poncle, the studio behind Vampire Survivors, has officially announced that the first demo for Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors will launch during Steam Next Fest and on Xbox in February 2026. This is fantastic news for fans of the original game, and I’m sure they’ll be knee-deep in the spin-off as well. And yes, that name is definitely a mouthful.
The demo will be available for everyone to download starting February 23, 2026, giving players their first hands-on taste of what poncle is calling the first official Vampire Survivors spin-off. If this sounds like your kind of chaos, it might be worth following the game’s Steam page so you can jump in the moment the demo goes live.
poncle describes Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors as a “turboturn deckbuilder,” and it is currently slated to release in 2026 across a wide range of platforms, including Steam, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.
Alongside the demo news, poncle is also launching a brand-new gameplay series called “Let’s Explore Vampire Crawlers”. The first episode is available now, with more episodes scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks. The videos are designed to highlight the game’s mechanics, systems, and overall flow, and episode one immediately goes deep into the two major pillars that define the experience.
Perhaps what helps this weirdly named game stand out is what is coined “Turboturn”, which poncle describes as turn-based combat “without the wait.” Instead of pausing between moves and waiting for combat animations to finish, Vampire Crawlers allows you to stack inputs in rapid succession. The game then executes your ability chain cleanly and efficiently, which keeps the pace fast while still letting you play tactically. In other words, it is built for players who like strategy, but also like chaos.
The second key mechanic is Card Customisation, which sounds like it could be where the real build variety lives. Players will be able to enhance their cards using Gems, which can apply different effects such as raw damage multipliers, new modifiers, and even full Weapon Evolutions. poncle is clearly leaning into experimentation here, with the promise of creating ridiculous combos and “game-breaking” setups if you build your deck the right way.
With the demo date locked for February 23, 2026, the wait is not too far off for anyone curious about how a deckbuilder spin-off fits into the Vampire Survivors universe. If episode one is any indication, Vampire Crawlers is aiming to keep the same fast-paced identity, just with a new tactical twist.
Excited? Then be sure to head over to the Steam page and wishlist the game, while you wait for that demo to drop!
