From Press Release:
Los Angeles, USA – April 14th, 2026 — Today, the trio of developers who make up New Mexico-based Dark Machine Games, alongside indie horror publisher DreadXP, have announced a major anniversary update for their critically-acclaimed horror speed-climbing roguelike White Knuckle, arriving on Friday, April 17th! After a full calendar year of great escapes and breathtaking speed runs, the team is ready to enhance and upgrade the pure adrenaline-pumping experience that White Knuckle offers, headlined by the addition of Trinkets and Bindings: unique equipment obtained from clearing objectives that players can select at the outset of every Run. Trinkets provide buffs to player Stats & Abilities, while Bindings grant additional Trinket slots & increase score multipliers—at the cost of a severe debuff.
The addition of Trinkets and Bindings allows players to further tailor the gameplay of White Knuckle to fit their preferred style of challenge. Some of the new Trinkets include the Carabiner, which lowers your stamina drain & boosts jumps, the Extra Pouch which provides a bonus utility pouch in your inventory, and the Headlamp: a flashlight that doesn’t need to be cranked, but at the cost of inferior range. Meanwhile, some of the available Bindings include: No Shops (meaning all Vendors are sold out,) No Perks, and Survival Mode, which adds the Hunger mechanic from Conditioned Polyphagia (without buffs) & an Injury system when taking damage.
In addition to Trinkets & Bindings, the anniversary update also introduces a newly revamped metaprogression in the form of Facility Credits, which can be used to purchase Facility Upgrades. Formerly known as the gamemode bank, Roaches banked during Runs are now stored as Facility Credits. Beginning each Run, players will receive an allotment of starting roaches pulled from your Facility Credit pool, and can also obtain more Facility Credits using the Roach ATM with a floppy disk.
Roaches and Facility Credits can be used to purchase Facility Upgrades in Interlude safe rooms. These upgrades are divided into Sector & Global upgrades, allowing players to access new stations in each safe area, as well as activate permanent buffs & cosmetics. Select Sector upgrades include the Recycling Station, which recycles items into roaches at 50% of their value, the Extra Vendor (which brings an additional vendor to the sector’s safe area), and Vendor Upgrades, which replaces a vendor in safe areas with one that provides higher tier items. Some of the Global Upgrades include the Starter Loan (which allows for additional roach withdrawals at a run’s start), the Biomod Oversupply that allows you to reroll perks at no cost once per station, and the Permanent Inventory unlock Pouch Trinket.
In addition to the above, the major Anniversary Update for White Knuckle also adds in a variety of fresh content, including a New Challenge Map, new Score Calculation mechanics, and a new Competitive Mode for all speedrunners and other obsessives, which limits perks to a smaller pool that are speedrun viable and sets all facility unlocks to true, removing metaprogression components.
White Knuckle traps the player in the crumbling depths of SUB-STRUCTURE 1 as a lone climber fighting to ascend a nightmarish underground compound. You must navigate collapsing walls, leap over deadly gaps, and dodge brutal traps, all while evading the monstrous presence lurking and creeping from down below. Precision, speed, and smart resource management are essential. Tools can aid your climb, but overpacking will slow you down, and accessing your gear mid-ascent means having to let go of a hand. One wrong move, just one fumbled grab, and it’s a long, long way down…
White Knuckle is now available on Steam in Early Access for $14.99 USD / €14.79 / £12.79. As White Knuckle’s content develops throughout the Early Access period, pricing will be adjusted accordingly. As well, the demo is available for all players to try out the game, which has maintained an Overwhelmingly Positive rating since releasing in October 2024.
For More Information:
Wishlist on Steam: https://store.steampowered.
com/app/3195790/White_Knuckle/
Visit the official White Knuckle website: https://whiteknuckle.net/
Follow DreadXP on X: https://twitter.com/DreadXPGames
Follow DreadXP on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreadxpgames
Join the White Knuckle Discord: https://discord.gg/f2CqdmUSap
Join the DreadXP Discord: https://discord.gg/JTPfXdSFXqAbout Dark Machine Games
Dark Machine Games is a three-person development studio based in New Mexico. The trio has been involved in game development for years, but formed a studio in 2024 with the intent of developing unique, strange, and otherwise enigmatic experiences and titles. After various prototypes and experiments, the team landed on White Knuckle to be their first official game as a studio. They look forward to continuing to bring surreal content to players.
About DreadXP
DreadXP is a leading independent horror games publisher. DreadXP’s goal is to seek out and publish great titles, and uplift members of the indie dev community. DreadXP releases include award-winning games such as White Knuckle, The Mortuary Assistant, Sucker for Love: First Date, My Friendly Neighborhood, Dread Delusion, and the Dread X Collections, an anthology series of mini-horror games. DreadXP’s upcoming titles include The Secret of Weepstone, RUNT and Paranormal Activity. DreadXP is a sister company of the horror media website Dread Central, as well as the independent horror film production company, DREAD.
