The studio behind The Blackout Club and The Magic Circle launch their story-driven card battler in Early Access for PC players
Tiburon, CA – February 18, 2026 – The Killing Stone, the occult horror deckbuilder from independent developer Question(The Blackout Club, The Magic Circle), with voice talent from Baldur’s Gate 3 and Critical Role, is available today in Early Access on Steam for PC. A full 1.0 release is slated for later this year.
Priced at $9.74 during a launch discount, The Killing Stone is a game of wit and strategy, with a devilish twist. Beat the devil at his own game, as you attempt to save a cursed family from the clutches of demons. The game features a first-person perspective, 3D art, and game board figurines with dazzling effects, haunting audio, and an original narrative set in the 17th century in a remote region of the Arctic Circle.
“In our world, demonic forces wager souls over skill contests, like poker or chess, and we’ve twisted the traditional deckbuilder to invoke a hint of both,” said Question co-owner and narrative director Jordan Thomas. “Wrapped around all that is a mystery, with branching conversations beautifully voiced by Baldur’s Gate 3’s Emma Gregory and Critical Role’s Liam O’Brien. In fact, you can play in either modern English, or 17th Century English for extra authenticity. Early access players will get the chance to help us shape the story and refine the gameplay into something truly diabolical.”
Key Features:
- A Living, Tactile Card Battler. A ceremonial game board centered around the Fanghella, the Killing Stone, featuring a collection of magical creature figurines, spells, and incantations that allow for a variety of clever tactics.
- Strategic Reserve System with Meaningful Choices. A novel Reserve mechanic lets players stack units and buff incantations above the battle line for later deployment. Creature placement, spellcasting, and bargaining add powerful banes and boons to your deck affecting your chances of success.
- Occult Horror Narrative. Play as the Maven and uncover the haunting truth behind Mariken Svangård’s death (and life) as you engage family members and animal familiars in search of clues.
- Navigate Ritual Contracts. To save the family, you must win their souls through ritual combat with various demons. Every contract is signed in blood, then the bargaining begins. Forge, swap, negotiate, and battle through a series of rituals, the outcome of which are permanent banes (or boons) carried to your final reckoning.
- Dual-Language Storytelling with Acclaimed Voice Talent. The full narrative can be experienced in either authentic 17th Century English or modern prose, with customizable text and voiceover options. Featuring voice performances by Emma Gregory (Baldur’s Gate 3) and Liam O’Brien of Critical Role.
The Killing Stone is available now through Steam Early Access. For more information, visit The Killing Stone Steam page.
About Question
Question is a small independent studio team known for their original titles The Magic Circle and The Blackout Club. Their design philosophy is to give players agency to tell their own stories through the interactive medium. The team is led by Jordan Thomas and Stephen Alexander, best known for their lead roles on the BioShock series at Irrational and 2K Marin.
