Game Update - Campaign 2.0 Beta Patch #2 & Developer News

Jan 16th Hotfix #2 Build#9409

Important Please ensure that the build number shown in the top-right corner of the main menu is 9409 . If it differs, perform a clean uninstall and reinstall of the game.

AI

Breakouts are slightly less aggressive, with defenders holding deeper positions

Man-to-man defensive pressure has been reduced, opening more offensive passing lanes to the defense

Defense joins the offense less often and plays more conservatively to avoid being caught out of position on turnovers

Tentative fix applied to prevent goaltenders from being unable to collect the puck underneath them after a save

General

Various buffs applied to benchwarmer players

Squad relics have received balance buffs

Kelly Jelly has re-joined the Speedy Squad

Sergei Lancelov has re-joined the Defense Squad

Rory McShaggy has re-joined the Basic Squad

Cam Amber has re-joined the Trio Squad

Trio & Defense Squad relic now earns +2 (from +1)

Steam Community Hub Feedback Thread

Discord Community Server

Jan 15th Hotfix #1

Reduced the accuracy of some opponent Campaign Team players across all difficulty levels

Fixed several cases where goaltenders could become stuck or end up out of position

Adjusted various goaltender stats

Rebalanced the checking formula, as body checking was harder than intended in some situations

Trio Squad – Reward selection is now offered to all 3 players instead of just 1

Increased Maurice Cassoulet’s Speed stat

Renamed difficulty levels to Rookie, Pro, and Veteran

Added stats and abilities to some Benchwarmer players

We are fully aware that the game is currently too difficult, especially on the lower difficulty levels, and we agree that it does not feel right in its current state.

We are actively monitoring player feedback, run results, and internal statistics, and we are already pushing changes to bring the experience back in line with what these difficulty levels are meant to represent. Expect ongoing balance updates, with a strong focus on making the early and mid difficulties fair and enjoyable.

We know this is frustrating. We hear you, and we are committed to fixing it quickly.

Known Issues & Topics Actively Being Worked On:

Difficulty Balance (High Priority) Difficulty Levels 1 and 2 are currently overtuned compared to previous versions. These difficulty levels are being actively rebalanced and will be adjusted in upcoming updates.

Campaign Team Power Levels Some campaign teams and elite players are performing stronger than intended. Their attributes and behaviors are under review and will be adjusted where needed.

Squad Player Stat Adjustments Some recent rebalancing passes may have been too aggressive. We are reviewing squad player stats and will be restoring strength in areas where the game currently feels unfair.

Performance Issues on Portable Devices We are investigating performance drops and instability on handheld and portable hardware.

Inconsistent AI or Goaltender Behavior Some AI and goalie behaviors can feel inconsistent or unreliable. Several fixes are already live, with more targeted improvements coming. Clips shared on Discord are extremely helpful for identifying edge cases.

Hello everyone and Happy New Year 2026!

We’re excited to bring you another update to the Campaign 2.0 Beta Branch ! Your feedback has been a huge help in shaping this update, and we’ll be sharing some interesting numbers and stats at the end of the update post. For now, here’s what you can expect in this patch:

Developer Update & 2026 Plans

Gameplay Updates (AI, Goaltenders, UI/UX, Balance, Bug Fixes, etc.)

Campaign 2.0 – Global Player Statistics

Community Q&A

2026 Plans

As we’re now in 2026, we can officially say that this year will be Tape to Tape’s launch year! While this milestone comes with a lot of work, we still plan to keep players updated as much as possible and may continue updating the Beta branch to support testing and feedback. However, we do not expect to add any new major content (such as squads or features) before the 1.0 launch. We want players to discover a wide range of new features all at once when the game officially releases.

Most of the core content is now complete, and our focus has shifted to balancing and polishing the game before we’re ready to stamp Tape to Tape with its official release seal. Expect significant improvements and refinements across the UI, UX, visuals, and audio experience. Our team is hard at work ensuring that the additional content and features feel satisfying and support many different ways to play and beat the game.

Our final major hurdle is console porting , which we’re actively working on. We’ll share more updates on that as soon as we can!

IMPORTANT

To trigger the game update, a full Steam restart may be required. Also, make sure to properly switch to the Beta branch by selecting the demo-0.2 branch in the Betas section of the game’s properties.

