Draft:The Bazaar (video game)

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The Bazaar
File:The bazaar.png
Developer(s)Tempo Games
Publisher(s)Tempo Games
Platform(s)
Release
  • Windows, macOS
  • October, 30th
  • Android, iOS
  • coming soon
Genre(s)Auto battler, Strategy, Hero-builder
Mode(s)Multiplayer

The Bazaar is a live-service strategy video game, developed and published by game developer Tempo[1][2]. The Bazaar was first announced on April 6th, 2018, by twitch streamer turned Tempo founder and CEO Reynad. The game monetizes itself with cosmetics such as animated cards, hero and board skins, and more. The game released as a paid Closed Beta on October 30th, 2024[3]; Open Beta started Wednesday March 5th, 2025[4], followed by the full Launch just a month later on Wednesday April 2nd, 2025[5].The Bazaar is available for Microsoft Windows and macOS, with Android and iOS releases[6] coming soon.

The Bazaar is a fast-paced multiplayer Roguelike where every run is a new puzzle. Choose from unique heroes, uncover powerful combos, and outwit your opponents in a dynamic, ever-changing marketplace. Play at your own pace while discovering endless ways to win.

The game features several unique Heroes with unique items and playstyles. Players face a series of deck-building decisions and PvE threats followed by PvP face-offs with asynchronous matchmaking[7]. The game draws inspiration from the auto-battler, deck builder, and digital card game genres[8].

Gameplay

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Before each run of The Bazaar, players must first choose a hero to play[9]. Each hero has their own set of around 100 items, and when players unlock that hero, they unlock every base item in their pool. The Bazaar has many playable heroes planned, each with distinct playstyles[10]. The Closed Beta featured three heroes: Pygmalien, Vanessa, and Dooley, for the launch a fourth Hero was added; Mak[5] As of April 13th, 2025 the game launched on steam adding yet another Hero to the ranks, Stelle[11] Each hero features different mechanics and offers different win conditions; players have Vanessa unlocked by default, after finishing the tutorial, you get Pygmalian and Dooley. The other heroes can be unlocked through microtransactions on either steam or the tempo launcher.

The game consists of multiple rounds known in game as " days" each consisting of 6 turns called "hours". During the 3rd hour of each day the player selects on of 3 PVE encounters of varying difficulty. At the end of each day, during the 6th hour, the player will then test their current build against another player who is at the same point in their run in a PVP battle. The other hours can feature a variety of different events, such as Merchants who sell you items, Skill Trainers who sell Hero Skills[12] or special events.

At the start of each day, you gain gold equal to your income. The default income is 7, and players can increase this amount through various methods, such as by using items and taking part in special events. Players must reach 10 PvP wins before losing all their "Prestige"; a run starts with 20 Prestige, and players lose some equal to the "Day" count when defeated in a PvP battle.[13]

Throughout a run, players obtain items and Hero Skills through various methods, placing them on their board to shape their build. Items come in five rarity tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and Legendary) which determine both their power and when they appear during a run. When a player finds an item of the same tier as one they already own, purchasing it will fuse the two into a single item of the next tier. Each item has a unique mechanic, ranging from simple to complex. Each day, the player can rearrange their items on the board to ensure they’re using each one to its fullest effect.

In The Bazaar, a player's board has a total of 10 slots. Every item has a size which dictates how many slots it takes up when placed on the player’s board: small (1 slot), medium (2 slots), or large (3 slots). Players start a run with 4 slots unlocked and progressively unlock the rest via the "Level" system: at Levels 2, 3, and 4. Every level-up provides the player with extra maximum health and an additional benefit, such as free items/skills, item upgrades, or item buffs. Players level up by gaining 8 XP. Each player gets 1 XP at the end of every hour, as well as during combat and some other special events.

Players also have access to a "Stash" with 10 slots for stored items. Items do not activate inside the stash during battles; however, non-combat passive effects work even while in the Stash.

Battles in The Bazaar do not require player input; instead, items on both boards trigger automatically after an item-specific cooldown timer[14]. Players each have a health pool, and the PvP battle ends when one of the two player's health is reduced to 0. If the battle continues long enough without a winner, The Sandstorm appears that damages both players; the Sandstorm deals increasing amounts of damage until one of the players reaches 0 HP.

There is also special events that are being added over time, they require specific rare inputs or resources that open up a new gameplay loop with different enemies, different rewards and a whole new experience.

Monetization

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Previously, the game spent time as a free-to-play model, but has transitioned to a traditional box price title and can currently be purchased on Steam or through the game's website. Any players who participated in at least one in-game run prior to the move on to steam on eight of August 2025 have received the game as well as the first 4 characters for free.

The Bazaar currently sports a cast of 5 in-game heroes; three of which, Vanessa, Pygmalien, and Dooley are received along with the base version of the game. Mak and Stelle, along with any future heroes added to the game can be purchased separately.

