DEVLOG

This is it. v0.1.0 is tagged.

After more development cycles than I care to count, Booker Blitz — the wrestling promotion simulator I set out to build because nothing else scratched the itch — has reached its first real milestone. This isn't a public release. It's a pre-alpha: the moment where every foundational system in this booker simulator game is in place and working together for the first time. Everything in this build is something I wanted to exist as a player before I existed as a developer.

The nerve centre

The dashboard is the nerve centre of your promotion. Every key metric is visible at a glance — upcoming shows, roster health, title picture, recent results, and financials — laid out in a multi-panel grid you can configure and persist across sessions. The 2.0 rework reorganised the whole thing around the one question you're always asking: what needs my attention right now?

Pencilling the card

The show editor is where a card goes from idea to reality. It runs on a Kanban-style board with full drag-and-drop and keyboard navigation. Segments are typed — matches, promos, run-ins, video packages — and each one slots into the order with instant feedback on projected show length and pacing. Building a card here feels like actually pencilling a show, not filling out a form.

Booking the match

The match creator is the deepest layer of the booking experience. You select your workers, set the stipulation, assign the finish, choose who goes over and how clean the finish is, and configure optional elements like title implications or storyline beats. The system validates gender-safe pairing automatically and flags any medical holds before you lock it in. Every match you book feeds directly into the simulation engine, which generates live crowd ratings per tick during the show — so you're watching the crowd react in real time, not reading a summary at the end.

Gorilla Position — the crown jewel

The crown jewel is Gorilla Position. It's an immersive production booth UI that puts you in the chair during a live event — the same spot real bookers sit when they're calling audibles mid-show. Commentators riff, a social feed churns, crowd heat spikes and drops, and you're making calls in the moment.

From this screen you can change match outcomes on the fly, call finishers, trigger interference, and book swerves while the crowd is still reacting. Adjust angles, fire storyline beats, react to what the numbers are telling you. That screen alone is why I built this wrestling management game.

Running the promotion

Beyond the live show, v0.1.0 includes a complete wrestling management layer: full contract negotiation with renewal parity and competitive poaching, a scouting and development pipeline, brand split roster management with title tracking, a tournament system with bracket viewer and custom bracket support, and facilities that unlock progressively as your promotion grows. The medical system tracks injuries and protects your card from booking headaches. Storylines have VS alignment tracking, flame badges for heat, segment boost, and manager assignments.

AI rival promotions run in the background while you're focused on your own shows, so the landscape actually moves. You're not booking in a vacuum — talent has somewhere to go if your contracts lapse.

The pre-alpha also includes Steam achievements wired to in-game events, social media sharing with screenshot capture for event results, and a full cyberpunk UI overhaul (Orbitron headings, Rajdhani body, complete dark theme). An auto-booker handles gender-safe pairing and show fill logic when you need to turn cards around fast. A real-world datapack will be available to download from this page when the game releases.

Why build it this way?

Every design decision comes back to the same question: does this feel like you're actually running a promotion, or does it feel like you're filling in spreadsheets? Gorilla Position, the live ratings tick, the social feed — those are all answers to that question. Wrestling is a live performance business. A wrestling promotion simulator should feel like one.

The v0.1.0 tag is a milestone, not a ceiling. The game is not yet available to the public — we're heads-down building toward a proper early access launch. The roadmap from here includes deeper AI booker logic, expanded storyline scripting tools, additional datapacks, and community-requested quality-of-life work.

What's next on the card

If you want to be first in line when pre-alpha access opens up, join the Discord and get on the waitlist. You'll hear about playtest windows, feature drops, and the road to early access before anyone else.

The shows are getting booked. You'll be in the chair soon.