Game update3 Sep 2026Beta Patch 2.07 - Economy Work, Bugfixes, RebalancingHi all, New update to the beta branch: I've been working on some bugs and QOL changes to try and get everything working as smoothly as possible before starting on the next DLC. The main features here are a redone economy screen and a change to the resources map mode that makes it easier to see where resources are coming from and going to. Additionally, I've rebalanced the gameplay to make civil…
Hi everyone, I've got a new update out now in beta. Faction selection is now on a 3d tabletop map, you can split armies again after merging them, and I've gone through a lot of the recent bug reports and sorted them out. Cheers, Joe Faction selection · New games now start on a 3D tabletop with a paper map and banners at each capital. · Click a capital name in the sidebar (or on the map) to zoom…
Hi all! I'm finally ready to release 2.05 and it is out of beta (with quite a lot more changes added since the beta began). The main feature in this patch is the personal guard, and I've also spent a lot of time rebalancing things, fixing bugs, improving performance and getting the game looking as good as it can (for instance, it now has much better lighting and more realistic rivers). From her…
Hi all, I've just released patch 2.05 to beta. You can access it by right-clicking the game in Steam -> Properties -> Game Versions and Betas and enabling the beta. It's mostly bug fixes but there are a few new features and some graphical improvements as well. I'm going to leave this in beta for a few days and do some testing of it, if there are any issues I'll patch them before it's fully rele…
Hello all, The new Provinces and Modding update is now live. It's the biggest update in the game by far, with roughly a third of the whole game's work gone into it. My goal with this update was to make the game moddable, more fun and more replayable, and fix up the main annoyances that players were having. To do so I took the step of entirely redoing the UI from scratch - literally every single…
Hi all, got a new patch for you that should fix some issues in the beta. New Features · Native world glances - World-map glances are now composited natively by the engine through an offscreen atlas renderer instead of the web layer. They are smoother, flicker-free, cheaper to draw, and stay stuck to their location with no lag. Glances also load their detail on hover and stay centred and stable…
Hi all, Great news! The beta for the new version (2.0) is now live. It will be running until the update is actually released on the 14th. This one is absolutely huge. The biggest things are the totally redone UI, the ability to play as a province and the fact that the game has been rebuilt from the ground up to allow for modding. An absolute ton of other stuff too (revamped battles with full pl…
Hello all! The beta for the next Fall of an Empire update will be going live on July 2, with the full update planned for July 14. This is a very large update - by my reckoning about 1/3 to 1/2 of the entire work up to release. The biggest changes are probably the ability to play as a province, the new modding features and the new interface. Almost every major screen has been rebuilt or heavily…
Hi all, I've just pushed a small patch that should solve the issue of being unable to complete the tutorial due to Marcellus being made a bishop. That's all for this current patch - at the same time I've been extremely busy with the big new update. Unfortunately I had some negotiations fall through for a library I wanted to use to run the new UI on, so I've been working on making a totally new…
Hi all, Today I want to talk about the main feature in the upcoming update: the ability to play as provinces, and the mechanics they get. Provinces are very different to independent factions - almost the exact opposite, since they’re on the other side of most systems. Province gameplay is centred around building your way up and attaining power. The main track here is the appointment to offices:…
Hello all, Apologies for the delay since the last dev diary, I've been very busy with getting the work done for this new update, which is going to be absolutely massive. It's got three big features: the new UI, the ability to play as any Rephsian faction, and the modding tools. I've been making some really good progress with all three of them: the new UI is looking good, and there has been a lo…
Hi all, this an update that's a got a bit more background work going on that should help for the next patch which will include the new UI, and ability to play as other characters. The main event here is migrating the game to UE5.7 from 4.27, which has allowed some noticeable visual improvements as shown below - you can see a much better-looking ocean and better lighting on the forests, and the…
Hi all, Just a small patch for today that fixes up a few bugs and does some minor rebalancing while I work on the next major update (which seems to continually grow - I am not immune to scope creep). I'm hoping to get it out by the start of May. It will include the new UI, ability to play as other characters, and modding tools. Originally I wanted to have all the modding tools available and rea…
v1.245 Patch Notes Hi all, this is a big new update, adding new event models and a proper pop system. Settlements now use a proper pop system, power blocs have been rebuilt into active political factions with their own interactions, armies can be merged and retrained far more cleanly, and the events now react to births, deaths, executions, spies, and rebellions. New Features Unified Pop System…
