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Working With Montabi Launches Free on Steam January 13, 2027
Your desktop is about to get considerably more crowded, although at least these visitors promise to leave gifts behind. Mankibo has confirmed that Working With Montabi will launch free on Steam on January 13, 2027, bringing its creatures out of tactical battles and onto players’ desktops shortly before Steam Desktop Companion Fest.
Akupara Games publishes the spin-off, and a playable demo is already available on its Steam page. The project was first revealed during the Akupara Direct 10th anniversary showcase, offering a much more relaxed way to interact with the creatures introduced in Montabi.
Rather than constructing decks and positioning monsters in tactical battles, players can let them wander around a customisable virtual room while getting on with whatever they were supposed to be doing. That is quite a departure from the original game’s creature-collecting roguelike structure, which we previously explored during our IGDX preview of Montabi.
Rain World and The Chef’s Shift Join the Desktop
The newly released trailer also confirms several crossover visitors. Mr. Whisker from The Chef’s Shift can appear on the desktop and may help himself to nearby food, while characters from Rain World, KuloNiku and Kumitantei are also joining the companion roster. Mankibo says additional collaborations are planned beyond those currently announced.
Slugcat’s appearance continues a crossover first teased during Akupara Direct, where Working With Montabi was introduced alongside updates for Rain World and Kumitantei. The publisher’s September showcase offered a wider look at those upcoming Akupara projects. The new guests appear in the Working With Montabi release-date trailer.
Typing Helps Bring More Montabi to Your Room
Working With Montabi reacts to what players are doing outside the game. Every keyboard press makes the on-screen avatar type alongside them, while built-in tools, including a to-do list, notes and a Pomodoro timer, are designed to keep the companion running alongside work or study.
Placing items around the room attracts different Montabi, which players can pet before they occasionally leave customisation rewards behind. Players can then use those rewards to decorate the room or personalise their avatar, while discovered creatures gradually fill out the Montapedia.
It puts the project in the same growing desktop-companion space as games such as Desktown, which similarly mixes passive progression with lightweight productivity tools, though Mankibo leans more heavily into creature collecting and interaction.
Working With Montabi launches free on Steam on January 13, 2027 for PC, with the existing demo available now. The full release will also support future content through optional DLC and a Supporter Pack.
