Nighthawks Game Release Date — Launch History and Timeline

Nighthawks released on September 22, 2026 on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux, closing out one of the longest crowdfunding-to-launch stories in recent indie RPG memory. Here is the full release timeline with dates.

The release date

The store page flipped from coming soon to released on September 22, 2026, with the developer posting a "Grand Opening — September 22nd" announcement that day. The game launched as a full release, not Early Access, priced at $19.99 with a launch-week discount to $17.99: Steam's own pricing data confirms the 10% discount live, and GOG's listing independently stamps the end date — the offer runs until September 29, 2026, ending at 20:00 EEST on GOG (PC Gamer lists $20/£16 and GamesRadar headlines "just $18"). Versions for Windows 10 64-bit, macOS 10.12.6+ (Apple Silicon supported) and native Linux all shipped simultaneously, and the game is also sold on GOG and Humble. The date itself was public well ahead of time: Wadjet Eye's September 2, 2026 blog post — "Nighthawks is coming September 22nd!" — announced it after "eight years in development," and a follow-up "Nighthawks is OUT!" post landed on launch day (wadjeteyegames.com/news). Launch-week roundup coverage matched the date too: I Dream of Indie Games' weekly "Dream Drop" for September 21-27, 2026 pitched Nighthawks as the week's vampire RPG — "a dark, stylish RPG that will take a bite out of your wallet on the 22nd" (per the video's transcript, YouTube, uploaded September 20, 2026).

The dates worth committing to memory:

• Kickstarter funded: October 6, 2017.
• Launch: September 22, 2026 — a full release, not Early Access.
• First patch: September 23, 2026.
• Discount window: $17.99 confirmed through September 29, 2026.

The road to launch

The Kickstarter was funded on October 6, 2017, raising $128,576 from 3,934 backers (the figure the Steam store page still credits; the Kickstarter page itself now displays $136,128 pledged against a $125,000 goal — the two figures differ, most plausibly late campaign pledges, to confirm which is final). Development by Richard Cobbett's The Curiosity Engine then ran for roughly eight years, growing into an 800,000-word, fully voiced RPG with ten recruitable companions. Wadjet Eye Games signed on as publisher, with Dave Gilbert producing. That is about eight years and ten months from funding to release — and the gap against the campaign's own plan is wider still: the pitch penciled in "a development cycle of around 18 months," listed May 2020 as the estimated delivery for rewards, and promised to put backers themselves into the game as enemies instead of shipping physical rewards ("no pins and posters," so every dollar went to the RPG). The finished game — running in Unity with the Ink narrative engine, art by Ben Chandler and Ivan Ulyanov in a "living book" style (per the campaign's own credits) — shipped six-plus years past that estimate. The campaign had also hoped for an iOS version at release; no iOS build exists as of launch (to confirm), so PC, Mac and Linux remain the whole platform story.

The campaign's original plan versus what shipped:

Campaign plan (2017)	What shipped (2026)
Development cycle of "around 18 months".	About 105 months from funding to launch.
Rewards estimated delivery: May 2020.	Launched September 22, 2026.
Backers immortalized in-game as enemies (vampire hunters, crooked cops, sewer abominations) instead of physical rewards.	Delivered as promised — the "3,934 backers" credit remains on the store page.
Key platforms PC and Mac, with hopes for an iOS version at release.	Windows, macOS and Linux only; no iOS build (to confirm).

The Adults Only detour

The launch nearly derailed a week early. Over the weekend of about September 12-13, 2026 (to confirm exact date), Valve mistakenly classified Nighthawks as "Adults Only" — a category usually reserved for porn games — hiding it from Steam search, requiring credit-card age verification in some territories, and removing it from some territories entirely (PC Gamer reported Germany among them, to confirm). Rock Paper Shotgun covered the appeal on September 15, and on September 16, 2026 Wadjet Eye announced via Steam news that the rating was reversed, thanking Valve for expediting the review. The studio said wishlists "essentially doubled overnight" after the story went viral.

Wishlists "essentially doubled overnight" — Wadjet Eye's own summary of the rating saga's net effect, a launch-week publicity windfall no marketing plan could buy.

Date	Milestone
October 6, 2017	Kickstarter funded — $128,576 from 3,934 backers.
~September 12-13, 2026	Valve mistakenly applies an Adults Only rating over the launch weekend (to confirm exact date).
September 15, 2026	Rock Paper Shotgun covers the appeal.
September 16, 2026	Rating reversed — Wadjet Eye announces the game is officially rated "Not Porn."
September 22, 2026	Launch: Windows, macOS and Linux, full release at $19.99, "Grand Opening" post.
September 23, 2026	Patch 1.1 fixes the Sucker Bet softlock, a Madame Lux intro bug and sewer friction.
September 29, 2026	Launch discount to $17.99 ends (confirmed by GOG listing expiry, 20:00 EEST).

After launch: patches

Post-release support started immediately. Patch 1.1 shipped on September 23, 2026, fixing a Sucker Bet quest softlock, a Madame Lux intro bug that blocked free blood and the Sleepless Moon map unlock in Act 1, and sewer navigation friction, with a larger patch for typos and minor visual issues announced as in progress. Buy with confidence that the launch version is actively maintained — and expect the date history to keep growing.

The campaign itself stayed alive until the end: the Kickstarter's 95th and final update posted on September 21, 2026, the day before launch, closing a run of 95 updates and 725 comments stretching back to October 2017. And the launch-week numbers now have a floor to grow from: the store's Steam rating had already ticked from 91% of 85-86 reviews in the launch days to Very Positive standing — the same pages count 94% of 142 reviews across all languages as of September 28, 2026.

Patch 1.1, item by item:

• Fixed the Sucker Bet quest softlock.
• Fixed the Madame Lux intro bug that blocked free blood and the Sleepless Moon map unlock at the start of Act 1.
• Eased sewer navigation friction.
• A larger patch for typos and minor visual issues was announced as in progress.

What the launch numbers looked like

The first week set records for the project. Critically, PC Gamer scored it 89/100 on launch day, while Rock Paper Shotgun published a more reserved take the same morning. On the player side, Steam moved from 77 reviews at 90% positive in the first days to Very Positive at 94% of 133 reviews by September 27, 2026 — fast growth that Wadjet Eye partly attributes to the rating saga's publicity, which the studio said doubled wishlists overnight. GamesRadar made the game its Game of the Week within three days of release, citing the $17.99 launch price and Steam Deck play. There is also a paid Official Soundtrack DLC on Steam ($2.69) for anyone who wants Thomas Regin's score without the Humble bundle. No console versions, Game Pass placement or retail editions have been announced as of September 27, 2026 — PC remains the whole story.

The launch-week numbers, side by side:

Signal	Result
PC Gamer critic score	89/100 on launch day.
Rock Paper Shotgun	A more reserved take published the same morning, no numeric score.
Steam player rating	77 reviews at 90% positive in the first days, moving to Very Positive — 94% of 133 reviews by September 27, 2026.
GamesRadar	Game of the Week within three days of release, citing the $17.99 price and Steam Deck play.
Wishlists	"Essentially doubled overnight" during the Adults Only saga (Wadjet Eye).
Steam store rating	91% of 85-86 reviews in the launch days, moving to 94% of 142 across all languages by September 28, 2026.
Kickstarter close-out	95 updates, 725 comments; the final update posted September 21, 2026 — launch eve.