Dice of Kalma claims 100K downloads and a meta-progression update — but there are holes

An indie roguelike saying it just crossed 100,000 downloads and shipped a meta-progression expansion looks like a tidy success story – until you press on the details. Finnish developer Pepperbox Studios has promoted “Pick Your Poison,” an expansion for Dice of Kalma that adds unlockable challenges, new skulls, achievements and mobile-exclusive supporter packs. If true, that’s the kind of content push that helps small studios turn one-off downloads into a sticky player base. Trouble is: public verification is scant and the expansion’s name collides with an unrelated party card game, which raises more questions than the press release answers.

Key takeaways

• Pepperbox claims Dice of Kalma passed 100,000 App Store downloads and launched “Pick Your Poison,” adding meta-progression and mobile-only supporter packs – a sensible plan for retention, if accurate.
• External verification is currently missing: no Steam/App Store/official pages or community chatter confirm the milestone or the developer’s identity.
• The expansion’s name matches a physical party card game, creating a naming confusion that PR should clear up immediately.
• Mobile-exclusive supporter packs are an easy revenue lever, but they risk fragmenting the player base on a niche roguelike unless priced and implemented carefully.

Why this would matter – and why I’m suspicious

Meta-progression is the single most useful mechanic for turning repeat installs into engaged players. For a deckbuilding roguelike, unlockable challenges and persistent rewards change how people plan runs, experiment with builds and keep returning after a bad streak. Adding achievements and “new skulls” (read: difficulty modifiers) is textbook design to deepen the metagame without bloating core systems — a sensible next step for a game that needs more long-term hooks.

But the basic facts in Pepperbox’s announcement should be easy to confirm and they aren’t. A developer named Pepperbox Studios and a game called Dice of Kalma don’t show up in public store listings or community archives I can find right now. Nor did searches turn up the mobile milestone or any player reactions. That’s not just an academic quibble: without an accessible storefront page and visible patch notes, players can’t judge balance changes or whether supporter packs are cosmetic or pay-to-win.

The uncomfortable observation the PR hoped you’d skip

PR loves milestones. “100,000 downloads” sounds like traction. But on mobile, downloads are not the same as players, revenue or retention. What the press release leaves out — and what I suspect they’re relying on — is the difference between an install surge (say, a feature on an App Store list) and an engaged community that will open their wallets for supporter packs or stick around for meta-progression. The announcement bundles everything into a celebratory package without showing the retention or revenue data that would make the milestone meaningful.

Also: “Pick Your Poison” is already an established physical card game from Dyce Games. That alone could be an innocent coincidence, but it’s sloppy PR at best and confusing branding at worst. Pepperbox needs to explain whether this is a namesake expansion, a cross-promo, or a completely different product.

What I would ask Pepperbox if I could

Show me the store pages and the numbers that matter: an App Store/Google Play link, a Steam or storefront listing, and retention metrics (D1/D7) that justify launching paid supporter packs. Also confirm the naming: why reuse a title already tied to a card game? Finally, clarify whether supporter packs are cosmetic, convenience, or gameplay-impacting.

What to watch next

• Official store listings: App Store/Google Play and Steam pages for Dice of Kalma — the presence of patch notes and changelogs will settle most questions.
• Developer channels: Pepperbox Studios’ official site, Twitter/X, Mastodon or Discord for screenshots, changelogs, and pricing details for supporter packs.
• Community signals: threads on Reddit, r/roguelikes, r/indiegames or mobile game forums and any early player impressions that confirm balance and meta-progression behavior.
• Monetization details: pricing and contents of mobile-exclusive supporter packs — whether they’re cosmetic only or gate progression.

If those signals show up and match the press release, “Pick Your Poison” could be a textbook small-studio growth play: add persistent goals, new difficulty modifiers, and optional monetization aimed at the most committed players. If they don’t, this looks like a PR claim that’s not yet backed by evidence — which is a different story altogether.

TL;DR

Pepperbox Studios says Dice of Kalma hit 100K App Store downloads and shipped “Pick Your Poison,” a meta-progression expansion with mobile-only supporter packs. That’s the right kind of update for an indie deckbuilding roguelike — but I can’t find storefronts, community chatter, or corroborating info yet. Watch for official store pages, patch notes and the supporter pack details; those will tell you if this is a meaningful growth step or an unverified press release.