Press Kit

FACT SHEET

Title:

Too Hot To Hold

Developer:

MystiveDev

Genre:

Asymmetric Multiplayer Party Game

Platforms:

Steam (PC), itch.io (PC)

Rating:

10+

Number of players:

2-10

Release date:

November 3, 2026

Tagline

Grab the Ember and run! Too Hot To Hold is an up-to-10-player asymmetric party game of hot potato where tiny Tricksters must pass a burning Ember every 10 seconds while armed Wardens hunt them down and shoot it apart.

Description

Too Hot To Hold is a chaotic online multiplayer party game about passing the problem to somebody else.

At the start of a match, a burning Ember is spit by a statue. Tricksters can only hold it for 10 seconds before it explodes in their hands, forcing players to run, throw, pass, betray, and occasionally beg their friends to take it. Keep the Ember alive for five minutes and the Tricksters win.

Meanwhile, armed Wardens enter the hunt. Track down the Tricksters, use your scanner, set traps, and land enough shots on the Ember to destroy it before time runs out.

Choose ridiculous abilities, use randomized map gadgets, scramble through giant hand-painted environments, and scream at each other through proximity voice chat. Matches support up to 10 players, customizable lobbies, multiple game modes, unlockable cosmetics, and absolutely no microtransactions.

Features

• 10 Seconds and Good Luck.

Hold the Ember for too long and it explodes in your hands. Pass it, throw it across the room, or make it somebody else’s problem before the timer reaches zero.

• Tricksters vs. Wardens

Tiny Tricksters work together to keep the Ember alive while armed Wardens hunt them down and try to shoot it apart.

• Scream at Your Friends

Built-in proximity voice chat turns every chase, betrayal, last-second pass, and terrible decision into something everyone gets to hear.

• Fight Dirty

Remember to choose your loadout before the round. Tricksters can grapple away, throw mud, drop banana peels, set tripwires, flashbangs, unleash suspicious clouds of gas, and more.

Wardens bring their own collection of problems, including teleport portals, rat traps, deceptive illusions, and other tools designed to ruin a Trickster’s day.

• Tiny Players. Giant World.

Run underneath furniture, squeeze through hidden passages, launch yourself across rooms, and disappear through shortcuts in oversized, bright, hand-painted environments.

• Randomized Map Gadgets

Bounce pads, cooling vents, heatsinks, and other interactable gadgets can change how players move through the map and deal with the Ember from round to round.

• Up to 10 Players

Host customizable online lobbies and decide how chaotic you want things to get, including how many Wardens join the hunt.

• More Than Hot Potato

Play across multiple game modes including Hot Potato, Infection, and Mole  (Impostor).

• Look Ridiculous

Playing matches grants experience used to unlock head, back, body, and leg cosmetics, along with titles for customizing your Trickster or Warden.

• No Microtransactions

Everything is unlocked through gameplay.

About MystiveDev

MystiveDev is an independent game development studio founded by two brothers, with a portfolio spanning seven games across horror, multiplayer, and experimental indie titles.

The studio began under the name Mystive Studios, contributing to Wipe: Toilet Plague and Alan Sharp, before developing Mirror Forge, published by DreadXP, followed by Santa Fell in the Wrong House, Chasmal Fear, published by Wandering Wizard / Snail Games USA, and Saint of Chains.

Too Hot To Hold is the studio’s seventh game and its latest venture into chaotic online multiplayer, combining asymmetric party gameplay, proximity chat, and the studio’s distinct visual direction.

Documentary

MystiveDev’s development journey was featured in Beneath the Surface, a documentary film series commissioned by Wandering Wizard / Snail Games USA during the development of Chasmal Fear. The series follows the studio, its founders, and the behind-the-scenes process of bringing an independent game from development toward release.

Watch Documentary Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bmm_BI1NR0

Legal Line

© 2026 MystiveDev. All rights reserved.

Official Website

https://www.mystivedev.com

Steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5199210/Too_Hot_To_Hold/

Itch.io

https://mystivedev.itch.io/

X / Twitter

https://x.com/MystiveDev

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/mystivedev/

TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@mystivedev

BlueSky

https://bsky.app/profile/mystivedev.bsky.social

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/@MystiveDev

Discord

https://discord.gg/2DBVMHjWdt

Videos

  Announcement Trailer

Key Art and Logos

Screenshots