Hi all, some updates on the latest patch: it’s getting close to release and should be out in the next couple of days. The patch ended up growing quite a bit from what was planned: originally it was just meant to be a refresh of the event models, but it grew to include a new population system that separates cultures and religions, new UI features like a history of your faction’s rulers, custom i…
v1.244 Patch Notes The biggest update yet. Military command has been rebuilt from the ground up, character loyalty replaced with a proper compliance system, organised religions get bishops, and there are now victory conditions. Plus a mountain of diplomacy, economy, and UI work. Of course since there are so many changes for this update there are bound to be some bugs - please let me know if you…
Hi all, Now that most of the biggest issues with the game have been fixed (mainly stability and performance-related), I'm going to start working on fleshing out some more features in the next update. This one is definitely going to take a few more days than the previous few, since it's adding quite a bit more (also includes a ton of balance and bug fixes). First off: I'm expanding the religion…
Hi all, I've got a new update for you. New Features Diplomacy & Politics · Pay Ransom -- new interaction to pay gold to retrieve imprisoned courtiers from foreign factions · Diplomatic Marriage & Reassert Authority -- added to peacetime negotiation options, giving more tools during diplomacy · Province Build Focus -- set build focus directives on vassal provinces to guide AI construction priori…
This update focuses heavily on eliminating stutters and freezes, especially in longer campaigns, and also doubles the size of the tutorial campaign to explain more. Stutter Removal · Monthly income no longer causes a frame spike -- the game previously processes every faction's maintenance, income, and upkeep in a single frame at the start of each month. This work is now spread across multiple f…
Hi all, I just pushed the first post-release patch for the game. New Features Military · Delete and attach formation templates -- templates can now be deleted (with confirmation), and unassigned militaries can attach an existing template or create a new one directly from the sidebar · Strength tooltip on the military sidebar explains formation status (no formation, over/under target, at target)…
Hi all! This one's going to be short, because I'd rather you spend the time playing the game than reading about it. Fall of an Empire is now live. I'll be continuing to update the game with patches and new content going forward, and these dev diaries will keep coming as things develop. For now, go and play the game. The barbarians aren't going to crush themselves. Thank you, Joe
Hi all, Good news! Everything is now sorted and the game is clear to release on Steam. Fall of an Empire will be live Tuesday the third of March at 10am PDT. That is also: · Wednesday 5am AEDT · Tuesday 1pm US Eastern · Tuesday 7pm Central European time Thank you, Joe
Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, it appears that Fall of an Empire's Steam release may be delayed from the expected 26/2/26 at 12pm AEST. I am hoping to provide you with more details in regard to a new release date on Steam as soon as possible. For more information please see the game's website. Thank you, Joe Gibbs
Hello all! This week we're going to look at two of the systems that have been the most interesting to develop: the dynamic event system, and the modding framework that lets you create your own content for Fall of an Empire. You'll be familiar with event pop-ups if you've played a grand strategy game before: a bit of flavour text, a scenario, and a set of options for the player to choose between…
Hello all! Welcome back for the next dev diary, in which we'll be looking at settlements, buildings, and the economic engine that keeps your empire running (or, if you're not careful, brings it to its knees). Settlements are the beating heart of the Empire. Every province on the map has at least one, and each one is a living place with its own population, culture, religion, and economy. Settlem…
Hello again and welcome to this week’s diary, where we’re taking a look at diplomacy, wars, and espionage. As emperor, you're dealing with a world full of factions that all have their own agendas. Some want to trade with you. Some want to settle on your land. And some want to burn it all down. Relations and treaties Every faction in the game has an opinion of you, ranging from -100 to +100. Thi…
Welcome back to the dev diaries! This week we're going to be looking at two closely linked systems: the Imperial Court and the Empire's policies. These are really the highest level of how you govern your realm as Emperor - and as you'll see, governing a crumbling empire is never as simple as just making the right decision. Let's start with the court. Playing as Theodosius V you have five key of…
Hello all! This week we're going to be looking at one of the most important systems in Fall of an Empire: the military. Armies are the backbone of your power - without them, you cannot defend your borders, crush rebellions, or bring wayward provincial governors to heel. But maintaining a military is expensive, and fielding the wrong troops in the wrong place can be disastrous. Viewing and creat…
Hello all, this week we'll be looking at the character system and the power blocs that make up the imperial court. Fall of an Empire revolves around its characters. Unlike many strategy games where you interact with faceless factions, here you're dealing with individuals with their own personalities, ambitions and grudges. These are the people who run the Empire's provinces, command its armies,…
—
Announcements are the developer’s own posts to the game’s Steam news feed: updates and their patch notes, in-game events, releases and sales. The important ones are marked on the players chart.