Chasing the Dawn / CTD

Chasing the Dawn pivots the traditional dungeon crawler away from direct tactical combat and toward the high-stakes friction of probability management. Developed and published by Wave Games, the experience is built around the tension between using wit to mitigate risk and relying on raw luck to survive a gauntlet of unpredictable traps and enemies. The release date for Chasing the Dawn is July 13, 2026, when it will launch on PC.

The core loop functions as a two-stage cycle: high-risk dungeon expeditions to secure resources, followed by the permanent reconstruction of Dawnville, your hub village. This meta-progression is more than a simple upgrade tree; rebuilding the town is the specific mechanism required to unlock the five playable expedition members. Because each character possesses unique abilities, the strategy for navigating the seven distinct map styles shifts from a focus on brute survival to specialized rune and item synergies. With nearly a hundred types of enemies and random events, the game treats the dungeon as a deck of possibilities that the player must stack in their favor through careful inventory management.

July 13, 2026 PC Release Date and Progression

The Chasing the Dawn release date brings a specific focus on escalating difficulty that rewards long-term mastery. As players push further into the depths, the dungeon unlocks higher difficulty tiers that do more than just inflate enemy health; they introduce entirely new events and empowered versions of existing foes. This creates a steep vertical progression curve where the nearly one hundred runes available must be combined with exactness to maintain momentum. The hand-drawn pixel art style provides a clean visual backdrop for a system that is, at its heart, a calculated gamble.

Whether Wave Games can balance the inherent frustration of RNG with the satisfaction of village growth is the vital test this title faces. It targets players who enjoy the methodical pace of a turn-based strategy game where the greatest enemy is not a specific monster, but a run of bad luck that you failed to prepare for. If you prefer games where your survival depends on accounting for the worst-case scenario before it happens, this is worth a spot on your PC wishlist ahead of its mid-2026 launch.