GERMANY, May 11 2026 - Indie studio Acureus has announced that Draw & Guess is nearing 5 million copies sold, alongside the launch of a major update focused on community and progression in preparation for additional new game modes this year.
Notably, this update comes after the developers launched an in-game poll, giving players the choice to remove all cosmetic microtransactions from the game, largely inspired by the British studio Jagex, which ran a similar poll for its game RuneScape 3.
Following the results of 79% of players saying they do not want cosmetic microtransactions, Acureus has fully removed the ability to purchase Ink, Draw & Guess’ former in-game currency. Characters and skins will now be earned exclusively through a mix of visible and hidden in-game challenges, rather than being bought through an in-game shop.
“We want Draw & Guess to be player-first, not profit-first,” said Liam, Co-founder of Acureus. “Rather than making cosmetics both earnable and buyable, we felt the cleanest and most respectful choice was to remove cosmetic microtransactions completely. It better reflects our values as developers, and gives players a system where unlocks better reflect the time they’ve put into the game.”
Players with more than 350 Ink remaining (the minimum price for characters/skins) will still be able to access the shop temporarily to spend any remaining currency. Ink can no longer be purchased.
Alongside character unlocks, each character now has a progression and level track to get new additional rewards that can be featured on the new player profile feature.
Artbooks are a new feature released with this update, allowing players to draw and publish their own mini portfolios in-game, tied to both their player profile and the new “Gallery” browser, a place to filter and browse artworks across the whole community.
With this update live, Acureus says its next focus is expanding Draw & Guess with new game modes. A new mode is already in development and planned for later this year.
Included in the Unlocks, Social, and Artbook Update
- Cosmetic transactions were removed completely following a community poll.
- Characters are unlocked through achievements, some of which are secret.
- Characters can be levelled up to unlock additional rewards: extra Artbooks + Artbook pages, a character skin, and a unique badge.
- Players can publish “Artbooks” to share art collections with the wider community.
- In-game friends list, including “recent players”, alongside direct messaging
Draw & Guess is available now on Steam and Mobile.
About Draw & Guess
Draw & Guess is a multiplayer party game where players draw, guess, and create art (or chaos) together. Since launch, the game has grown into a community-driven drawing platform with multiple game modes, unlockable characters, player-created artwork, and social features.
About Acureus
Acureus is an independent game studio focused on building playful, community-driven multiplayer games. Its flagship title, Draw & Guess, has sold almost 5 million copies worldwide.