Back from the brink of death, the leader of the Demonic Cult has one goal: revenge on the strongest masters of the martial world. Bangkok-based indie studio Nomadic Games will release its wuxia hack-and-slash action game Burning Sword: Death Sun in Steam Early Access on November 17, 2026.
The Early Access version includes five handcrafted stages, five bosses, and two hidden bosses. The current free demo remains available until launch.
Burning Sword: Death Sun follows Zhang Yixian, leader of the Demonic Cult, who returns from the edge of death to take on the martial world’s masters one by one in pursuit of vengeance. When its Steam demo first launched, the game was presented around fast combat and roguelite progression.
This announcement reveals the Early Access date, launch content, and post-launch update plans.
Early Access: Five Stages and Seven Bosses
Early Access lets players experience five stages of Zhang Yixian’s journey. Rather than being randomly generated, every stage is designed by hand, with hidden secrets and unlockable upgrades placed throughout. Players will face five standard bosses and two secret bosses.
Combat offers a range of progression systems from the start. Burning Sword builds up your blade’s power through attacks and then ignites it in flame. Quick Shot is a ranged attack with switchable ammunition types. Qi Drain steals energy from certain enemies. Players can equip three techniques and swap between them mid-combo, and defeating bosses unlocks new branches for each technique.
Talismans found in stages are upgraded by selecting the same persistent effect three times. A revive can be unlocked too, but only by giving up one of your equipped techniques. Early Access also includes Arena, an endless combat mode built for score chasing.
A New Chapter Every Eight Weeks
During Early Access, Nomadic Games plans to add a new chapter roughly every eight weeks. Updates will bring new stages and bosses, story progression, techniques, and Arena content, each accompanied by a developer diary. Combat tuning and improvements will continue on a weekly basis.
The full version is planned to include five chapters and 12 handcrafted stages, with nine major bosses including Gao Tianqi, two secret bosses, and elite mini-bosses. The studio will share a detailed roadmap after the Early Access launch.
“Combat is the heart of Burning Sword,” said Nomadic Games CEO Nook. “We want to deliver that moment when a fight that seemed impossible at first finally clicks, and players realize how much they’ve grown.” He added that feedback from many players has helped refine the combat.
Burning Sword: Death Sun is built in Unreal Engine 5 and developed and published by Nomadic Games and Rising Tide Publishing. The free demo is available on Steam now, and the game launches in Early Access on November 17.
Who This Is For
Strong fit for: hack-and-slash fans who love demanding boss fights; wuxia and martial-arts fantasy enthusiasts; players who enjoy combo-driven combat with swappable techniques; score chasers drawn to an endless Arena mode; anyone who prefers handcrafted levels over procedural ones.
Cautious fit for: players who prefer complete releases; Early Access starts with five of the planned 12 stages.
Less ideal for: those looking for a relaxed or story-light experience; combat difficulty is central to the design.
What to Watch For
The eight-week chapter cadence is ambitious for a 25-person team, so the pace and quality of the first updates will be the key signal. The detailed roadmap promised after launch, early Steam reviews, and how the technique-branching and talisman systems hold up over longer play will show whether the demo’s positive reception carries into Early Access.
The Takeaway
Burning Sword: Death Sun arrives in Early Access with a clear identity: a vengeful cult leader, flaming swordplay, swappable techniques that branch with every boss, and handcrafted stages built for mastery rather than randomness. With five stages and seven bosses at launch, a regular chapter cadence, and an endless Arena, Nomadic Games is giving Thailand’s indie scene one of its most ambitious action titles yet.
Free demo: available now on Steam. Early Access: November 17, 2026.
Information regarding ‘Burning Sword: Death Sun’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Nomadic Games (Bangkok, Thailand, founded in 2020, 25-member team) |
| Publisher | Rising Tide Publishing |
| Genre | Uxia hack-and-slash action (light roguelike elements) |
| platform | PC (Steam) |
| Release date | Steam Early Access on November 17, 2026 |
| demo | Free (Available on Steam) |
| engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Reactions/Evaluations | Previous demo received positive reviews (YouTuber DSOGaming), no Steam user ratings |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