Gameplay Updates

While some new content has been added to the game, most of the major work in this update focused on improvements to the AI and goaltenders. As always, we’ll continue monitoring feedback, and we encourage players to join our Discord community and share clips of any notable moments especially situations where goalies may feel unfair or where the AI could perform better.

Please note that the following updates are not final and may change, be rebalanced, or be reworked as we gather feedback and data from players. The number of available squads will remain capped at four, with no additional unlocks planned before launch.

Gameplay

Minor squad rebalancing changes

Added another batch of new Relics and Power-ups

Rewards are now tracked to ensure Power-ups and Relics you haven’t seen yet are more likely to appear

Added new Chaos Event power-ups to the pool

The Prisonners are now an alternate Act 1 boss, replacing Hockey FC

Hockey FC is now an Act 2 Elite Team

Shooting Stars are now an Act 2 Elite Team

The Princess is now an Act 3 Elite Team

Injury system rebalanced – the Fragile mechanic is now more visible and manageable

Player selection algorithm improvements

Shot accuracy system overhaul – fewer shots miss wide; lower-accuracy shots are more likely to result in easy saves, while high-accuracy shots hit target zones more often and with greater precision

Point Sniper – Shot Power bonus replaced with a chance to trigger a critical shot

Player skating improvements – better steering, turning, and responsiveness to micro-movements

Reworked Magnet power-up functionality, as it could previously disrupt plays or potential goals

Adjustments to the Grapple power-up

Mjolnir hammer throw speed reduced

Mega Rebound bounciness reduced

Mega Lob power-up improvements

Increased cooldowns on multiple abilities for balance

Relic Freezer can no longer freeze cursed relics

Campaign – slightly easier to maintain puck control when staggered on Expert difficulty

The option to change lines during a period has been removed; lines can now only be changed between periods

Play Now – goalies are slightly harder on all difficulties

Play Now – the following teams have been reworked with new relics and power-ups: Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, New York, Toronto, and Boston. We’d love feedback on balance, as we’ll be updating the remaining teams with small identities to make Play Now teams more fun and distinctive.

AI & Goaltenders Updates

A lot of the feedback has been about the AI and goaltenders, and we hear you. We’re actively working on fixes, reworking formulas, and testing improvements but nothing is ever perfect. We strongly encourage players to share feedback, clips, or screenshots whenever something feels unfair or could be improved . This helps us better understand specific situations and address them when needed.

Elite campaign teams now use new AI behaviors inspired by real hockey strategies, such as crash-the-net pressure, tight protect-the-net defense, or aggressive man-to-man coverage. These are not full realistic simulations. The game is fast, chaotic, and exaggerated by design, and the AI operates within those constraints.

These strategies come with deliberate strengths and weaknesses. Some behaviors are intentionally simplified or exploitable by design, allowing elite teams to feel distinct while still giving players room to adapt and punish mistakes.

For now, these strategy-driven AIs are exclusive to certain campaign opponents. Applying them to player-controlled teams would require significant additional design, technical work, and balancing, and is something we may explore in the future but not in the short term .

AI Changes Campaign teams now feature different playstyles (man-to-man coverage, aggressive crash-the-net, defensive protect-the-net, etc.)

Defensemen now return to defensive positions more reliably

Breakouts – AI now uses multiple strategies when transitioning to offense

Pass reception improvements – AI positions more effectively to receive passes in all zones

Puck pursuit improvements – more aggressive and intelligent puck-chasing behavior

Improved defensive play and formations when playing with or against 3–4 player teams

When stickless, AI now prioritizes picking up a stick – fixed cases where AI failed to retrieve dropped sticks

Various minor AI adjustments

Goalie Changes Complete goalie save formula overhaul – positioning, puck tracking, shot calculation, rebound control and recovery, follow-ups, animations, and bug fixes

Goalie skill stats rebalanced

Skater prediction algorithm improved (affecting goalie positioning)

Goalies now cover the puck more often; harder shots have a higher chance of producing rebounds

Desperate saves (dives, pad-stackers) can now trigger on low save-chance shots

Improved performance while enraged

Fixed edge cases where goalies failed to pick up the puck

Campaign – opponent goalie difficulty now scales by act (stronger in Acts 2 and 3)

