
Patch Notes for Sept 11, 2026
- Support for Russian - Fixes to make user flags save file more resiliant hardware failures - Minor Bug Fixes




A genealogical mystery straight out of 1998. Scour the early Internet for clues, uncover hidden connections, and piece together the family tree behind the secretive Roottree Corporation.
The year is 1998. A private jet belonging to the Roottree Corporation has crashed. On it were the Roottree Sisters and their parents. Combined, they were worth over a billion dollars.
Now, due to the eccentricities of their great-great-grandfather Elias, their money must be redistributed to the rest of the family. But who's actually a BLOOD RELATIVE? That's where you come in.
Armed only with the power of your mighty dial-up modem, you'll scour for photos, books, articles and other evidence. Then, you'll make connections and deductions based on the family relationships you uncover. With every spot on the tree you fill in correctly, the names and photos left in your possession will have fewer and fewer places to go — but the evidence will also be harder and more obscure to find.
Can you put together the final pieces of the puzzle?
The Acclaimed Armchair Detective Game, Re-imagined on Steam
The Roottrees are Dead was originally created for the Global Game Jam 2023 and released as a free browser game. It was beloved by many for its clever puzzles, retro computing interface and novel world-building. The Steam version is the same great game, but enhanced in many ways:
Hand-drawn illustrations from acclaimed board game artist Henning Ludvigsen.
A 3D living-room perspective that ties together all the unique puzzle systems
An enhanced user interface with many quality of life improvements to make your mystery solving easier to use and more intuitive
Remastered music and sound effects, with fully voiced cinematics.
A handful of Easter eggs and little touches for those who can't get enough of the late ‘90s charm
Includes "Roottreemania", a brand new mystery
Find out what happens to the Roottree family following the events of the base game.
A whole new family tree to complete!
Discover the scandals, lies, and infidelities that took place behind the scenes of America's largest maple candy empire.
The Roottrees are DeadSteam patch notes
- Support for Russian - Fixes to make user flags save file more resiliant hardware failures - Minor Bug Fixes
Geeks & Groundsadded to a collection




All of the games we're playing this year!
Geeks & Groundsadded to a collection




The games we're savoring in 2026 -- half curated by me and half selected by you, the community!
kimchicaCollection




The games we're playing in 2026 for Geeks & Grounds, a club where we play games and brew thoughtful conversation, together!
kimchicaCollection




Susan ArendtCollection




The Roottrees are DeadSteam patch notes
Thanks to some keen Italian players, we've caught some minor issues and fixed them.
The Roottrees are DeadSteam announcement
As promised, Italian armchair detectives can now take a crack at untangling the Roottrees’ family tree. Big thanks to our translation team and to our Italian players for their…