THE .JAR
Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and needs Java 8 or newer. No Java yet? Get it free from java.com — after that, playing is a matter of clicking the downloaded file.
DOWNLOAD .JARv0.0.5
FREE TO PLAY · PERMADEATH ROGUELIKE
ROGUEGRIND
An open-world pixel-art roguelike. Explore procedurally generated worlds, crack chests for tiered loot and grind for glory — knowing one death wipes it all.
On Windows and would rather not install Java? Grab the self-contained .exe instead.
Gameplay
GAME FEATURES
Everything below is implemented and playable right now - no vaporware, no promises.
PERMADEATH
Death is permanent. Your inventory, weapons and glory are wiped on the server the moment you die. Start again and play better.
PROCEDURAL WORLDS
Every run generates a fresh 1500x1500-tile open world with natural coastlines and lakes - across grass, jungle, desert, volcano, sand and snow biomes.
DUNGEON PORTALS
Portals scattered across the open world lead into hand-crafted dungeons. Step through if you dare - and find the exit to get back out.
TIERED ARSENAL
Swords, bows, staffs, daggers and axes from Tier 1 to Tier 10, with damage, range and fire rate scaling every tier. Your weapon is your class.
SPECIAL ATTACKS
Every weapon category has its own mana-fueled special, right-click to unleash it: Dash Slash, Homing Volley, Meteor Shower, Ricochet Knives and Whirlwind. Legendaries can even carry their own unique special.
UNTIERED LEGENDARIES
Eighteen unique weapons stronger than any Tier 10 drop - Fire Sword, Void Bow, Magic Guitar, Poison Sickle, Dragon Axe and more. Found only as rare chest loot.
TREASURE CHESTS
Three rarities from common Brown up to rare Gold. Higher rarity means a tougher chest to crack open - and far better loot inside. Bring DPS.
ELITE ENCOUNTERS
Any enemy can rarely turn up as an Elite - a golden-shimmering "shiny" with triple health and 50% harder hits. Worth hunting down: a kill always drops a chest, forced Gold-rarity and boosted odds at a legendary.
GLORY LEADERBOARD
Earn glory for staying alive. Your best run is ranked against every other player on the all-time, monthly and weekly boards below.
QUEST BOARD
Three quests roll onto your board each run — slay a marked enemy, deal damage, survive the clock, crack chests, or find the dungeon boss — each paying bonus glory the moment you clear it. Not feeling the board? Hold the reroll key to shuffle in a fresh set.
PERSISTENT LOADOUT
Log out and your inventory is saved to the server - restored on your next login with every item in the same slot. Until you die, of course.
GLOBAL CHAT
Chat with every player online, across all worlds, while you grind. Compare loot, trade tips, mourn each other's deaths.
YOUR CONTROLS
Rebind every key live from the launcher, and toggle between auto-fire and hold-to-fire mid-run. Movement, chat, inventory - your layout.
DOWNLOAD
Two ways to play, both free and both the same game. Pick whichever suits your machine.
THE WINDOWS BUILD
A self-contained Windows build with Java already bundled, so there is nothing to install first. Windows packs the whole runtime into one executable here, and some antivirus tools treat that packaging itself as suspicious — if yours complains, that is what it is reacting to, not to anything in the game.
DOWNLOAD .EXE
Active development
LATEST UPDATE
JULY 26, 2026 IN DEVELOPMENT · 0.0.6
- NEW Enemies can now rarely spawn as Elites - golden-shimmering "shiny" variants of the normal monster, with triple health and 50% harder hits. Worth the extra fight: an Elite kill always drops a chest (never the usual 80% chance), forced to Gold rarity and a tier high enough to actually qualify for a legendary, with noticeably better odds of rolling one than a normal Gold chest gets.
- NEW A gold arrow now appears at the edge of the screen whenever your nearest active quest target is off-screen, pointing toward it - no more wandering blind looking for the right kind of enemy.
- NEW Every name on the Glory leaderboard now links to that player's public profile - glory, rank, career stats, nemesis (whoever's killed you the most), full death history and current loadout. Log in on the website and your own profile also lets you change your display name and pick which character sprite you play as.
Compete
RANKINGS
Live rankings pulled straight from the game database. Die gloriously and your name ends up here.
| Rank | Player | Glory | Quests Completed | Killed By | Died on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco | 39 | 2 | Turtle | |
| 2 | michelle257 | 38 | 0 | Bat |
| Rank | Player | Glory | Quests Completed | Killed By | Died on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco | 39 | 2 | Turtle | |
| 2 | michelle257 | 38 | 0 | Bat |
| Rank | Player | Glory | Quests Completed | Killed By | Died on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco | 39 | 2 | Turtle | |
| 2 | michelle257 | 38 | 0 | Bat |
| Rank | Player | Glory | Quests Completed | Killed By | Died on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No deaths yet. | |||||
HALL OF INFAMY
Before you dive in
FAQ
The questions worth answering before you commit a run.
IS ROGUEGRIND FREE, OR IS THERE ANYTHING TO BUY?
Completely free, with nothing to buy - no purchases, no premium currency, no pay-to-win. Every weapon, tier and legendary comes from playing.
CAN I PLAY WITH FRIENDS - IS THIS MULTIPLAYER?
You can chat with every player online, globally, while you grind. You cannot meet, trade or fight alongside them in the world itself - there's no shared game state between players, only shared chat.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I LOSE CONNECTION MID-RUN?
Nothing punishes you directly for it. Permadeath only triggers from an actual in-game death, never a dropped connection - your saved inventory is exactly how you left it next time you log in.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
Everything on that character wipes - inventory, weapons, glory, all reset. Permadeath is the core of the game, not a difficulty toggle you can turn off.
I DOWNLOADED IT - WHAT DO I ACTUALLY DO?
Log in with Discord or Steam, hit Play, and you spawn into a fresh world with a tier-1 weapon and a few potions. From there: kill things, crack chests for better gear, and stay alive long enough to bank glory. The How to Play page walks through the controls and every system in detail.
WHO MAKES THIS?
One person, in their spare time, on a custom Java2D engine built from scratch - no Unity, no Unreal, no game framework underneath it. Ideas, feedback and bug reports are genuinely welcome at roguegrind@gmail.com.
IF DEATH WIPES EVERYTHING, WHAT AM I WORKING TOWARD?
Your best run is permanent even though the run itself is not. Glory from your strongest attempt stays on the leaderboard with your name against it, so progress is measured across runs rather than inside one. The gear is temporary; the ranking is the score.
Your account
SIGN IN TO YOUR PROFILE
Sign in to see your stats, best runs and backpack on this site. Roguegrind accounts are linked through Discord or Steam - no passwords to remember, no security questions to lose. Playing itself happens in the downloaded game.
LOGIN WITH DISCORD
LOGIN WITH STEAM
First time here? Logging in with Discord or Steam creates your Roguegrind account automatically - then open the game launcher and click the same button there to play. No separate registration needed, here or in the game.