Starfinder: Afterlight Public Playtest Opens March 19, Limited to 1,000 Players

Epictellers Entertainment opened the first public beta playtest for Starfinder: Afterlight on March 19, inviting players to register via Steam and experience the party-based RPG for the very first time. The catch: the public playtest on Steam runs until April 5, 2026, and only 1,000 selected participants received an invitation from the initial sign-up pool.

The playtest showcases a 45-60 minute introduction with three pre-made characters to choose from: Human Soldier, Vesk Envoy, and Shirren Operative. After crash-landing in the Entertainment District of Hivemarket on Akiton, players meet their first companions and begin investigating the fate of Captain Khali, exploring the city, interacting with the world, and getting hands-on with the turn-based combat system.

The playtest also marks the first opportunity for the community to hear part of the game's voice cast, including Neil Newbon as Preach, James Alexander as Sterling, and Carolina Ravassa as Captain Khali. Newbon is best known for voicing Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3, a performance that won him Best Performance at the 2023 Game Awards. Roger Clark, who voiced Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2, serves as the game's narrator.

Starfinder: Afterlight is the first proper PC game to use the Starfinder 2e system. Combat masters Starfinder's iconic classes and Paizo's acclaimed three-action system, and players manage a 3-action economy where not all actions are equal, with some costing one action point and others demanding two. The playtest build also introduced several new elements: the Human Soldier was added as the newest pre-made character option, alongside a new weapon called the Roto Laser and updated audio barks for dying, death, and recovery states.

Ricard Pillosu, CEO and co-founder of Epictellers Entertainment, framed the playtest as both debut and data-gathering exercise. "We're very excited to let players experience our game for the first time through this small glimpse of our adventure," Pillosu said. "This Public Playtest will provide valuable feedback as we refine our systems ahead of our Early Access launch and continue improving our vision for the game."

Epictellers is a Barcelona-based studio founded by veteran storytellers from across the games industry, with team members who contributed to titles such as Crysis and Ryse: Son of Rome. Starfinder: Afterlight is their debut project, a narrative-rich, turn-based, single-player RPG grounded in the Starfinder universe.

Epictellers has indicated that additional playtests are likely as development continues, so there should be more opportunities to try the game before its full 2026 release. Players who missed the initial 1,000-slot window can still submit a request on the game's Steam page to be notified if more slots open. Late pledges for the Kickstarter campaign are also open until the end of March, offering another path in for those who want to follow the project's development closely. A public demo is planned for summer 2026 ahead of Early Access.