See them first. Strike first.
You only see what your character can see. Read the light, check your angles, and dash into a fight you can win.
Vela Bay, Florida. 1989.
One hit.
A long night.
A top-down multiplayer brawl where one hit ends a life. Watch the corners. Make your move. Own the next five minutes.
Play in browserFree preview. No install. Practice without an account.
Early browser preview — a work in progress.
Join our Discord to find matches, share ideas, and report bugs.
Welcome to the night shift.
Watch 30 seconds of gameplay
Prototype footage. Staged with eight bot-controlled fighters.
Trailer transcript
Vela Bay. Nineteen eighty-nine. The streets are quiet. Until they aren’t. One hit. One chance. Watch the corners. Make your move. Knives clash. Grenades fly. And the night goes up in flames. Five-minute matches. Ten seconds to get back in the fight. Busy Signal. One hit. A long night.
1 hitis all it takes
5 minutesto take the lead
10 secondsand you’re back in
Quiet streets.
Terrible decisions.
Every corner is a gamble. Every life is another shot at the top of the scoreboard.
Make a mess of the place.
Clash with knives. Throw grenades. Set cars burning with Molotovs. A quiet street can change very quickly.
One more life. One more chance.
Death costs you ten seconds, not the match. Most kills wins; fewer deaths breaks a tie. There’s still time to turn it around.
New to the neighbourhood?
Get a feel for the fight before you go online.
Play in browserKeyboard & mouse or twin-stick gamepad.
Open the browser preview
Let the game load, then choose your look.
Try “Practice offline”
Learn the map against seven bots. No account needed.
Take it online
Return to the menu for casual play, or sign in for seasonal matches.
Anyone with a radio hears it.
That’s the problem.
Between 3:00 and 4:00 AM, a pirate station bleeds onto the FM dial. A woman’s voice reads an address, a floor number, and a number of names. Then a busy signal for fifty-eight minutes.
Welcome to Vela Bay.
Before you drop in.
Is it free to play?
The current browser preview is free. It’s a playable prototype, so expect changes as development continues.
Do I need an account or a download?
No install is required. Open the preview and choose “Practice offline” to play against bots without an account. Casual play is also available to guests; seasonal matches require sign-in.
Can I play on my own?
Yes. “Practice offline” gives you a full five-minute match against seven bots, with the same map, ten-second respawns, and scoreboard.
What are the controls?
Use WASD to move and the mouse to aim. Press Space to fire and K to dash in either keyboard preset. Classic also uses left click to strike and right click to fire. You can change your controls in Settings.
| Action | Keyboard & mouse | Gamepad |
|---|---|---|
| Move / aim | WASD / mouse (Classic direction or Direct pointer) | Left / right stick |
| Equipped primary (Direct) | Left click | — |
| Explicit strike / fire | J / Space (Classic also uses left / right click) | RT / LT |
| Dash / throw | K / Q | A / Y |
| Guard / interact | Shift or Direct right click / E | B / X |
| Kick | F | R3 |
| CRT effect | F1 | Menu |
Hold Tab or select Scores to view the scoreboard. The CRT treatment is optional.
What devices can I play on?
Start with the browser preview on a desktop with keyboard and mouse or a twin-stick gamepad. Mobile and browser compatibility are still being tested.
Coming soon: Android, iPhone, and desktop via Steam. Public release dates haven’t been announced.
Is this the finished game?
Not yet. This is an early browser preview of Busy Signal. The footage on this page comes from the prototype, with bot-controlled fighters. Features and visuals will evolve.
Got five minutes?
The streets aren’t going to survive themselves.
Play in browser
Free browser preview. No install.