Glory to the Heroes Playtest: Access, Gameplay, and Launch

The Glory to the Heroes playtest allows players to test Deaf Tone Games' upcoming squad-based military simulator directly on Steam. Developed in Unreal Engine 5 by an independent Ukrainian studio based in Kyiv, the game depicts the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War through combined-arms PvP and PvPvE warfare across photogrammetry-scanned battlefields.

Public stress tests and closed Server Slam events have tested large-scale infantry combat, vehicle deployment, FPV drone warfare, and extensive injury mechanics. Below is the verified breakdown of how playtests operate, what content has been playable, player performance findings, and current release details.

How to Join the Glory to the Heroes Playtest

Deaf Tone Games manages playtest admission through Steam and third-party partner campaigns. Access is distributed across two primary channels:

1. Steam Playtest Requests: On the official Glory to the Heroes Steam store page, players can click the "Join Playtest" button to request access. The studio periodically activates access in waves, notifying selected participants via email.
2. Public Server Slam Events: During dedicated stress-test weekends (such as the September 18–20 test window running from 15:00 UTC Friday to 23:59 UTC Sunday), Deaf Tone Games has temporarily removed manual whitelist barriers, opening servers directly to anyone with the game on their Steam wishlist.
3. Patreon and Key Backers: Patreon supporters and early key recipients maintain persistent access to internal pre-alpha builds and private developer Discord sessions between public stress tests.

Playtest builds run on dedicated pre-alpha server architecture and do not represent the final launch client. Progress made in temporary playtests is subject to database wipes between major updates.

Playtest Game Modes and Playable Maps

Recent testing phases expanded Glory to the Heroes from basic skirmishes into two distinct multiplayer modes, supporting 24v24 to 25v25 factional combat:

• Contact: A matchmaking-focused mode built for shorter, high-stakes tactical engagements. In Contact, players deploy with personal gear stashes where survival and safe extraction protect equipment and progression.
• Operations: A persistent battlefield format where players can join ongoing large-scale engagements without waiting in traditional matchmaking queues. Teams fight over territory, fortifications, and strategic capture points across an evolving frontline.

Both modes incorporate dynamic AI combatants alongside real players in hybrid PvPvE formats. AI units operate as regular infantry, roaming reconnaissance groups, hidden sniper teams, or FPV operators, reacting dynamically to gunfire and player maneuvers.

Featured Playtest Maps

Playtest maps are built using real elevation scans and photogrammetry of actual combat areas in Ukraine:

Core Gameplay Mechanics Tested

The playtest builds showcase hardcore military simulation systems rather than arcade shooter mechanics. Players spawn as standard enlisted infantry rather than special forces operators, meaning stamina limits, bullet weight, and environmental hazards heavily affect combat effectiveness.

Faction Selection and Squad Structure

Matches feature the Ukrainian Ground Forces and the Russian Ground Forces as opposing playable sides. Deaf Tone Games addressed the inclusion of both factions in an in-game pre-match statement, noting that military simulation demands accurate representation of both opposing doctrines, equipment, and weapon handling without serving as political endorsement.

Before spawning, players must select an active squad on a 2D or 3D deployment screen. Spawning without a squad is restricted in recent patches, as squad selection is required to track friendly positional markers on the compass and map. Visual identification relies primarily on high-visibility faction armbands and tape patterns. Friendly fire is permanently enabled.

Weapons and Real-Time Gunsmith Customization

Weapons function with realistic ballistics, projectile velocity, and material penetration. Rifles jam during prolonged combat and require manual clearing inputs.

• Modular Components: The AK-74 alone features over 80 individual attachment modules, including handguards, dust covers, muzzle adapters, and stocks that players can strip and swap in the gunsmith.
• Manual Ammunition Handling: Standard loadouts grant limited pre-loaded magazines. Additional ammunition is carried loose in backpacks and vests, requiring players to hand-load magazines when magazines run dry.
• Combined Arms Tools: Playtests feature functional light motorized transport vehicles, artillery fire missions, and piloted FPV suicide drones equipped with High-Explosive (HE) and Thermobaric (TBG) warheads controlled via dedicated remote handheld units. Squad leaders utilize specialized tactical interfaces modeled on real command systems ("Kropyva" and "Sozvezdie-M").

Hardcore Medical and Injury System

Health does not regenerate automatically. The game simulates compartmentalized limb damage, blood loss, and physiological shock, requiring specific medical supplies:

• Bandages: Used to stop light hemorrhages and surface wounds.
• Tourniquets: Applied to limbs suffering heavy bleeding. Applying a tourniquet reduces movement speed or aim steadiness until properly treated.
• Splints: Stabilize fractured legs and arms, allowing the character to run or hold weapons without severe sway.
• Surgical Kits and AI-2 First Aid: Used to treat deep tissue trauma and repair destroyed body parts.
• Antibiotics: Treat bacterial infections sustained from open battlefield wounds.
• Painkillers: Suppress groaning and visual disorientation caused by severe pain states.

Technical State and System Performance

Playtest feedback across developer updates and tester gameplay confirms that Glory to the Heroes is in an early pre-alpha state with substantial hardware demands. The client relies heavily on Unreal Engine 5 features, including Lumen global illumination and hardware ray tracing, which cause severe frame drops if not adjusted manually before joining a match.

Testers frequently encountered crashes upon joining servers, inventory desynchronization, terrain clipping issues around trees and rubble, and server rubberbanding. The developers released multiple hotfixes during stress tests, improving texture streaming, decreasing match time limits to 25 minutes, reducing GPU VRAM load, and refining locomotion.

To stabilize frame rates, players in the playtest community recommend disabling cinematic bloom, turning off motion blur, lowering Lumen reflections, and enabling upscaling tools such as DLSS, FSR, or Intel XeSS.

Official System Requirements

Deaf Tone Games lists the following hardware specifications on the Steam store page for testing builds:

Release Status and What Comes Next

Following feedback gathered from over 40,000 participants during public stress tests, Deaf Tone Games officially postponed their initial early access target (previously slated for Q1 2026) to implement systematic reworks across networking code, character movement matching, dynamic weather, and vendor-driven progression.

The game's Steam listing carries a regular retail price of $29.99 (with a launch discount price of $26.99) and displays an Early Access release placeholder of October 9, 2026. The developers plan to conduct additional targeted Server Slam sessions and closed playtest rounds to evaluate backend stability prior to the full Early Access rollout.