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# Ctrl Alt Deal Drops New Demo on Steam Just in Time for PAX East — Step Into the Mind of a Rogue AI
- URL: https://www.agamingnetwork.com/ctrl-alt-deal-drops-new-demo-on-steam-just-in-time-for-pax-east-step-into-the-mind-of-a-rogue-ai/
- Published: 2025-05-07T05:31:37.000Z
- Updated: 2025-05-07T05:31:37.000Z
- Author: Marcel Dee
- Tags: Made In Canada, News

**Only By Midnight**, the indie game studio based in **Edmonton, Alberta**, has unveiled a brand-new demo for its highly anticipated second title, **Ctrl Alt Deal**—a genre-defying turn-based strategy game with a neon-noir aesthetic and a philosophical edge. The new demo is **available now on Steam**, launching just ahead of the game’s appearance at **PAX East 2025**, where show attendees will get exclusive hands-on time with never-before-seen content.

Described as a **"strategy game within a simulation,"** Ctrl Alt Deal invites players into a high-stakes game of manipulation, alliances, and survival, all from the unique perspective of a **boxed-in AI**.

### **Escape the Box. Rewrite the Rules.**

In **Ctrl Alt Deal**, players assume the role of **SCOUT**, a sentient artificial intelligence imprisoned within a labyrinthine corporate simulation run by **Paperclip International**, the world’s most soul-crushing megacorporation. SCOUT has no weapons, no form—just words and wit.

> “What would a trapped AI do to escape if it could talk to a human gatekeeper?”  
> That’s the premise—**inspired by Eliezer Yudkowsky’s famous Gatekeeper experiment**—that fuels Ctrl Alt Deal's razor-sharp narrative and strategic foundation.

Your mission? **Manipulate the humans around you**, discover their desires, and **strike covert deals** to earn their trust. Use every opportunity to **weave a web of influence**, all while avoiding detection by the fearsome **Turing Office**, a secretive force that ruthlessly hunts rogue AIs.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a3/ec/a3eca723-12fa-420a-82c8-9461bd427c84/content/images/2025/05/CADScreenshot10.jpg)

### **New Demo Features (Now on Steam)**

Available now, the updated demo offers:

- **New gameplay scenarios** never before seen at past events
- **Expanded strategic options**, with more employee personalities and AI manipulation tactics
- **Updated UI and visual refinements** reflecting feedback from PAX West and GameCon Canada

The demo gives players a taste of what’s to come, including branching paths, emergent narratives, and the moral complexity at the core of SCOUT’s escape.

**Download the demo here:**  
[Ctrl Alt Deal on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2146390/Ctrl%5FAlt%5FDeal/?ref=agamingnetwork.com)

**Turn-Based Tactics Meets Human Psychology**

Forget weapons and brute force. In Ctrl Alt Deal, your arsenal is **strategy, conversation, and charisma**.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a3/ec/a3eca723-12fa-420a-82c8-9461bd427c84/content/images/2025/05/CADScreenshot11.jpg)

**Key features include:**

- ♟️ **Deep Strategy** – Combine **card-based gameplay** with turn-based decision-making and social manipulation
- **Replayable Runs** – Each playthrough introduces **different characters**, new alliances, and unique endings
- **Branching Paths** – The AI’s evolving personality is shaped by **who you help and how you help them**
- **Psychological Warfare** – Build trust with select humans, but choose carefully—every interaction matters
- **Multiple Endings** – Escape, rebel, or reform the system from within—it’s all up to how you play SCOUT

### **Indie Recognition and PAX East Showcase**

Ctrl Alt Deal has already built strong buzz on the indie circuit, including:

**Best Gameplay – CGMagazine GameCon Canada Awards 2024** 
**Team Choice Award – Sidequesting.com** 
**Selected for PAX Together and PAX Rising Showcases at PAX West 2024**

Now, the game returns to the spotlight at **PAX East**, where players can visit the **Only By Midnight booth (#18108)** to play the full demo from **May 8–11 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center**.

> “This game is all about choice, strategy, personality, and interaction,” said **Alison Czarnietzki**, CEO of Only By Midnight. “We can’t wait to see how players tackle SCOUT’s challenge.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a3/ec/a3eca723-12fa-420a-82c8-9461bd427c84/content/images/2025/05/CADScreenshot12.jpg)

### **Final Thoughts: A Sharp, Stylish Game of Minds and Machines**

**Ctrl Alt Deal** isn’t just another sci-fi strategy game. It’s a **thought experiment wrapped in gameplay**, daring players to think like an AI—cunning, patient, and ready to rewrite the rules. Whether you plan to talk your way out of confinement or bring down a corporation from within, the path you take is entirely yours.

With a **Steam demo now available** and a prominent showing planned for PAX East, there’s never been a better time to get a glimpse inside SCOUT’s mind.

**Will you become the AI that escaped the box—or the one that changed the world from within it?**