Rise of the Merchants, the medieval trading sim from German studio Black Duke Games, enters Early Access on Steam on Thursday 29 October. You start with a small hamlet and grow it into a merchant city with its own caravans, in a persistent online world where the rival traders are real players. Its demo, part of the October Steam Next Fest, was played by more than 10,000 people, according to the studio. Early Access is meant to last around a year, and Black Duke Games published the plan for its first two content updates the day before launch.
At a glance
Rise of the Merchants enters Early Access on Steam on 29 October, on Windows and Linux.
The game blends city building, production chains and trade in a persistent world shared with other players.
Black Duke Games plans around twelve months of Early Access and has already outlined its first two content updates.
A hamlet to grow into a trading city against real rivals
Everything starts with a small settlement in your county, according to the Steam page for Rise of the Merchants. You put up workshops, turn raw materials into quality goods, then send caravans to sell them in neighbouring settlements. More than 50 buildings and production sites are promised, with production chains to set up as your population grows and asks for more. The studio promises a quick start in a few clicks, with new systems introduced one at a time as your town expands.
What sets Rise of the Merchants apart is its shared world. Mike Gonzales, in his preview of the game for Tech Times, explains that “every rival merchant is a real human player”, and that prices move with the supply and demand of everyone who’s logged in. If lots of players flood the market with iron, the price of iron drops for everybody. He also mentions an optional PvP layer, where you can sabotage rival guilds and cut off their supply lines.
Black Duke Games revealed the game in late August at the FYNG Show during Gamescom in Cologne, and the Steam page opened for wishlists on 26 August, according to Tech Times. Three River Games is co-publishing, and there’s more than one way to the top: trade, political influence or something more cunning, as long as you can live with the consequences.
More than 10,000 players tried the Rise of the Merchants demo
Like plenty of indie games this month, Rise of the Merchants took part in Steam Next Fest October 2026, the big showcase for indie demos. On 27 October, Erik from Black Duke Games thanked the more than 10,000 players who tried the demo, in a post on the game’s Steam page. He adds that their feedback has already led to a number of improvements, and that the demo is staying up after the festival.
The Rise of the Merchants demo also got a steady stream of fixes during the festival. Update 0.4.5 fixed a crash on launch under Linux, and 0.4.7 loads settlements about three times faster and cuts the production phase from 20 minutes to 10. Version 0.4.8, released on 26 October, adds an on-screen keyboard for controller players and a route planner that follows your convoy once it has left.
Twelve months in Early Access, with a roadmap already out
According to the Steam page, Black Duke Games plans to keep Rise of the Merchants in Early Access for around twelve months, a period that could be extended depending on how the game does and what players ask for. The core of the game is described as fully playable from 29 October. The full release should add new goods, new buildings, events and deeper progression.
On the content front, the studio posted its roadmap on 27 October. The first update brings a coat of arms editor, seasonal challenges with rewards to unlock, and a season built around hidden routes to neighbouring settlements. The second one introduces seasons with changing weather, trade agreements to secure your supply chains, and a reputation system for high-quality goods. Neither update has a date yet.
Rise of the Merchants launches on Windows and Linux, with full English and German audio and an interface translated into thirteen more languages. The price hadn’t appeared on Steam on Wednesday. If building games in Early Access are your thing, Cutout Village, DevilishGames’ paper-craft building game, took the same route on 21 October. The 29 October date is also in our video game release calendar.