The third alpha playtest for RIFTSTORM recently wrapped up on October 30, 2024. The two-week event was our biggest so far, with 99,514 hours played, 110,590 downloads, and 92% very positive reviews on Steam.
Feedback from the gamers suggested that this playtest felt different from previous playtests because the experience felt more like a complete game with lore, in-game menus, and more dynamic missions included. The Dungeon System 2.0 update added larger maps with more environmental detail and new in-dungeon actions for greater mission variety. A new crafting feature also allowed players to break down and craft weapons of their choice through new materials and blueprints. Two new characters, Thistle and Rook, were added to the game and proved popular with gamers resulting in a combined use of over 20.1% across all maps.
Throughout the two weeks of the playtest, the Confiction Labs team was busy gathering feedback and data. Updates like the speedrun leaderboards and limited-time missions resulted from the community speaking out about features they wanted in the game in prior playtests and in the RIFTSTORM Discord. Adjustments and potential new content are being reviewed as the team moves to developing the game’s next version in 2025.
“We’re incredibly grateful for the overwhelming engagement and positive reviews from players during RIFTSTORM’s third playtest. Being able to reach the top of the Steam Trending Free charts validates our belief that a project with the goal of being everyone’s #2 game can thrive and be the go-to experience for playing with friends We remain committed to delivering more immersive experiences for RIFTSTORM, where players can tell stories in and outside the game, as we move closer to launch next year” – Arief Widhiyasa, CEO of Confiction Labs
Highlights of the Third Playtest
Despite running the playtest in one of the busiest months for gaming, with the Steam Next Fest and major releases from Off the Grid, Silent Hill 2, and Metaphor ReFantazio, RIFTSTORM caught the attention of gamers. The game set new engagement records and rose to the top of the platform’s trending free leaderboards for three straight days. Overall, the game was added to 95,098 new wishlists and the highest concurrent player count so far at 1,270, increasing 181.4% from playtest two.
The Day 1 retention average was 67.2%, a 17.9% increase from playtest two, and easily breaking through our target at 50%. The Day 3 retention had a bigger increase at 46.2%, rising 101.4% from the previous build, while Day 7 retention exceeded our 15% target at 33.2%, while most similar games hover at the 15-20% mark. This marks an all-time high for all retention metrics, with many new mechanics and features keeping players engaged longer. The third playtest had 3-5 hours of main campaign missions with 6-8 hours of additional endgame content.
A total of 130 unique countries participated compared to the second playtest’s 110 with fewer barriers to entry thanks to 13 localization language options such as simplified Chinese Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish, and French. Most of the playtesters came from Asia, with East Asia making up 20%, while Southeast Asia had 19% of all players. This is followed by Europe and the UK with 16% and South America with 14%.
As a method for gauging gamer satisfaction, RIFTSTORM’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) from the third playtest reached 38. Anything above 20 is considered great by the gaming industry, with Grand Theft Auto (GTA) scoring 24.1 and the Legend of Zelda scoring an NPS of 20.2. Other high-profile franchises with high NPS include The Elder Scrolls at 17.9, NFL Madden at 17.7, and Call of Duty at 13.7.
Growth from all of the RIFTSTORM social media accounts grew noticeably during the playtest, with the game’s X account getting 32,700 new followers. The RIFTSTORM Discord channel grew with 3,662 new members, and the third playtest gained media coverage from publications such as GAM3S.GG, PCGamesN and egamers.io.
Much of the community engagement came from content creators and esports players who participated in the playtest. These included Tectone, Team Secret, Talon Esports, Pokelawls, Strippin, and yueho. Members of the development team also had fun engaging with players in the playtest and doing a few missions. 426 unique creators engaged with RIFTSTORM, with over 1.3 million impressions and 71,955 hours watched. Twitch had the most content platform distribution at 61.7%, while YouTube had 32.2%, and the remaining 6.13% was distributed among other websites.
Over the past year, our ecosystem has grown, with 302 community partners. These include XAI, YGG, Pixelmon, The Lazy Monday, GAM3S.GG, Talon Esports, Team Secret, and many more. The team is thankful for the support of its partners as we continue to build a thrilling, collaborative, and immersive gaming experience.
Collaborative Entertainment During the Playtest
During the second playtest, players encountered the Shade Resurgence mission, which tasked them to defeat an increasing number of Shade mythic creatures in a limited-time event. Most players failed, and as a result, the landscape of RIFTSTORM changed during the third playtest. Many returning playtesters enjoyed how it affected the third playtest missions, with increasing Shade monster presence as one consequence of the previous mission’s failure.
Event missions are one way the team implements Collaborative Entertainment, giving players the option to influence the direction and development of RIFTSTORM. Promoting this new approach means that as developers, the team also looks at how the community responds and the ideas they bring to create the best game possible. New features in the third playtest, like crafting, the new operatives and weavers, and the new upgrades (lythons) drew heavily from the data and feedback during the second playtest.
RIFTSTORM implements Collaborative Entertainment through event missions where player choice matters, with the majority influencing how the game moves forward. The third playtest gave another fork in the road for players: whether or not to save the character, Grey 6. 80.3% of players chose to save, but the team was ready to move forward in the other direction if the players wanted to. The effects of their actions will be felt the next time RIFTSTORM goes live.
In the future, there will be more ways for the community to be involved, including being able to submit user-generated content to RIFTSTORM’s Repository, where they have the chance to be part of the game’s lore or gameplay update. Submissions can range from simple text submissions to videos and artwork. We’ll provide more information on how to do this and the format as we move closer to the game’s launch next year.
What’s Next?
As we move closer toward open beta, the team is busy building everything needed for the Occultical ecosystem, including releasing its first premiere collection, XPSR-24. A short video detailing the art and design was posted on the XPSR-24 X account, and a blog post detailing the inspiration behind the collection’s style, Urban Neo-Expressionism.
Work for the Repository is also underway and will be released in time with the game’s complete build in 2025. The team will share more details on RIFTSTORM’s progress as it moves closer to launch in 2025
Follow Confiction Labs and RIFTSTORM on X to get the latest updates.
Follow and wishlist RIFTSTORM on Steam to learn more about the game and stay updated for the open beta. Check out the XPSR-24 website, and sign up at the Portal to be part of the community.
