Culdcept The First Weaves Its Magic, Launching on Steam Today

A cult classic from the SEGA Saturn era has finally made its way west. Culdcept The First, the 1997 strategy title long regarded as one of the most distinctive fusions of board game and card game design, launched today on Steam, marking the first time the game has been officially available in English.

The release comes from Clear River Games, a Karlstad, Sweden-based publisher specialising in classic and retro titles and part of the THQ Nordic and Embracer Group family. The Steam version was developed in partnership with City Connection, the studio behind the IP of veteran Japanese developer Jaleco, and produced in cooperation with Omiya Soft, the series' original creators.

Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions are planned to follow later this year.

A Genre-Defining Blend of Strategy and Chance

Culdcept The First is set in Culdra Space, a fictional universe created by the omnipotent Goddess Culdra through Culdcept, a book said to hold the power of creation itself. Players take on the role of a "Cepter," entering battle with a self-built 50-card deck known as their Book.

Gameplay unfolds across a board where dice rolls determine movement, and players summon a wide range of creatures to claim territory. Spell Cards add a further strategic layer, letting players manipulate dice outcomes to support their own creatures or disrupt their opponents' plans. The result is a game that has long been praised for gameplay depth that keeps players engaged well beyond a single session.

Built for the Modern Player

While staying true to the original 1997 design, this enhanced version adds several quality-of-life features aimed at contemporary audiences:

• Rewind: return to any point where a Checkpoint was passed at a Fort or the Castle.
• Quick Save & Load:  save and load progress at any time, independent of the game's standard save system.
• Bonus Pack: an optional toggle that increases the number of Reward Cards received at the end of a match.
• Reveal Hands: a new feature displaying both a player's own hand and their opponent's hand on screen, information that was only shown at specific moments in the original release. The display can be toggled on or off and adjusts automatically to the game's screen layout.
• Language Switching: full support for both Japanese and English.

About Clear River Games

Clear River Games is a publisher dedicated to classic and retro titles, based in Karlstad, Sweden, and part of the THQ Nordic and Embracer Group family. The company focuses on bringing vintage and revived classic game franchises, modern retro and pixel art titles, and inspired indie games to players worldwide, with both digital and physical distribution.

About City Connection

Founded in 2005, City Connection owns the intellectual property of long-established Japanese developer Jaleco. Beyond game development and publishing, the company operates across licensing, soundtrack production through its Clarice Disc label, and broader publishing and editorial work, with a focus on reviving beloved IP for modern audiences.