Goalie Throwstick animation speed increased; projectile speed reduced for balance and timing is more randomized

System Updates

UI & UIX – new screens, transitions, visuals, and more (many elements still WIP)

Tiebreaker / Shootout options removed – now selectable directly in Play Now only

Anthems can now be reliably skipped

Added and fixed multiple VFX for power-ups and status effects

Area-of-effect abilities now display a visual radius

Animation rework – shooting, passing, backhand shots, knockouts, stick throws, and more

Puck customization with home team logos and colors

New stick skins added to match certain power-ups (Safe Bounce, Rebound Magnet)

New SFX and improvements to existing sounds

Improved controller assignment and fixes for Steam Remote Play and Local Co-Op

Render scale option added to graphics settings

Player name indicator toggle added

Various graphics quality improvements

Various replay system improvements

Community Q&A

Hockey FC Boss: Petition to remove this boss

We didn’t remove it, but Hockey FC is now an Act 2 Elite Team.

Are we going to get new squads to unlock? No new squads are planned for now. However, an additional squad will be unlockable once the game officially launches.

What happens to achievements and progression from Early Access? Achievements will be reset and replaced with a large number of brand-new ones. Only progression from the Campaign 2.0 Beta will carry over. The Early Access branch will be retired.

The AI cheats and there’s a lot of rubber-banding. The only intentional cheating comes from the Referee’s team shenanigans. That said, we understand frustrating moments can happen. Continued tuning of the AI and goaltenders is ongoing, and the work is never truly done. Sometimes, goalies are simply meant to be scored on—but we’re always exploring ways to reduce the feeling of being “cheated.”

Additional modes and features? We’ll explore additional modes and features post-launch, with more updates planned after version 1.0.

Fights? Yes it’s coming. Just not quite ready yet.

Online? No online mode is planned, but Steam Remote Play is available.

Campaign 2.0 Stats

Here are some stats since the launch of the Campaign 2.0 Beta! Before we dive into the bigger breakdown, here are a few highlights:

Total games played: 595,705 Overall win rate: 88.0% Total shots taken: 6,115,664 Most goals scored against the Golfers: 71 (71–1 win) Most shots in a single game: 113 (113–39)

And finally, a special shoutout to one particularly wild game against Hockey FC... the final score was a 24–19 win!

ACT 1 – Clear Rate: 65.3% Rank

Team Name

W–L Record

Games

Win %

Type

1

Spartans (Optional)

