KARLSON Release Date: Is Dani's Milk Parkour FPS Coming?

Few indie games have built up as much anticipation without a release date as KARLSON. The first-person shooter from solo developer Dani grew out of a tiny game-jam experiment, became a free prototype that found a huge audience, and has been sitting on Steam with a "Coming soon" label for years. Its pitch fits in one sentence from the official store page: what do you get if you combine an FPS, parkour, slow motion and... milk?

The question most people type into a search bar is simpler: when does KARLSON come out? As of November 2026 there is still no official release date. Dani has not announced a launch day or window, the Steam page shows "Coming soon", and the system requirements on that page are explicitly marked as not final. If you see a precise date on a third-party site, treat it with caution unless it comes from the official Steam page or from Dani directly.

What we do know is enough to understand why the game keeps climbing wishlists. KARLSON promises skill-based movement inspired by classic FPS titles, a story mode set in a mysterious futuristic facility, multiplayer and a map editor. Below we cover where the project came from, what the full game is supposed to include, and who should keep it on their radar.

From a two-day jam game to a Steam page

KARLSON started life as Karlson 2D, a small game Dani made in just two days for the Mix And Game Jam. The idea was to recreate the slow-motion mechanic of SUPERHOT in a different form, with time slowing down when the player is not moving sideways. That experiment evolved into a 3D prototype, still available for free on itch.io, where fast parkour and quick shots through white test chambers made for perfect short clips.

The prototype's popularity is the reason KARLSON has a Steam page at all. In the meantime, Dani also released Muck, a free survival roguelike that arrived on Steam on 5 June 2021, which showed he could ship a complete game with multiplayer. That experience matters, because multiplayer is one of the headline features promised for the full version of KARLSON.

What the full game promises

According to the Steam page, KARLSON brings unique, skill-based movement to the table, highly inspired by classic FPS titles. You fight your way out of a facility and discover the truth behind your past, and the milk. The listed features are a single-player story mode, multiplayer (Steam's categories include online PvP) and a map editor that is still marked as in progress.

An enemy bursts into pieces mid-air while the speedrun-style timer keeps ticking at the top of the screen.

The screenshots show a clear visual identity: clean white tiled rooms, bright neon accents, simple red enemies and a timer at the top of the screen. That timer hints at the replay value the prototype was known for, where every room becomes a small puzzle about the fastest route through it. Players who love the momentum of ULTRAKILL will feel right at home with this kind of movement-first design.

A glowing blue beam cuts through a narrow white corridor towards a red enemy, showing the game's clean, high-contrast style.

System requirements and what to expect

KARLSON is not a demanding game. The minimum requirements listed on Steam are Windows 7, a dual-core 2.00 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM, Intel HD 520 graphics and just 512 MB of storage, while the recommended setup asks for Windows 10, an Intel Core i5, 4 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 660. Both sets are marked as not final. English is currently the only language listed on Steam.

The biggest open question is time. A long development period is normal for a solo developer, but it also means the scope of the story mode, the number of levels and the state of the map editor remain unknown until Dani shows more.

Should you wishlist KARLSON?

If you enjoy short, replayable levels where movement matters as much as aim, KARLSON is worth a spot on your Steam wishlist, and the free prototype is a quick way to see whether the style clicks for you. Just keep expectations realistic: there is no date yet, and the final scope is still a mystery. While you wait, SUPERHOT and ULTRAKILL cover the slow-motion and high-speed sides of the formula, and Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a great pick if first-person parkour is what draws you to KARLSON in the first place.