Ten years of Hand of Fate.
What an adventure it’s been, and what a decade has passed.
Thank you all for being a part of the journey since then.
When Hand of Fate launched we had no idea that it would help to establish roguelike deckbuilding as a genre, launch a board game, lead to a sequel, and inspire titles and developers that followed. Until we’d finished building it we didn’t really know what it was, or if anyone would care.
It’s impossible to think about the release of Hand of Fate without thinking about the circumstances that prevailed a decade ago. It was a time of post financial crisis chaos in the games industry, but also a time of opportunity and potential. None of us who made games in that time realised we were in a golden age, yet looking back it’s impossible to see it elsewise. An explosion of fresh creative works that had been bound up inside traditional commercial game development rushed to light with the opening of mobile and PC distribution.
We count ourselves fortunate to have been able to be part of that. Opportunity is always the partner of chaos.
While Defiant is no longer developing new titles, the many people who made Hand of Fate what it was have travelled on to do new and wonderful things. Each and every person who touched Hand of Fate across the years brought something unique, personal, and special to the table. At its heart, that’s the reason we make games.
Without all the people who cared, nothing that followed would have happened. Our community has been ever present and always inspiring. I’ve included some examples of great fan art throughout the ages!
Thanks for ten years, and here’s to the future.
HoF1
- Hand of Fate by Msucecki
- Table flip by MoskiDraws
- Let us see how it all ends by The Great Pork Chop
- The Dealer by < blank >
- My chair now by Mim
- Card Trick by Hyperchlorinated
HoF2
Comics