The game features one form of in-game currency: Gems. Gems can be earned through a plethora of ways in the game, including completing Prize Pass challenges (The Bazaar's version of a Battlepass[15]), opening the in-game reward chests, and being purchased for fiat.

Additional monetization happens mainly by selling cosmetics in the form of boards that change up the environment, Hero skins that alter what your chosen hero looks like, stash skins which change up what the chest looks like, bank skins that change the gold pile, rugs that your items lay on top of, playlists that change the music you hear in-game, and card backs. In addition, there are also titles that appear under your username.

Development and release

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Development of The Bazaar was first made public through an Indiegogo campaign,[16] from which the game raised $115,000 toward production. Soon after, developer Tempo Storm—a former competitive esports organization—formally announced a company division dedicated towards the production of The Bazaar: Tempo Games. In 2019, the game was made publicly available for pre-order which granted the user early access and the amount they paid as in-game currency, doubled. Pre-orders were closed September 16th, 2021.

On February 20th, 2020, Tempo Storm announced they received a $3.3 million investment led by technology investor Galaxy Interactive.[17] On March 5th, 2021, Tempo launched their open investment campaign on Republic and successfully funded and closed on August 10th, 2021, with $700,734.[18]

Throughout the development of The Bazaar, the team uploaded update videos showcasing the progress of the game in all areas of the game development such as art, music, design and gameplay. Video updates stopped after February 7th, 2022 so the team could focus on finishing the game.

The Bazaar was officially announced at the OTK Games Expo on June 4th, 2024. Alongside this announcement, the Closed Beta date was revealed to take place in October. This date also commenced the return of weekly videos, this time focusing on finalized topics (instead of the previous in-development videos) such as gameplay reveals, art spotlights and music previews.[19]

On the 13th of August the game released on steam.[20][21]

Art

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Tempo Games outsources N-iX, a European software development company. They are responsible for many art pieces players see in The Bazaar.[22]

There is more than 700 items[23] with unique in the game, each of them have a 10 possible variants where they are visually altered and 180 of these items have an alternative animated version, 60 items getting an animated version each season.

Added to that there is 150+ different encounters, both PvE as well as Merchants with unique Art as well as voice-lines.

The team behind the game uploads short lore videos to their Youtube channel called "The Atlas Archives" exploring the world of the Bazaar via voiceover and showing Art.

References

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  1. ^ Chen, Amy (September 2, 2021). "Tempo Storm and industry veterans create strategy card game The Bazaar". Upcomer. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  2. ^ Marshall, Cass (March 20, 2020). "The risky life of esports orgs outside the big leagues". Polygon. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "Reynad confirms The Bazaar closed beta release date: "So many people have touched this game over its five years of development and put a bit of their soul into it."". esports.gg. October 19, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  4. ^ Allsop, Ken (March 1, 2025). "2025's most hyped new deckbuilder finally confirms free-to-play launch, and it's very soon". PCGamesN. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Allsop, Ken (March 29, 2025). "PC's hottest free deckbuilder unveils its next hero, and they've got a really terrifying trick". PCGamesN. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  6. ^ "The Bazaar for Android & iOS - Everything We Know So Far". MiniReview. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  7. ^ Switzer, Eric (November 12, 2024). "The Bazaar Is Secretly This Year's Best Co-Op Game". TheGamer. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  8. ^ Stechman, Sjaak (November 20, 2024). "The Bazaar Preview - The best autobattler on the market". IGN Nordic. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  9. ^ "What is The Bazaar? - Tempo Storm Reynad's Long-Awaited Game". Mobalytics. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  10. ^ Duwe, Scott (November 8, 2024). "The Bazaar release window: Open beta, full launch, and more". Dot Esports. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  11. ^ Allsop, Ken (August 13, 2025). "Card battler The Bazaar is finally coming to Steam, but no longer free-to-play". pcgamesn.com. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  12. ^ Samples, Rachel; Jerome Heath (November 14, 2024). "All skills in The Bazaar and their effects". Dot Esports. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  13. ^ "The Bazaar Beginner Guide (Tips, Tricks, and Fundamentals)". Mobalytics. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  14. ^ Çakır, Gökhan (November 14, 2024). "How to download and play The Bazaar". InvenGlobal. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  15. ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  16. ^ "Reynad talks about Tempo Storm's multi-million dollar investment for The Bazaar". invenglobal.com. March 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "Tempo storm secures $3.3m investment to enter interactive media and game design". February 20, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  18. ^ "Tempo". republic.com. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  19. ^ The Bazaar - Official Trailer | OTK Games Expo 2024 - IGN. June 5, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via www.ign.com.
  20. ^ "New The Bazaar's Steam Release & Monetization Updates". Mobalytics. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  21. ^ Allsop, Ken (August 9, 2025). "2025's most divisive card game is finally coming to Steam, with major monetization changes". PCGamesN. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  22. ^ "The Story of N-IX and tempo working together". Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  23. ^ "How Bazaar". www.howbazaar.gg. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
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