CloverPit is a game of contradictions. It’s a horror experience that traps you inside a tiny cell with no exit, with your only lifeline being a single slot machine. Win, and you advance to the next round. Lose, and a trapdoor opens beneath your feet. 

At first glance, it looks like pure luck decides everything. But that’s the trick, CloverPit isn’t about luck at all. 

While the slot machine in CloverPit is fully functional, the real game lies between the spins. Between each round, you pick charms, powerful upgrades that shape how your next machine behaves. Some charms increase the odds of certain symbols appearing. Others multiply combo scores, enhance jackpot payouts, or twist the rules entirely. 

If you’ve played games like Balatro (also available on Xbox systems, PC and Game Pass), you’ll recognize that rush of finding synergies between upgrades. With the right hand of charms and a sharp mind, you can manipulate the machine to turn impossible odds in your favor. It’s about building momentum, a run that starts small and snowballs into a dazzling, unstoppable cascade of combos and coins. 

One thing Lorenzo (the other half of Panik Arcade) and I felt strongly about is that players would keep anticipating outcomes at the slot machine, which is what makes them fun. Basically, as you build strategies, you feel in control until you need to upgrade your strategy and create value on the slot. If in the early deadlines you anticipate a jackpot, in the late ones you anticipate an ultra-mega jackpot with battery and golden symbols, hoping to trigger some devilish charms in the way. With this, the anticipation factor also scales with your strategies and with the difficulty, keeping players always on the edge of euphoria… or despair. 

Designing a system like this, one that rewards strategic thinking instead of blind luck, was one of the hardest and most rewarding challenges we’ve ever faced. At launch, CloverPit includes 150 charms, but behind the scenes, we tested many, many more. Our goal was simple: to make sure there isn’t just one “correct” way to win. Sure, there are a few wild early-game strategies players will discover first, but we wanted to ensure the late game keeps unfolding with new combos and possibilities. 

Truth be told, this was our first time designing something like CloverPit. Getting the math right aged my brain a few years (haha), but it was worth it. Luck still matters, especially in the early rounds when you’re hunting for your first good charms, but over time, strategy completely overtakes chance. Once players understand how to bend the odds, they realize they’re no longer gambling; they’re engineering fate. 

One of our favorite aspects of development was ensuring the slot machine felt incredible to play. We spent countless hours perfecting the sound design and animations for each spin, click, and jackpot. Even though the world of CloverPit is grim and unsettling, the machine itself had to be satisfying, like a forbidden toy you can’t stop touching.  

Sometimes, players hit a combo so huge that the animation just keeps going. One tester sent us a clip of a jackpot chain that lasted over a minute straight, the entire screen pulsing with colors and coins. It’s rare, but when it happens, it’s pure chaos in the best way. That combination of horror atmosphere and slot-machine spectacle is exactly what we wanted: a nightmare that’s somehow… fun. 

CloverPit isn’t easy, and it’s not meant to be. It’s a game about learning to take risks, about pushing one spin too far just to see what happens. But it’s also about mastery. Players who dig deep will discover hidden challenges, secret modifiers, and some very strange surprises waiting in the depths of the pit. 
 

And yes, we’ve already started teasing the first DLC. While I can’t say too much yet, it’s called Unholy Fusion, and it’ll let players combine charms in wild, experimental ways to create brand-new synergies and chaotic new combos. It’s both an expansion and an invitation to break the game – all over again! 

So… let’s go gambling. CloverPit is available today on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC and via Xbox Game Pass.