Pass the burning Ember every 10 seconds, dodge armed Wardens, fight dirty with ridiculous abilities, and scream at your friends in proximity chat.
September 7, 2026 — MystiveDev has announced Too Hot To Hold, an up-to-10-player asymmetric multiplayer party game launching November 3, 2026 on PC.
The idea is simple: Grab the Ember and RUN.
Tricksters can hold the burning Ember for only 10 seconds before it explodes in their hands. Pass it to another player, throw it across the room, or desperately chase down the friend who refuses to take it. Keep the Ember alive for five minutes and the Tricksters win.
Then come the Wardens.
Armed with a gun, scanner, traps, and their own abilities, Wardens enter the hunt 10 seconds after the round begins. Their objective is NOT to eliminate the Tricksters, but to shoot the Ember apart before time runs out.
The result is a fast multiplayer chase built around panic, betrayal, last-second throws, and proximity-chat screaming.
The announcement trailer was captured during a real multiplayer session with streamers, with the final edit using their genuine laughs, screams, betrayals, and reactions from the match.
WHY TOO HOT TO HOLD GETS CHAOTIC
Players choose their abilities before each round.
Tricksters can grapple away, throw mud, leave banana peels and tripwires, blind Wardens with smoke or even fart in somebody's face.
Wardens can teleport through portals, deploy rat traps, throw electric grenades, use deceptive illusions, and find new ways to make carrying the Ember considerably more stressful.
The oversized, hand-painted environments add another layer to the chase. Tiny players can run underneath furniture, squeeze through hidden passages, take shortcuts between rooms, and use randomized map gadgets including bounce pads, cooling vents, and heatsinks.
And because it all happens with proximity voice chat, everyone gets to hear exactly how badly things are going.
TOO HOT TO HOLD FEATURES
- Online multiplayer for up to 10 players
- 10-second hot-potato mechanic: pass the Ember or blow up
- Asymmetric PvP: tiny Tricksters vs. armed Wardens
- Proximity voice chat
- Customizable lobbies, including adjustable Warden count
- Dozens of ridiculous abilities, traps, gadgets, and movement tools
- Giant hand-painted environments with multiple traversal routes
- Randomized bounce pads, cooling vents, heatsinks, and other map gadgets
- Multiple modes including Hot Potato, Infestation, and Mole (Impostor)
- Unlockable head, back, body, and leg cosmetics, plus titles
- No microtransactions! Progression is unlocked through gameplay
ABOUT MYSTIVEDEV
MystiveDev is an independent game development studio founded by two brothers, with a portfolio spanning seven games.
The studio previously worked on Alan Sharp and Wipe: Toilet Plague under the Mystive Studios name before developing Mirror Forge, published by DreadXP; Santa Fell in the Wrong House; Chasmal Fear, published by Wandering Wizard / Snail Games USA; Saint of Chains; and now Too Hot To Hold.
MystiveDev's development journey was also featured in Beneath the Surface, a documentary series commissioned by Wandering Wizard / Snail Games USA during the development of Chasmal Fear.
Official Website: https://www.mystivedev.com/
Too Hot To Hold on Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/5199210/Too_Hot_To_Hold/
Watch the Announcement Trailer
https://youtu.be/n2zPJ7zubwc
For more information, follow MystiveDev on [YouTube], [X / Twitter], [TikTok], and [Instagram].