Factsheet
Developer:
Cutter Oyster
Based in Athens, GA 30601
Release date:
October, 2026
Platforms:
Steam
Website:
CutterOyster.com/venisoncounty
Regular Price:
| USD | TBD |
Description
Venison County is a southern gothic boomer shooter where you play as a backwoods deer person tasked with reducing an onslaught of his undead neighbors into splattering venison giblets. Grab a sawed-off, polish your pitchfork, and buff yourself with cultist's sigils in an endless pursuit of the next safehouse. But be wary, stronger guns have more complex active reloads, and God doesn't take too kindly to black magic. Venison County is a game about calculated risk, and the skill it takes to walk the wire of sin and redemption.
History
Venison County has seen various unnamed iterations throughout the years. Recently, however, Cutter Oyster's abilities have caught up to his ambitions. Thanks to his blind spots of music and illustration being covered by his two favorite people and longtime collaborators, John Carter Wilson (musician) and Carlyle Skelton (illustrator), Venison County is now available to playtest on Steam via an open beta. Cutter continues to iterate upon and polish the game on a daily basis, aiming to release Venison County in October 2026.
Features
- Combine Sigils Endlessly. Make your bullets explosive, homing, piercing missiles that gib all on-screen foes in an instant. Launch yourself into the air with massively buffed recoil. Shred foes with a barrage of rapid-fire pitchfork jabs. The build possibilities are endless, thanks to Appalachian black magic.
- Each gun's active reload has unique pacing, difficulty, and sound effects. A gun's reload is as distinctive as its shooting.
- Immerse yourself in a diverse OST, from quaint banjo plucking to roaring electric guitar, as it complements the intricately designed directional audio of Venison County and its many inhabitants.
- Wade in the Blood of an Endless Onslaught. Every new day comes with a dynamically curated onslaught of enemies. They won't stop coming until you die. Cause insurmountable carnage, and soak the earth in blood and gibs inspired by retro gorefest classics such as Blood 1997 and Quake 1996.
Videos
TooManyGames Trailer YouTube
Gameplay Video YouTube
Images
Logo & Icon
Awards & Recognition
- "Won the 1st place DreamHack Audience Choice Awards title." DreamHack, May 17th, 2026
- "Had its associated booth win the first ever "Best Booth" Silv-E award." DreamHack, May 17th, 2026
- "Showcased at TooManyGames 2026 (Upcoming)." TooManyGames, 26th June, 2026
- "Showcased at MomoCon 2026." MomoCon, 21st May, 2026
- "Showcased at DreamHack 2026." DreamHack, 15th May, 2026
- "Showcased at GameFest 2026." Georgia Tech, 25th April, 2026
- "Showcased at the Best In Georgia Awards Ceremony 2026." Gwinnett Technical College, 14th April, 2026
- "Showcased at GGX 2025." Georgia Tech Tech, 15th November, 2025
- "Showcased at EagleCon 2026." Emory University, 29th March, 2026
- "Showcased on AlphaBetaGamer.com." AlphaBetaGamer.com, 3rd February, 2026
Selected Testimonials
- "Yeah, it's cool. It's called Venison County."
- KJ Robertson (AlphaBetaGamer), Alpha Beta Gamer - "I dig it!"
- Donk-Zone, Donk-Zone Youtube
Additional Links
Presskit Assets Google Drive
Raw gameplay, more screenshots, gifs, webms, music, etc. can be found at drive.google.com.
Beta Release Announcement
The announcement through which the beta was released is available at store.steampowered.com.
About Cutter Oyster
Boilerplate
Cutter Oyster is an award-winning game designer and developer based in Athens, GA. He specializes in designing white-knuckle FPS action, and creating nostalgic PSX-era aesthetics. Inspired by modern and classic FPS games alike, he aims to innovate within the genre while also paying homage to those who came before him.
More information
More information on Cutter Oyster, our logo & relevant media are available here.
Venison County Credits
Cutter Oyster
Development & Business
John Carter Wilson
Musician, Freelancer
Carlyle Skelton
Illustrator, Freelancer
presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer) - also thanks to these fine folks