Cheat Death
In the codexIndieSimulationStrategy

Cheat Death

Play dice poker with the Grim Reaper in a dark strategic roguelite. Build powerful poker hands from cursed dice, stack upgrades, rig the odds, sabotage Death, and survive deadly mini-games with your life on the line.

DEV: GG StudioPUB: Polden PublishingAppID 3756340
UPDATE PULSEevery ~233d·last 78d ago·3 recent on record

Is Cheat Death still being updated? — the short answer, with the evidence.

Should you look into this?

From Steam's own record

Current price

$9.87$12.99−24%

Development

Unusually quiet

Last heard from developers

3 months ago

Usual rhythm

every ~13.5 days

Substantial updates (6 mo)

2

Current silence

6× normal

The developers have been silent for 78 days against a normal rhythm of about 13.5 — roughly 6 times longer than usual. 2 substantial updates landed in the past six months, 1 of them major. It is currently 24% below its usual price.

Distilled by the oracle

Our coverage

1 dispatch written from this game’s announcements

releaseAug 20, 2026

Cheat Death Launches on Steam with a 24% Discount

What's here

Cheat Death, developed by Vlantrop, has launched on Steam as of July 16, 2026. The premise positions Death as a literal opponent seated across a table — a strategic adversary rather than an abstract threat. Whether that translates into card mechanics, board-game logic, or something else entirely, the announcement does not specify.

What changed

  • The game moved from development and community testing into full release on Steam
  • A 24% launch discount is currently active
  • A Discord server is available for players to share tactics, high scores, and communicate with the developers

The team extended particular acknowledgment to testers who reported bugs and provided feedback during development, crediting the community for shaping the final product.

For players who followed the game's progress, the discount window is the clearest immediate consideration — though the source gives no indication of how long it runs.

Two years of development

■ substantial ■ routine

Nov2025FebMayAugNov2026FebMayAug

16 announcements · 2 substantial · 17 months with nothing

Recent Transmissions

16 entries in codex

Community AnnouncementsJul 17, 2026
🛠️ The first patch is here!

Hi, everyone! We’ve been closely monitoring your feedback in the first few hours following release and have quickly put together the first patch with fixes and improvements. Here is what’s changed: Performance:Game performance on lower-spec…

Community AnnouncementsJul 16, 2026
CHEAT DEATH IS OUT NOW!

Hi, everyone! The day has finally come – Cheat Death has officially launched on Steam! The game is available right now.In this game, Death isn’t just watching – she’s sitting opposite you at the table. Can you outwit her, calculate every mo…

Read our dispatch on this

Read this patch for

Community AnnouncementsJul 16, 2026
Only 8 hours to go until release!

Hi, everyone! The countdown has begun. In exactly eight hours, the game will be available to everyone. Are you ready to defy the inevitable and cheat death itself? And here are the details on pricing:GameCurrencyFull priceDiscounted price (…

Community AnnouncementsJul 1, 2026
⏳ Demo Closes Today, Release Coming Soon

Attention, mortals! The Cheat Death Demo closes today at 17:00 CEST. A huge thank you to everyone who took a chance on the game and left their feedback. We’ve gathered all your responses, thoughts and bug reports to rewrite the rules for th…

Community AnnouncementsJun 17, 2026
The latest patch is now live!

Hello everyone! It’s time to go all out!🔥 We’ve just released an update, based on your feedback during Next Fest. This patch focuses on getting you into the gameplay faster, increasing the variety of runs, and giving you early access to ke…

Read this patch for

Community AnnouncementsJun 15, 2026
💀 The Demo is Live for Next Fest!

And now everyone can try to cheat death! We’re delighted to announce that Cheat Death is officially taking part in Steam Next Fest, and our brand-new public demo is already waiting for you on the game’s page!If you’ve been following our upd…

Community AnnouncementsJun 11, 2026
CHEAT DEATH DEMO IS LIVE

Hello, everyone!The wait is over! The public demo is now available on Steam. Jump in right now and try to out-cheat the Grim Reaper himself in tense dice poker duels.What’s in the Demo:One playable hero with a unique upgrade deckMore items …

Community AnnouncementsJun 3, 2026
The playtest is now closed!

Hello, mortals!The gates have closed and the servers have officially been shut down – our playtest is over.Huge respect to all the brave souls who weren’t afraid to play by their own rules and personally cheat death in our arena! Your feedb…

Community AnnouncementsJun 2, 2026
Playtest closing!

Hello, mortals!Our open playtest is officially coming to an end. The servers will close tomorrow, 3 June at 17:00 CEST.A huge thank you to everyone who joined the test, tried out the mechanics and helped us catch bugs! Your feedback is incr…

Community AnnouncementsMay 14, 2026
THE OPEN PLAYTEST HAS ALREADY BEGUN!

Greeting, mortals!The open playtest is starting! It’s time to cheat death. We’re opening our doors to everyone! Are you ready to take on this challenge?What’s new in this version:- Added new content: Healing Station- Added Boss Fight- Impro…

Community AnnouncementsApr 17, 2026
Closed Playtest 3 Starts NOW!

Greetings, mortals!Death still misses you, and previous opponents weren't enough, so we are launching the third wave of our closed playtest for those who are ready to face the challenge.This is a major update that completely transforms the …

Community AnnouncementsApr 6, 2026
Playtest sign-ups are open

Hey, everyone!Since the last playtest many aspects of the game has changed, thanks a lot to your feedback. We took some time off to work on Cheat Death properly, and now it is more in the state we wanted it to be. You helped us a lot by sha…

Community AnnouncementsMar 10, 2026
Second Closed Playtest starts TODAY!

Greetings, mortals!Death still misses you, and previous opponents weren't enough. We are opening the doors for another Closed Playtest!If you missed the first one or want to face the challenge again – now is your time.This is a major update…

Community AnnouncementsDec 25, 2025
Closed Playtest starts TODAY!

Greetings, mortals!Death is bored. It needs worthy challengers.Today we are opening access to the closed playtest. This is your chance to be among the first to challenge Death itself! 🎲 Your mission (should you choose to accept it): 1) Go …

Community AnnouncementsOct 27, 2025
Death Notes. Scream 4 Fest 2025 - Game and trailer update!

Hello, Mortals!Cheat Death takes part in Scream 4 Fest 2025. We have prepared a big update for closed playtests and updated the trailer with new content! Update Contents:Zones. Now, when you roll the dice, your goal is to land in a specific…

Community AnnouncementsOct 14, 2025
Death Notes. Dev process, festival and first playable build.

Hello, Mortals!Your Death is inevitable, but before that sweet moment you still have some time to play games a little more..Cheat Death is coming to Scream Next Fest with a lot of updates and the first playable Build.What can you expect fro…