About RiftPets

RiftPets is a virtual pet game about creatures you have never seen before. You hatch one from an egg, raise it over real days, earn its friendship and breed pairs into hybrids that exist nowhere else. It is warm, a little silly and built for people who name their plants.

Why every creature is original

Every RiftPet is an original creature. Each one starts from an archetype, the general shape of something familiar, and gets an invented name and a design of its own. Fanphant is not an elephant with a bow on. It is a new animal with a fan that opens when the music starts.

This is a rule, not a mood. Early in the build, a batch of new species came out looking like famous cartoon characters, because we asked a machine for a plain animal and it gave us the most common version on the internet. We caught it, wrote down what went wrong, and made originality a written rule that every creature, brief and review has to pass. You can read that story on the developer blog.

Every creature also shares one look, which we call Rift Cel: flat colour, thick black outlines, round bodies on stubby legs and big glossy eyes. The art style post explains the rules.

The no death rule

Nothing ever dies. Leave one alone for weeks and it wanders off, and a taming flower brings it home. Not from hunger, not from a busy weekend. Some virtual pets punished players for stepping away, and people remember that badly. We would rather you come back to a happy pet than a sad screen.

Care still matters. Pets get hungry, cold and bored if they are left alone, so they notice when you are around. Looking after them is the game, and it is meant to feel good, not scary.

Real time growth

Pets grow while you are away. A baby becomes a teenager on day two and an adult on day three, about 48 hours from hatch. If you play with, feed and warm your pet, a stage can pass in about four hours instead of 24. If you do nothing at all, it still grows up. Care is a bonus, never a chore.

When two adults become good friends, they can have an egg. You can hatch it, incubate it or sell it, and see what you made. Breeding is free.

Who makes it

RiftPets is made by a small independent team working across game design, engineering, creature art and animation. We read every message. If you want to say hello, use the contact page.

What comes next

RiftPets is in a closed beta with invites going out in waves. People on the waitlist get in first. Meet the residents on the creatures page, read the FAQ, or get straight to the point and join the list below.

Join the beta list on this site for early access.