ORION: Prelude | Play EARLY!
DANKIE
PLAY EARLY!
Download and play the new version of ORION: Prelude right now. After extensive developments the first preview version of the massive new update is available to play.
The new version of ORION: Prelude features massive revamps to core systems including:
- First-Person Gameplay
- Third-Person Gameplay
- Physics & Vehicles
- Dinosaurs & AI
- Graphics & Lighting
- Performance & Optimization
- Menus, UI & UX
- Bug Fixes & Polish
PLAY via DISCORD
The First Preview for the experimental update is available to ALL members on the ORION Discord.
https://discord.gg/cY5XHC3
To be clear:
- The update is NOT locked behind Discord -- it releases on Steam on October 25, 2026,
- FREE for ALL existing owners, with no Discord, account or anything else required.
- The Discord First Preview is just optional early access for anyone who wants to play a couple of weeks ahead and help find bugs before launch.
- There is no need to use Discord if you'd prefer not to.
- You won’t miss out on anything by waiting for the Steam release.
EARLY REACTIONS
Private Testing has been underway since October 1st.
Opening up via tiers such as Direct Supporters, Owners of Guardians of Orion & more. There have been daily patches for this process improving on reports coming and some of the early feedback from players on these early tests are shared below:
"A frankly astonishing increase in visual fidelity far beyond what I'd remembered."
"We're literally talking about a 10-20% GPU usage increase for like a 200% graphics improvement"
"Smoothest the game has felt"
"Overall gameplay feels a lot smoother"
"To be honest, I know you said to play both for comparison, I played the new branch first because I wanted to judge the game based on whether it was good or not, irrespective of the original version, and now that I have both perspectives, I can say that this update is great"
"New menus are snappy AF"
"New Third Person is a universal upgrade"
"Mech feels good on tracks; good job on the update"
"Really appreciate this rework"
GAMEPLAY PREVIEW
[ Discord ]
The Discord is open to ALL fans of ORION, with a focus on poll voting, developer interaction and community.
Join today:
https://discord.gg/cY5XHC3
[ Patreon ]
The Patreon is a brand-new outlet for fans who want to support development, with unique rewards including being listed in the game credits, playing early, private Discord channel access and more. Many development updates are shared there, so if you want as much information as possible, take a look:
Support today:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/DANKIE
THE NEW ERA
ORION: Prelude is back in active development.
The goals are simple:
- A better game across gameplay and feel.
- A more optimized game across polish and performance.
- An open development process worth following along with.
This is all on an existing game that you may already own. Every update and quality-of-life improvement goes to existing owners for FREE.
FREE UPDATE
The new version of ORION: Prelude in development goes to existing owners for FREE.
PRICING MODEL
The price of ORION: Prelude is increasing on October 25, 2026 from $0.99 to $9.99.
The Ultimate Edition DLC will be retired on this day; unlocks will continue to work for existing owners.
NEW GAME(S)
New ORION project(s) are in development.
ORION: Prelude @ Steam
How To Help:
- Follow on Socials [YouTube] [TikTok]
- Join the Discord https://discord.gg/cY5XHC3
- Vote on Polls to provide feedback
- Share with your Friends
- Leave a Review on Prelude
PLAY via DISCORD
The First Preview for the experimental update is available to ALL members on the ORION Discord.
https://discord.gg/cY5XHC3
To be clear:
- The update is NOT locked behind Discord -- it releases on Steam on October 25, 2026,
- FREE for ALL existing owners, with no Discord, account or anything else required.
- The Discord First Preview is just optional early access for anyone who wants to play a couple of weeks ahead and help find bugs before launch.
- There is no need to use Discord if you'd prefer not to.
- You won’t miss out on anything by waiting for the Steam release.
This announcement was originally published by DANKIE on Steam on Oct 12, 2026.
Open the original on Steam