104646–4866

109512

95.6%

Elite

2

Meatballs

40917–4517

45434

90.1%

Elite

3

The Officials

30927–4142

35069

88.2%

Boss

4

Greasy Lettuce

39850–5479

45329

87.9%

Elite

5

Top Cheese

38978–6621

45599

85.5%

Elite

6

Hockey FC

29927–5154

35081

85.3%

Boss

7

Calaveras

37922–7510

45432

83.5%

Elite

ACT 2 – Clear Rate: 60.9% Rank

Team Name

W–L Record

Games

Win %

Type

1

Crusaders

23301–3492

26793

87.0%

Elite

2

Cup Cultists

34165–5633

39798

85.8%

Boss

3

Prisoners

21746–4001

25747

84.5%

Elite

4

Mountaineers

22117–4285

26402

83.8%

Elite

5

Princess

21509–4790

26299

81.8%

Elite

ACT 3 – Clear Rate: 65.5% Rank

Team Name

W–L Record

Games

Win %

Type

1

Tycoons

19279–1569

20848

92.5%

Elite

2

Shooting Stars

18084–1915

19999

90.4%

Elite

3

Team Canada

19073–2843

21916

87.0%

Elite

4

Golfers

21133–4982

26115

80.9%

Boss

General Manager Picks Choice

Pick Rate

Times Chosen

Times Appeared

Bear Grohl

71.8%

4965

6912

Gawain Guretski

70.2%

4841

6893

Clarabelle Boogins

67.9%

4618

6804

Brad Bird

66.2%

4623

6982

Cam Amber

62.0%

3590

5787

Rory McShaggy

58.6%

2723

4648

Ryan Pepito

55.7%

3891

6982

Prince Tristan Arthur XIV

53.6%

3722

6940

Joan Ozark

52.2%

3588

6868

Chloe Crockett

49.3%

3440

6976

Nigel Flincher

48.7%

3363

6911

Kent Levaylapuck

48.3%

3334

6900

Zinedine Zidanejad

48.3%

3310

6854

Sergei Lancelov

47.6%

2192

4601

Clive Chickensneeze

47.6%

2734

5740

Clementine McShaggy

45.8%

3145

6871

Kelly Jelly

40.1%

2273

5664

Gedeon Lamoustache

39.7%

2756

6944

Calvin Dord

38.5%

2638

6855

Willie Brie

36.4%

2477

6801

Jimothy Bowel

32.1%

2189

6810

Buck Wurst

31.6%

2213

6994

Ozzie Oioioi

26.3%

1862

7073

Power-ups Pick Rates [expand type=details expanded=false] Powerup Name

Pick Rate

Times Chosen

Times Offered

Excalibur Sword

69.7%

11419

16388

Flawless Feeder

65.2%

10769

16523

Spike Armor

64.4%

7293

11325

Inflated Ego

63.6%

10735

16867

Target Practice

59.2%

9792

16553

Power Transfer

58.9%

9693

16446

Impervious On Pass

57.7%

9538

16528

Fast Hand

56.6%

9259

16368

Xray Shot

56.5%

9325

16492

Curveball

55.6%

9157

16460

Canon Arm

54.8%

9039

16498

Bonecrusher

53.2%

8656

16262

Momentum

52.4%

8641

16481

Built Different

51.4%

5786

11253

Rebound Magnet

50.6%

8291

16382

Playmaker

50.4%

8210

16301

Bullet Train

49.7%

8134

16367

Lightning Rod

49.2%

7987

16248

Growing Anger

48.5%

7910

16293

Bouncy Mcbounce

48.4%

7843

16193

Blue Line Turbo

48.1%

7966

16561

Trick Shot

48.1%

7787

16195

Enrage On Shot

47.7%

7707

16144

Puckless Rocket

47.1%

7479

15869

Number Chaser

46.9%

7592

16186

Puck Rocket

46.9%

7507

16018

Destroyer Shot

46.2%

7520

16274

Fast Shoulder

46.0%

7355

16003

En Garde

45.0%

7274

16158

Point Sniper

44.7%

7236

16172

Puck Hunter

44.5%

7261

16329

Breakaway Boost

44.3%

7322

16512

Tong

43.1%

6975

16171

Sonic Pass

42.9%

6834

15922

Bodycheck Aoe

40.4%

6537

16184

Charge Shot

39.6%

6427

16218

Avenge Me

39.5%

6331

16042

Offensive Bodycheck

39.4%

6408

16258

Velcro

38.9%

6212

15966

Reverse Windup

38.3%

6189

16156

Try Hard

37.7%

6052

16037

Deadzone

37.3%

5966

15998

Defensive Deflect

36.5%

5831

15955

Assist Domino

35.8%

5835

16284

Springboard

35.8%

5746

16042

Sonic Slap

35.6%

5754

16180

Windup

35.5%

5601

15777

Safe Bounce

35.1%

5550

15830

Silent Hero

32.9%

5312

16153

Zoomer

32.7%

5281

16141

Random Ability

32.7%

5164

15805

Hattrick

32.1%

5274

16407

Puck Puncher

32.1%

5149

16048

