Start your first match
From the main menu, open Play. For a first bot match, choose Quick Play → 3v3 Bots → Find Match. After loading, select an unlocked beetle and choose Ready up; the recording then reaches the arena with the score and match clock visible. Tutorial and Lobby Browser are also on the Play screen. [7]
For this walkthrough, start with Play → Tutorial, then try the bot-match route above. Choose an available beetle whose abilities you want to practise.
The recorded match entry at 16:14 shows the sequence through class selection and the arena. Confirm your chosen beetle is displayed before pressing Ready up.
The official site lists ranked and unranked matchmaking, as well as custom lobbies for playing with friends. [1]
Playing with friends and launch options
The official September 3 launch announcement says players can join friends in the queue or a custom lobby, and lists Quick play plus alternate gamemodes, unlockable beetle classes, quests, level-up rewards and other release additions. [4]
Learn the ball and movement inputs
Combine dungballs to make a golden dungball for scoring. More than one ball can be in play. [1]
- DungballsMultiple balls in play
- MergeForm a golden ball
- ScoreUse the golden ball
Beetleball uses momentum-based movement. The official overview also describes gliding and rolling balls across its maps. [1]
In the recorded keyboard/mouse tutorial, move with WASD, jump with Space, and tap the left mouse button near a ball to grab it; tap again to release. Carry the ball through the marked merge exercise until it turns gold. Aim toward the goal and tap the right mouse button to throw; the next exercise shows holding that button to charge a farther shot. Watch the objective turn green rather than judging success by the animation alone. [7]
The recorded tutorial also shows Space while airborne for gliding and Q for the class ability. Check the prompt for your active device and bindings before copying an input. [3][7]
Compare the grab and movement prompts at 03:17, then watch the merge sequence at 03:33. These are the recorded keyboard/mouse bindings; check your own settings before following them.
Using a controller
Steam marks Beetleball as having partial controller support and lists Xbox and PlayStation controllers. Keep a keyboard and mouse available for any unsupported screens; this walkthrough's mouse and keyboard inputs are not controller-button equivalents. [5][27]
Run the tutorial with the device you intend to use. If its on-screen prompt differs from this guide, use that prompt and your active bindings instead of translating a mouse button into a guessed trigger or face button.
Practise one goal and recover from a miss
Practise the tutorial's first golden-ball shot. Start holding the golden ball on the walkway facing the raised net. Aim up and tap right mouse to throw. If the ball falls short onto the reachable walkway, follow it and tap left mouse to re-grab, move closer, then jump, aim at the net and throw again. In the recording the first attempt falls short around 04:00; re-grab follows at 04:02 and the goal objective turns green at 04:06. Stop at that success signal before practising a charged shot. [7]
The tutorial permits scoring with a golden ball. In the reviewed sequence the first goal changes from 0/1 to a green 1/1 at 04:06, then the tutorial introduces the charged-shot exercise. [7]
Watch the short-shot attempt and recovery from 03:55. Compare three things in your own attempt:
- Starting state: the same tutorial objective and a golden ball in hand.
- Result: the ball reaches the net and the objective confirms completion.
- Recovery: if the short ball is still reachable, retrieve it and try the observed closer approach.
This is a practice exercise based on the observed sequence, not a diagnosis of every missed shot. Change one thing per attempt so you can tell what helped.
Check your version before copying older advice
This walkthrough uses launch-era footage, identified by the visible quests, level rewards, class unlocks and Quick Play menu that match the launch announcement. Update #1 on September 11, 2026 adds a charged headbutt and fixes ball merging and some class interactions. Steam's public branch from that day is build 25250887. On November 6, 2026 that was still the only public build listed, and Update #1 was still the newest Bugfight Steam announcement. Follow the prompts in your own game. The footage does not teach the charged headbutt, and it does not display that build number. [7][4][6][26][27]
The launch announcement lists quick play and alternate modes, unlockable classes, Atlas and Bee, class reworks and passive abilities among the additions. [2]
Why old sprint advice needs context
A demo update dated 1 March says automatic sprint was enabled by default. This predates the release announcement. [2]
A dated demo note is not a substitute for checking your active settings. This guide does not prescribe an old sprint toggle or a controller layout.
The procedures above were checked against consecutive gameplay footage and the official release notes, not personally playtested by this site’s editor. A video’s upload date alone was not used to identify its version. The footage does not show a reliable build number; the public Steam build named above comes from the November 6 depot check. Unobserved advanced techniques, including the charged headbutt added in Update #1, stay outside this walkthrough.
Sources and your next step
- Beetleball — official game overviewBugfight Studio · EN · Reviewed
Official overview supports the scoring sentence, listed mode categories and the stated player maximum. It does not establish exact controls or the installed build.
- Beetleball — official Steam announcementsBugfight Studio (official Steam announcements) · EN · Reviewed
Announcement history: launch list (3 September) and demo automatic-sprint change (1 March). These are not current gameplay measurements.
- xQc Plays BEETLEBALLxQc Gaming · EN · Reviewed
Keyboard/mouse prompts visible in this recording. prod-prefixed watermark observed; exact build-to-retail mapping and controller equivalents unverified.
- Beetleball — official launch announcementBugfight Studio · EN · Reviewed
Release feature scope only; exact menu path, bindings and build-specific success sequence remain unverified.
- Beetleball — Steam store pageBugfight Studio on Steam · EN; ZH-CN STEAM UI · Reviewed
Store price and discount remain region- and time-dependent. The November 6 response supports Windows, macOS and Linux flags and a live price object, not a fixed price or a SteamOS performance grade.
- Beetleball Update #1 — official Steam announcementBugfight Studio · EN · Reviewed
This is a post-launch change log, not a complete current roster or exact input reference.
- xQc plays Beetleball EP 1 - SEPTEMBER 04 2026xQc Vods & Games · EN · Reviewed
Launch-era scope established by visible Quests, Level Rewards / Class Unlock Token, locked class slots and quick-play modes matching the official launch additions, not upload date alone. Numeric build watermark is not reliably legible and no exact retail build ID is asserted. Update #1 reviewed separately; no personal gameplay or controller-button equivalence claimed.
- Beetleball — Steam announcement feed checked November 6, 2026Bugfight Studio · EN · Reviewed
This is the public announcement feed, not a depot manifest. Absence of a later post does not by itself prove that no private branch exists.
- Beetleball — SteamDB public branchSteamDB · EN · Reviewed
SteamDB's presentation of Steam depot metadata. The public branch table is not a file-by-file manifest, and the November 3 record timestamp is not an extra public build row. One private branch was listed and not opened.