Public Release Date Announcement
Hey everyone,
This is the update many of you have been waiting for:
I’m finally ready to announce the release date for the first public release of Hackero Next!
I began working on Hackero Next back in May 2024. What started as a major backend rewrite for Hackero Classic—and later the frontend—very quickly became something much bigger. Rebuilding the entire codebase opened the door for features and improvements that were impossible in the original architecture:
filesystem permissions, deeper and more realistic hacking mechanics, more flexible NPC setups, and so much more (you can read about some of these in previous posts).
This release is a huge milestone, and I’m incredibly excited to finally share it with all of you.
🗓️ Public Release Date
15 January 2026 — 6:00 PM CET
I won’t be able to launch before Christmas, but mid-January is now for sure.
Sign-ups may open a little earlier—if so, I’ll post another update.
Game logins will be available starting at 6 PM CET on release day.
This is the initial public build, focused on:
- playtesting
- stability
- identifying critical inconsistencies
- gathering community feedback
Here’s what will be included:
- Missions: Around 50 missions, a mix of repeatable and unique ones.
- NPCs: Primarily first-tier NPCs (the ones with… let's say questionable security practices 😄).
- New Mechanics:
- completely reworked filesystem
- new hacking mechanics
- support for NPCs with multiple servers, adding more depth and complexity
Feedback Portal
A brand-new feedback platform will launch alongside the release.
You'll be able to log in with your Hackero Next account to:
- report bugs
- suggest improvements
- track known issues
More details about this will follow soon.
Q&A
Q: What happens to classic
A: Classic will stay online for a while still. But I will not be able to maintain both solutions so there will be a time where classic will have to go offline.
Q: Will accounts automatically be migrated
A: I do not know yet. If they are not migrated automatically I want to provide a way to keep badges such as the closed alpha badge for early supporters. I will explain more on that later.
Q: Is there some kind of waiting list?
A: No! This will be a public release. so everyone interested in the game is ably to join
Q: Does next have the same features as classic?
A: To answer this clearly: Not yet. Theres less features with more depth. I also except Next to develop differently in some parts since the mechanics are different im some aspects. This does not mean that everything is different though. it still settles on the same base mechanics classic did.
If you have more questions let me know on the discord. I try to answer them there and update this Q&A
In the meantime have fun with classic or read the original anouncement for classic:
spacecow