September Update - Timeline, Playtesting, and More Art
about 1 month ago
– Wed, Sep 02, 2026 at 08:40:18 AM
Hey Hackers!
First off, we want to thank everyone who stopped by the booth at Gen Con last month to check out the newest prototype and demo the game. We love meeting you and talking to you about ideas, design, and everything else gaming. Gen Con was amazing and we're honestly not exaggerating when we say that every person that demoed the game walked away loving it
and wanting more!
Where We're At - Final Artwork and Timeline
Artwork
We have just one more set of artwork to complete - the alternate Graffiti-style cards. These pieces will be completed by the end of this month. You can check out some of the newer pieces of art at the end of this update!
Manufacturing
While speaking with our manufacturing partners recently, we were given a new timeline of
2 months to complete a full production sample of the game. This is much longer than was previously discussed (previously it was 2 weeks), with the miniatures being the main reason behind the longer lead time. We have started the process for the miniatures this week, but even with the built-in buffer time, this has unfortunately pushed our timeline back. Below is what our new timeline looks like (with some more buffer time built in as well):
Production Sample completed: Nov. 9th (1 week added for delays)
Review of Production Sample to verify quality: Nov. 10th - Nov. 16th
Manufacturing: Nov. 16th - Dec. 7th (1 week added for delays)
Freight to Fulfillment Centers: Dec. 11th - Jan. 22nd (1 week added for delays)
Last Mile Delivery: Jan. 25th - Feb. 5th
We were really hoping that we would have this delivered by the end of the year, but it is also important that we deliver the best product possible to you and not rush and overlook things.
Playtesting
On a more positive note, we are feeling great where the game is at in terms of balance. We are still running playtests multiple times a week internally, as well as at least once a week externally with local players and discord users. Our playtests are running smooth and we are getting tons of positive feedback on the variety of Operations as well as the story for those who volunteered to help us proofread it! Every playtest gets us more excited to get this to your tables!
In the meantime, we'll be here to answer any questions and we are always active in our discord, so don't hesitate to reach out!
-Hacker Kat and Zach
July/August Update - New Prototype!
2 months ago
– Tue, Jul 28, 2026 at 07:46:49 AM
Hello Hackers!
We just wanted to make a quick update today because we received a new prototype just in time for GenCon!
Not only will this be great for attracting new hackers to the game, it's also a "last look" before we press the big green button on manufacturing. There are a couple tweaks that need to be made, and we are still waiting on the final artwork for the graffiti card pack, but mostly everything turned out great!
We want to stay realistic with the timeline, so I'm estimating end of September/beginning of October for us to make those adjustments and begin manufacturing. From there it will only be 2-3 months until the first deliveries start being made!
Until then, we'll still be playing and testing to make sure everything is perfect.
We hope that if you'll be at GenCon this weekend you'll stop by the booth to say hello and check out the newest prototype.
For those who won't make it, you can enjoy some new images below!
-Hacker Kat & Zach
June '26 Update - Where We're At + GenCon!
4 months ago
– Mon, Jun 15, 2026 at 08:37:01 AM
Hey Hackers!
Apologies for not having any update last month, but there wasn't a ton to update. We are working through our component files with the manufacturer and intend to have a prototype completed by the end of July that we will use to finalize everything.
Barring any issues with components in that prototype, we should be able hit the start button on manufacturing once we receive it! Being that we are doing a smaller print run, we've been told it should only take 2-3 weeks to complete manufacturing once everything is finalized. We do of course expect some components to need tweaked from the prototype, but we're hopeful we can get everything straightened out quickly.
We built in extra time for these types of things in our original deadline, so we are still within the tail-end of that time-frame, with a 1-2 week buffer.
As the manufacturer goes over the files, we are still playing through the operations making sure the balance is where it needs to be. If you're interested in trying out an Operation and giving us your thoughts,please click here to join our discord here and use our play test sign up sheet to join!
GENCON
Katie and I will be at GenCon again this year, at booth #2133! We will be taking sign-ups to demo ZeroDay.exe at the booth and we will have the prototype from the manufacturer to showcase, including a set of the miniatures. If you'll be there, we hope you can stop by and check it out and say hello!
-Hacker Kat & Zach
April Update - Where We're At + Miniature Update + Awesome Art!
5 months ago
– Wed, Apr 22, 2026 at 09:00:27 AM
Hey Hackers!
Not a huge update today, but we wanted to address a couple of things. First, where we are in the manufacturing process. We are currently working through the game files getting everything ready for print. We've had a couple of delays regarding the miniatures, but we are still on track for our timeline as of now. We've also got some awesome new artwork for the cards that you can see at the end of this post!
The second and main thing we wanted to address with this update is the miniatures. On our previous post, we had some people concerned about the quality of the miniatures based on the pictures we shared. We really want to hit home that those miniatures were created for the sole purpose of confirming the poses and acrylic colors, not for detail.
But we know words only go so far, so we spoke with the manufacturer and had them reprint 7 of the 8 miniatures (we're still working through Echo's design). This way you can see the level of detail that these miniatures will have. Check them out below!
With as good as we feel these miniatures look, these are still not the final product and will be even better when manufactured through the mold process.
That's all we have for now. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments! Otherwise, enjoy the artwork dump below!
March Update - Shipping Charges + Miniature Sample images
6 months ago
– Tue, Mar 24, 2026 at 07:43:42 AM
Hello Hackers!
As we stated in our previous update, we are finalizing our order with our manufacturer this month, so we will be locking down the orders and charging the final shipping fees. You will be receiving an email today (if you haven't already) letting you know that the charge will happen in a few days. If you have not received the email by the end of today, please check your spam! Let us know if don't receive it, or if there are any errors you are unable to fix so we can get them taken care of.
We will be processing the final charges to the cards this Thursday, March 26th.
Please make sure that all of your information is up to date in BackerKit before then!
MINI SAMPLES
Now, onto the fun stuff! We received the first sample images of the miniatures,excluding Shade and Echo. These were the first tests to make sure the acrylic colors are correct and that they would be properly placed and sturdy. Shade is not shown as they already created a sample for his, so he'll be back on the next go around. As for Echo, her mini seemed a bit lacking compared to the effects of the others, so we are reworking her to be better! Check the minis out below and fill out the poll on this update to let us know which miniature is your favorite!
(ps - you can get a glimpse of the Echo miniature in the image on the poll)
