Super Sub: World Cup

Today we released version 1.0 of the game! It's finally out, officially, with all content and all features! We made it in time for the World Cup 2026, pfew.For those who want the full story, check out the devlog (or "developer's diary") on my blog:https://pandaqi.com/blog/videogames/commercial-releases/super-sub-franchise/super-sub-world-cup/It details all the ideas, problems, different versions, reasons for (not) doing something, etcetera. Beware: it's 15,000 words of pure game dev info.I'll also publish a long article on that blog about the journey towards our first Steam game release in the near future. It's not available yet because I want to add the results (statistics, sales, etc) from the launch week to close it out.For those who want the much shorter update, read on! What's inside?A game that blends sports, arcade, incremental, and idle in unique ways. It's available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.You can play it with mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, or controller.Most modes contain 28 matches to play, each one slightly harder than the previous. The special World Cup mode simulates an actual world cup with 8 matches to play of increasing difficulty (group stage -> final).An upgrade tree with 100-150 different upgrades (the number depends on the mode you play). They help you get stronger, faster, more accurate, and possibly break the rules to try and win those matches. You can buy different player types, different ball types, and more to fit your tactics or playstyle. You just need to score enough goals to earn enough money to buy them :)It contains 10 unique modes. The regular mode is quite chill and casual. An even more chill mode is the one where you have no opponents or no clock. The World Cup mode has the opponent fighting back and is hard to beat. Or try the Roguelike mode where failing once means the end, or one of the more silly playful modes such as Hands or Random.There are 4 fully-featured save slots, allowing saving anytime, so you don't have to finish g...

When we started making this game, many people told us how much they love their Steam Deck and how we should absolutely put time and energy into making the game compatible.So we did!The game has been tested on the Steam Deck and is completely functional.Scaling of elements (and zoom level) are modified to match the relatively small screen of the Steam Deck.There are no known bugs, crashes, or lag/performance issues.It shows the correct button prompts whenever applicable.Though the usual controls will be all you need: Joystick to navigate or move, "A" to do the one thing you can do in this game.If you played the game on a Steam Deck and still find issues, let us know. We obviously intend to keep supporting this device on all future games.(In fact, during the development of this game I met two strangers who also started talking about their Steam Deck immediately once this subject was brought up. People really seem to love that device. I guess it helps that this kind of casual game is well-suited to handheld play.)Have fun with the game,Pandaqi

Today we released the latest demo for Super Sub: World Cup! My last update post stated it would be the final demo update. But, well, things change! After taking a break from the game for some time, I had some new insights and ideas about what the game should be. Around that time, some recommendations from Steam Support gave me a list of improvements to consider as well. I also found a new group of playtesters (the first demo versions were mostly tested by family members) that had different ideas and feedback. Some of it pretty big changes to the core of the game. After thinking it over and doing some quick experiments with these new ideas, I decided that these big changes were for the best.Let's see what's changed, shall we? What changed?CampaignWhen the game started, I imagined a game that became more and more "idle" as you went on. Simulating the World Cup (8 matches; 3 groups, 5 playoffs) seemed to make sense and fit the general progression.Over time, however, the game has shifted to a far more active, tactical, arcade-y sports game. This is not a surprise---it was already true in the previous demos! But it simply made me blind to reconsidering that original template of 8 matches, which now meant pretty large difficulty spikes/jumps.Similarly, mechanics like fouling and injuries made less and less sense as an upgrade when you can't automate it. When it's not just a probability to improve, but an active gameplay element.As such, the (default) campaign was changed to 28 matches, and many upgrades were removed from the upgrade tree and put into the matches instead.Every next match only provides one change to slightly increase the challenge. If you play very well (or get lucky), you might even beat the next match without needing more upgrades.Most of the changes are "we added +1 opponent" or "your goal is smaller" or "the opponent is slightly smarter now".But some of the changes now introduce a new rule/system, such as "injuries" or "shot accuracy".The first few matc...