Find The Needle is available in Early Access, with 20 orders spread across five stages. Players who tried the demo will have to start over: their saves do not transfer to the game, which uses its own save files.
In its November 6, 2026 announcement, the team details the changes since the demo, which had seven orders. Each Early Access stage ends with a major order. Signing it opens the next stage, bringing new machines, new products and a larger excavation vehicle.
More orders and scrap to process
The expanded order system gives players a longer progression path than the demo offered. The major orders mark the transition between stages, so the equipment and products available change as players advance. Demo progress does not carry over to that path: anyone moving to Early Access begins with a separate save.
Iron and copper scrap can be sorted and sold, or turned into ingots using the Smelter. Scrap also introduces a risk to the production line: if it enters a hay machine, the machine jams. Sorting the materials keeps scrap out of the hay machine and leaves it available to sell or smelt.
Build freely or aim for the leaderboards
Sandbox mode gives players access to all unlocked items and lets them build for free. It offers a way to use equipment without following the same unlock path, but games played in this mode do not appear on the leaderboards. Players who want a leaderboard entry therefore need to play outside sandbox mode.
The game offers 6 pile sizes, from “SMALL (Easy)” to “MOUNT HAYVEREST (Impossible)”. The leaderboards include a graph and a timeline for each game, giving players a record alongside the result. There are also 60 Steam achievements.
Updates and multiplayer announced
The team plans to release updates during the 6 to twelve months following its announcement. It also says Find The Needle will have multiplayer, though it has not given a firm date for the feature.
The immediate choice for demo players is whether to begin again with the expanded order system. Sandbox offers free construction, with the trade-off that those games do not count for the leaderboards.
See also the Find The Needle game page.
