Developer poncle has announced the first public demo for Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors, marking the earliest hands-on opportunity for players to try the studio’s first-ever spin-off to Vampire Survivors. The demo will be available beginning Feb. 23, 2026, as part of Steam Next Fest and on Xbox platforms, including Xbox Game Pass.

The announcement was made Thursday, Jan. 23, alongside the launch of a new gameplay-focused video series titled Let’s Explore Vampire Crawlers. The demo will be free to download during the event window, with players encouraged to follow the game’s Steam page for updates and access.

First revealed in November 2025, Vampire Crawlers is described as a “turboturn” deckbuilder, blending turn-based combat with fast-paced execution. According to poncle, the game has already surpassed 200,000 wishlists on Steam ahead of its planned 2026 release. The full game is scheduled to launch on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and mobile platforms.

New gameplay details revealed in video series

Alongside the demo announcement, poncle released the first episode of Let’s Explore Vampire Crawlers, a short-form video series aimed at outlining the game’s core systems and design philosophy. Additional episodes are planned for release in the coming weeks.

The debut episode focuses on two central mechanics. The first is the “Turboturn,” a system designed to remove downtime between turns by allowing players to queue actions without waiting for animations to complete. Inputs are stacked and executed automatically, creating a faster rhythm than traditional turn-based combat.

The second mechanic highlighted is card customization. Players can modify cards using Gems, which add effects ranging from simple damage increases to full weapon evolutions. The system is intended to support both straightforward builds and more complex, combo-driven strategies.

poncle said more information about Vampire Crawlers will be shared through future videos, community posts, and its official Discord. The studio has not yet announced a specific release date beyond its 2026 launch window.