ANKARA, Türkiye, Feb. 25, 2026 – Valorborn, the sandbox RPG from Laps Games, launches in Steam Early Access for PC via Steam on Wednesday, April 15, as revealed today at IGN Fan Fest.
Set in a living medieval fantasy world built around systemic simulation, Valorborn is a sandbox RPG where the world continues with or without the player. Villagers follow routines, factions compete for power, and dangers move across the land whether players intervene or not. Every building, cave, and point of interest is fully enterable, with no fake doors or decorative entrances.
Choose your own path and shape your own story. Become a thief and survive by picking locks, stealing valuables, and selling stolen goods. Become a hunter and live off the wilderness by tracking animals, gathering resources, and selling pelts for coin. Become a sellsword and travel the roads taking contracts to deal with the threats roaming forests, ruins, and frontier settlements. Survive alone or build a party, where every decision changes how the story unfolds.
The story of Valorborn begins after the fall of the Empire of Allarion, a once-great power that united races, factions, and guilds under one banner. In Allarion, magic powered everyday life, from simple chores to complex work, and for a time it created a near-utopian society. But constant use of magic began to corrupt body and mind, leading to a cataclysm that shattered the empire.
Early Access begins in Thareon, one of the major kingdoms that rose from Allarion’s collapse, and built on a strict doctrine: magic is bad. The kingdom hunts magic users and destroys anything tied to magic, creating a harsh world shaped by fear, control, and survival.
Death can wait behind every corner in Valorborn. Permadeath is a core part of the experience, but the game is designed to keep risk rewarding and the overall experience fun. Loss, adaptation, and experimentation are part of the journey, and setbacks become part of each player’s story rather than a dead end.
The full version will expand the world with additional kingdoms, more starting options, and more ways for adventurers to define their own story. At full release, it will be possible to choose your race, starting position, one of many background stories, or begin with a blank origin.
“Valorborn is an ambitious project for us, and it was made possible by the support we received for Land of the Vikings,” said Onurhan Akçay, founder of Laps Games. “That support gave us the foundation to build something bigger and more systemic. With Valorborn, we wanted to create a world where players can truly choose their own path and write their own stories. A lot of our inspiration comes from games like Mount & Blade, Wartales, and Kenshi, and from worlds like Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings. Those inspirations helped shape the kind of experience we wanted to make, a dangerous, reactive medieval fantasy world full of freedom, tension, and possibility.”
Valorborn launches in Steam Early Access for PC via Steam on Wednesday, April 15. Laps Games will continue expanding the game throughout Early Access with player feedback, new content, and ongoing system improvements. For more information on Valorborn, follow Laps Games on X, Instagram, and YouTube, and join the official Discord community.
Key Points
- Valorborn is a sandbox RPG set in a living medieval fantasy world that continues with or without the player
- Every building, cave, and point of interest is fully enterable with no fake doors or decorative entrances
- Players can choose their own path, including thief, hunter, or sellsword, and shape their own story
- Permadeath is a core feature, designed to make risk, loss, and adaptation rewarding and fun
- The story begins after the fall of the Empire of Allarion, where overuse of magic led to corruption and cataclysm
- Early Access starts in Thareon, a kingdom where magic is outlawed and magic users are hunted
- Inspirations include Mount & Blade, Wartales, Kenshi, Game of Thrones, and The Lord of the Rings
- Support for Land of the Vikings helped provide the foundation for Valorborn
- Launches in Steam Early Access on PC via Steam on Wednesday, April 15, 2026
About Laps Games
Laps Games is an independent game development company founded in Türkiye by game-loving engineers and designers who actively expand their vision within gaming. Above all, their main goal is to entertain players by making them think strategically, with dynamic development methods that help shape their games quickly and efficiently. They aim to contribute to the future of gaming by taking the best from the past and implementing those lessons into new, innovative ideas.
