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Featured game / PAYDIRT

PAYDIRT: Gold Mining Tycoon

Gold Mining Tycoon

Start small.
Make it your mine.

A tent, a shovel and Pepper at your side. Find your first gold, build your crew and shape a mining operation of your own.

Play the free demo Wishlist on Steam

Demo available for Windows + macOS Full game coming soon

Inside PAYDIRTActual gameplay ↗
Connected conveyors, a trommel and sluice beside the creek in PAYDIRT. This machinery is full-game progression.
From the first pan to a working mine.Full-game progression pictured.
The free demo starts with hand tools.
Fossil Studios / Independent gamesDiscover our worlds

Our games / 03 worlds

Find your next obsession.

Thoughtful systems, memorable places, and the satisfaction of understanding how a world fits together.

01Free demo availablePAYDIRTBuild a claim of your own.02Available now · Full releaseFossil BoundBring the past back to life.03Available in Early AccessWandering BardFind your place through music.
Pepper, the black-and-white Bernedoodle, beside a prospector holding a bucket at their starting tent in PAYDIRT.
Actual gameplay · Captured 21 October 2026

01 / PAYDIRT · First Crew demo

Your first claim.Your first crew.

A tent. A shovel. A claim of your own.

Start a small mining camp with your prospector and Pepper. Prospect the ground, pan your first gold and earn enough to shelter and hire your first helper.

Free Windows and macOS demo. Full game coming soon.

Play the free demo Wishlist the full game

Keep exploring after the guided First Crew journey — there is no countdown.

02 / Fossil Bound

Fossil Bound

Excavate. Curate. Build a museum worth crossing the world for.

Brush away the dust and find the missing piece. Recover prehistoric fossils across seven regions, bring each discovery home, and build your museum across three distinct galleries.

  • 15 prehistoric species. 122 fossil parts and groups to collect.
  • Hands-on excavation, research leads and an upgradable field kit.
  • Curate your exhibits, earn a Grand Opening, then complete the collection.
  • Relaxing
  • Excavation
  • Museum management
Get it on Steam
Official gameplay trailer

Fossil Bound

Status
Full release · 21 Sep 2026
Platforms
Windows + macOS + Linux
Play
Single player

Latest update / 28 Sep 2026

Version 1.0.2 brings clearer excavation controls, smoother research and a dedicated Milestones view in the Field Journal.

Read the Steam updates
Official gameplay trailer

Fossil Bound

From the current Steam release

From a glimpse of bone in the field to a gallery full of discoveries. Watch the full two-minute adventure.

Working around a fossil deposit at Desert Flats in Fossil Bound
01Work with the stone
Brushing sediment from the fossil being recovered in Fossil Bound
02Brush away the last layer
The museum collection screen showing recovered pieces ready for a Tyrannosaurus rex exhibit
03Assemble the collection
Dinosaur skeletons on display in Fossil Bound's Hall of Giants
04Build your Hall of Giants
Wandering Bard key art showing a musician performing for a town at sunset

03 / A musical journey

Wandering Bard

From a quiet tavern to the Grand Concord. Carry a song. Bring a room to life.

Play Early Access
Official gameplay trailer

Wandering Bard

Every town has a song

Read the room. Build the set. Change the story.

Meet the people of six towns, earn their trust and carry their songs onward. Read each crowd, build your set and perform on five instrument-themed rhythm boards.

  • 33 compositions. 99 arrangements, from Tavern to Masterwork.
  • Master lute, fiddle, recorder, hurdy-gurdy and frame drum.
  • Jump into Quick Play, save favourites and practise passages with A/B loops.

Find your pace with Story, Standard or Virtuoso, timing assistance and rehearsal at 50–100% speed without changing pitch.

  • Cozy RPG
  • Rhythm
  • Story rich
Status
Early Access · 7 Sep 2026
Platforms
Windows + macOS + Linux
Play
Single player
Official gameplay trailer

Wandering Bard

Playing a four-lane lute rhythm chart for a tavern crowd in Wandering Bard
01Play the melody the moment needs
Listening to Old Theron's story in Millhaven in Wandering Bard
02Listen to the stories behind the songs
Wandering Bard's Quick Play songbook with arrangements and saved favourites
03Find your next favourite
Wandering Bard's Rehearsal Room with A/B markers and practice speed controls
04Make the difficult passage yours

The studio

Made with curiosity.
Built to stay with you.

FossilStudios is an independent game developer creating original, systems-rich worlds with a strong sense of place.

From your first fleck of gold to a complete dinosaur skeleton or a song that fills a room, our games turn small discoveries into something you can call your own.

01

Original worlds

Distinct places with their own rules, rhythms, and reasons to stay.

02

Systems with soul

Mechanics that deepen the fantasy instead of sitting beside it.

03

Tactile detail

Interactions tuned to make every discovery and performance land.

Press / publishing / partnerships

Good things start
with a conversation.

hello@fossilstudios.co