Solo-Developed Silk Softworks City Builder ShantyTown To Feature In PAX Rising Showcase at PAX East 2026

Indie city-building game ShantyTown will feature in the PAX Rising Showcase at PAX East 2026, running from 26 to 29 March at the Thomas M. Menino Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston.

The game, developed solely by Erik Rempen under his studio Silk Softworks and published by London-based Kinephantom Games, invites players to construct dense, layered neighbourhoods in tightly packed urban environments. It is scheduled to launch on Steam on 16 April.

Building momentum through Steam Next Fest

ShantyTown’s appearance at PAX East follows a strong showing during Steam Next Fest in February 2026, where the game’s demo attracted more than 30,000 players and doubled its wishlist count.

The response also carried over to the game’s community Discord server, which doubled in size within days of the festival. Players and content creators noted the game’s relaxed, cosy approach to the city-building genre.

The demo remains available on Steam with a new update timed to coincide with the PAX East appearance.

What attendees can expect

PAX East attendees will be able to play the full version of ShantyTown ahead of its public release at Booth 13097 on the show floor. Rempen will be on hand at the booth for conversations with players and press.

The PAX Rising Showcase features a curated selection of upcoming indie titles, giving smaller studios floor space alongside larger exhibitors.

Creative Mode and community competitions

A recent demo update introduced a Creative Mode, which gives players unrestricted access to all previously unlocked buildings and decorations. Players can revisit locations they have already surveyed or build from scratch in an open sandbox environment.

The game’s design sits at the intersection of puzzle-solving and freeform construction. Players work within constrained spaces, filling sub-objectives to unlock bonus items, but face no strict rules governing the style of their builds.

ShantyTown is currently running its third weekly build competition on Discord, where players submit themed designs using the game’s built-in camera tools. Winners are offered the chance to have their name attached to a building in the final release, along with a copy of the full game and its soundtrack.

What the game includes

ShantyTown offers 20 locations inspired by tightly packed urban settings, each presenting different creative constraints. Players have access to more than 150 decorations to shape what the developer describes as “lived-in” neighbourhoods.

A personal dossier tracks completed towns across eight pages, functioning as a miniature portfolio of a player’s work. The soundtrack is composed by vaporwave artist Macroblank, and in-depth camera tools allow players to frame and photograph their finished builds from multiple angles.

A follow-up from the developer behind Kainga

Rempen’s previous title, Kainga, was a strategy game that drew attention for its creative systems and worldbuilding. ShantyTown takes a different direction, leaning into a quieter, more contemplative style of play focused on dense urban aesthetics.

Kinephantom Games, which is handling publishing and marketing, describes itself as a small team of publishing and creative specialists that works closely with indie developers on community development and launch planning.

ShantyTown is available to wishlist now on Steam, with the full release set for 16 April 2026.

Last Updated on March 24, 2026 by Nick Ross