge how you do.

Challenge Your Friends: Up to 4 players supported in local co-op mode.

Robust Level Editor: A carefully designed level editor allows users to create their own levels and challenges using whatever music they wish.

Huge Community: A wealth of user-created content exists, fully integrated into the game through the usage of the level editor and user-made levels. Already, 2000+ community levels have been uploaded, and more are being made daily.

“This game was previously known as ‘Project Arrhythmia.’”

About Kwalee
Kwalee is a multi-award-winning games publisher and developer based in Leamington Spa, UK. The company has built a growing catalogue of PC and console titles, including Wildmender, ROBOBEAT, Voidwrought, In Sink, Hordes of Hunger, The Precinct, Town to City, Don’t Stop, Girlypop!, Grime II, Modulus: Factory Automation, Rune Dice, Call of the Elder Gods, Ground Zero, Shift at Midnight, SPRAWL zero, Welcome to Elderfield, lily’s World XD and RetroSpace as well as upcoming titles including Hark the Ghoul, BPM Bitcrushed, Steam to Electric, Vampire: The Masquerade — ETERNAL WHISPERS, Ballistic.exe and more.

Founded by games industry icon and Codemasters co-founder, David Darling CBE, Kwalee is supported by a global team of games experts, with studios in the UK, India, and remote locations worldwide. The company is actively seeking high-quality games to publish across all platforms and invites developers to get in touch.

Officially recognised as ‘Best Publisher’ at the TIGA Awards 2022, Kwalee is also a committed industry advocate, serving as an ambassador for the non-profit organisation Women in Games and regularly supporting charities such as Safe In Our World, GamesAid, and SpecialEffect.