WheelMates Beginner Guide - Launch Date, Friend’s Pass and the First Room

WheelMates is a two-player co-op driving adventure from Firevolt, released on Steam on Sep 1, 2026 at $15.99 in the US. The launch date is settled and the shape of a first session is documented on the store page, which is what this guide covers.

The launch date and what ships with it

The store page lists exactly one launch date, Sep 1, 2026, and one platform, Windows. A demo sits on its own store page as app 4428340, so the game can be tried before buying on that date.

Launch fact	Value at capture
Launch date	Sep 1, 2026
Price (US)	$15.99
List price	$19.99
Discount at capture	20 percent off
Platform	Windows
Demo	app 4428340
Friend’s Pass	a second player joins for free

The price column moves with promotions. The launch date and the Friend’s Pass arrangement are part of the product rather than a temporary offer.

Friend’s Pass and the two-player setup

Friend’s Pass is the published answer to the obvious question about a co-op game: whether a second person needs a second copy. The store page says that with Friend’s Pass your friend joins for free.

Beyond that sentence the page is quiet. It does not say which content is shared, whether progress carries between sessions or whether both players need a copy to play every mode. Those are gaps, and they are listed as gaps rather than answered here.

Where a first run starts

The setup is a rescue story at toy scale, and the store text lays it out in order. Two players answer a call for help from a professor who has disappeared, take control of two tiny RC cars and drive through his maze-like home laboratory.

• The professor is missing when the game begins.
• The laboratory is the setting, and it is described as maze-like rather than open.
• Obstacles are oversized relative to the cars.
• Rooms open up as progress continues.
• Hidden paths are part of the exploration, not a side activity.
• The story is uncovered by exploring, not told in cutscenes first.

Gadgets and how progression works

Progression is gear-based. The listing names rope swings, magnetic wheels and magnet grabs as upgrades, and describes each new gadget as opening a fresh way to explore the house.

That is a metroidvania-shaped structure described in a store listing, without a map: no zone list, no gadget count and no room total is published.

What is not published

The store page does not give a level count, a completion time or a difficulty mode. It also does not describe a single-player option anywhere, which is worth stating plainly for anyone who plays alone.

The systems behind the puzzles are on How It Plays, the two-player details are on Co-op, and the spec sheet is on Setups.