Einstein is on gear duty, Queen Elizabeth is holding the line, and history is coming apart at the seams. Gear Up Einstein!, a co-op strategy roguelite from Montreal indie studio No Deadlines Studio, will launch in Steam Early Access on November 6 (local time).
Alongside the date announcement, the studio released a new trailer showing off the game. During Steam Next Fest, running October 19 to 26, players can try a demo with newly added core systems and significantly revamped content.
A Co-op Roguelite Starring History’s Greatest Minds
Gear Up Einstein! is a co-op roguelite in which every mission opens onto a new battlefield. Players build a squad from real historical figures such as Albert Einstein and Queen Elizabeth, kit them out between battles, and send them into a series of auto-battles.
Combat spans eras and locations across history, from Egypt to New York. The core fun lies in discovering wild gear combinations and item synergies to keep powering up the squad.
The game supports solo play by default, plus local or online co-op with up to two friends. It also offers crossplay between Steam and itch.io, so friends can play together regardless of storefront.
What’s New in the Demo: Crossroads, Divergence, Leaderboards, and Gadgets
The demo has changed substantially since its April debut, across three patches. The studio highlighted these key updates:
- Crossroads Update: During a mission, the squad hits five forks between battles. Choosing the next destination triggers an event themed to that era, with effects ranging from rewards to modifiers that change the conditions of the next fight.
- Divergence Update: The more missions you play, the more scrambled history becomes. Items and enemies from other eras are increasingly likely to show up in unexpected places, and Crossroads choices are affected by the distortion too.
- Leaderboards: Clearing the final battle unlocks Invasion mode, a run of bonus stages. Every enemy defeated earns points to compete with players worldwide or with friends, and you can inspect other squads’ compositions and gear through their records. Leaderboards were reset on October 19, the first day of Next Fest.
- Gadgets: When the squad’s nuclear-powered machine charges up during combat, it produces a random sci-fi gadget. All gadgets have been made more powerful.
The update also reworks the final boss and elite enemies and adds new era-specific combat modifiers. Several new items arrive, focused on the final era, along with powerful passive abilities that boost the entire squad. A spectator mode and a replay feature that exports combat as GIFs have also been added.
“Ahead of Steam Next Fest and our Early Access launch, we thought hard about how to boost replayability,” the team said. “We’ve made sure every mission has its own ups and downs.”
A Debut From a Montreal Trio
No Deadlines Studio is a three-person indie studio based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 2021, it brings together developers with experience in AAA game development and game jams, and Gear Up Einstein! is its first commercial title.
“True to our studio name, we’re not tied to fixed schedules,” the team said. “We’re focused on making a game that we ourselves enjoy playing.”
Who This Is For
Strong fit for: auto-battler and roguelite fans who love hunting for item synergies; small friend groups looking for a 2–3 player co-op strategy game; players who enjoy history-mashup humor; leaderboard chasers; anyone who likes sharing clips, thanks to GIF replay export.
Cautious fit for: players who prefer direct, hands-on combat control; battles are automated, with the strategy happening between fights.
Less ideal for: those seeking historically accurate strategy; this game happily scrambles history on purpose.
What to Watch For
Next Fest feedback on the Crossroads and Divergence systems will show whether the replayability push is working. Watch for final pricing and confirmed language support at Early Access launch, as well as the roadmap for new historical figures, eras, and items during Early Access.
The Takeaway
Gear Up Einstein! has an instantly appealing hook: assemble a squad of history’s icons, gear them with absurd combinations, and watch them auto-battle through a timeline that grows more chaotic the more you play. Branching Crossroads events, history-scrambling Divergence, global leaderboards, and Steam–itch.io crossplay show a small team thinking hard about longevity. For a three-person studio that started out free of deadlines, November 6 is a deadline worth marking.
Steam Next Fest demo: available now. Early Access: November 6, 2026.
Information regarding ‘Gear Up Einstein!’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | No Deadlines Studio |
| Genre | Cooperative Strategy Roguelite, Auto Battle |
| platform | PC (Steam, itch.io cross-play) |
| Release date | November 6, 2026 (Steam Early Access) |
| Player count | 1~3 people (Local/Online Collaboration) |
| language | 15 languages including Korean (as of February 2026 announcement) |
| price | Unconfirmed ($14.79 at the time of announcement in February) |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