Slapshot Slowmo

31.1%

4961

15973

Heavy Helmet

30.7%

4896

15936

Always Rewarded

29.8%

4727

15888

Feed

29.6%

4741

15993

Enrage Pokecheck

28.2%

4423

15706

Triple Twig

28.2%

4397

15615

Pass Puncher

28.1%

4473

15896

Mega Deflect

28.1%

4398

15661

Kettle

28.0%

4443

15871

Hit Streak

27.9%

4416

15819

Dribbler

27.9%

4435

15891

Slugger

27.8%

4389

15789

Enrage

26.6%

4183

15724

Iron Helmet Galahad

26.6%

4186

15762

Retro Rocket

26.5%

4118

15514

Excalibur Armor

26.0%

4107

15791

Explosion Impact

25.1%

3979

15852

Sonic Interception

24.9%

3944

15852

Supersonic

24.5%

3816

15585

Gamewinner Bonus

24.1%

3911

16225

Benchwarmer

21.6%

3404

15743

Slowball

21.0%

3276

15567

Backward Turbo

18.4%

2844

15426

Wild Shot

17.9%

2792

15594

Propeller Helmet

16.5%

2569

15593

Shart Slap

16.1%

2458

15313

Slap Shart

14.6%

2233

15342

Twig Tax

12.0%

1874

15650

[/expand] Relics Pick Rate [expand type=details expanded=false] Relic Name

Pick Rate

Times Chosen

Times Offered

Rubberband

63.2%

9267

14659

Random Upgrade

62.5%

10481

16770

Fusilli

61.8%

8776

14212

Fossilized Star

61.2%

8751

14310

Double Reward

60.2%

10055

16706

Jumbo Juice

58.4%

8302

14205

Red Marker

56.6%

8025

14181

Green Marker

56.0%

7998

14283

Oaky Timer

54.3%

2679

4932

Corn Dog

54.3%

8005

14742

Aromatic Timer

54.1%

2719

5026

Self Defense

52.9%

7687

14541

Holiest Grenade

52.1%

7520

14442

Express Delivery

51.0%

7333

14388

Critical Relic

48.1%

6953

14444

Brick Wall

48.1%

4721

9822

Practice Net

46.8%

7899

16881

Greasy Stick

44.9%

6624

14747

Polarized Glasses

44.5%

6465

14528

Shrink Serum Opponent

44.4%

7495

16894

Pitiless

44.0%

4138

9402

Crash Test Dummy

40.4%

6911

17090

Tied Homie

40.3%

4290

10641

Hot Cake

40.1%

5875

14660

Ink Bottle

40.1%

6853

17106

Can Of Worms

40.0%

5823

14544

Black Coffee

40.0%

6785

16963

Invisible Thread

39.9%

5871

14715

Lifeless Branch

39.6%

5811

14679

Blue Banana

39.0%

5510

14125

Mantis Shrimp

38.8%

5684

14641

Last Minute

38.5%

6532

16977

Fragile

37.9%

3583

9449

Sparkly Timer

37.8%

1988

5266

Nutjob

37.7%

3614

9594

Glass Stick

36.5%

5361

14682

Odd Fungus

36.3%

5291

14580

Briberee

35.8%

6093

17036

Voodoodoll

35.8%

5257

14703

Toothpick

35.4%

5264

14852

Snooze Alarm

33.4%

5044

15107

Third Period Warrior

33.0%

3184

9655

Oven Mitts

32.1%

4821

15023

Rare Berry

31.9%

4629

14514

Relic Freezer

31.8%

5419

17029

Stethoscope

31.7%

3004

9475

Pitiless Timer

31.2%

1631

5224

Bolt

29.7%

4454

14991

Whisk

29.3%

4340

14836

Electrolytes

29.1%

2797

9599

Briefcase

29.0%

4272

14732

Double Incision

28.7%

2788

9717

Yips

27.9%

4169

14955

Stopwatch

26.7%

2571

9623

Weighted Die

26.7%

3945

14783

Enrage On Post

26.5%

3950

14893

Whistle Of Time Timer

26.4%

1366

5172

Lost Fungus

26.0%

3851

14825

Laser Pointer

25.9%

2505

9673

Cushioned

25.8%

2497

9682

Rage Switch

25.4%

3768

14829

Tribal Mask V2

25.4%

3717

14660

Revenge

25.1%

2463

9798

Bubble Wrap

25.1%

2422

9640

Mortar

24.1%

3569

14786

Silky Mitts

24.0%

3570

14859

Indecisive

24.0%

3534

14710

Greater Cooldown

23.6%

7269

30832

Shrimp Cocktail

23.5%

1227

5231

Cripple

23.5%

3486

14862

Lucky Molar

23.4%

3499

14936

Training Whistle

23.3%

3479

14924

Drawing Board

23.0%

3459

15041

Egg Shell Hands

22.9%

2221

9695

Backdraft

21.6%

3126

14445

Participation Trophy

21.3%

3061

14341

Wasabi Paste

20.6%

3052

14795

Short Fuse

19.0%

2848

14960

Dentist…