Community9 Jul 2026Pricing Changes!Hi everyone! Although we just talked about what's coming in 1.0 recently, it didn't really hit me until I started writing this announcement. Emberward's Early Access is really almost over! I've been trying really hard to get everything done lately...I'm even dreaming about designing new levels. Hopefully I can wrap up 1.0 soon so I can get back to working on the more fun stuff, like new towers…
New update! Another month just flew by! In this patch, there are some big changes to Endless Mode. Previously, Endless Mode had random anomaly effects to ramp up the difficulty, so you had to adjust your strategy, towers, and relics around them. But from player feedback, a lot of people mentioned that those restrictive effects didn't feel great to play with. So this time I decided to try a diff…
New Update! Not sure if you noticed, but this week is Steam's Tower Defense Fest! The event is meant to help people discover more tower defense games, but it got me thinking... if it's a tower defense fest, maybe I could make something that fits the tower defense theme? Then I remembered something I've seen quite a few times in the feedback form. Many players said that after playing Emberward,…
New Update! Finally!! The feature that's been stressing me out the most is done! This update…I'd say about 90% of the time went into controller support. Since Emberward's demo launch, a lot of players have been asking about it. But if every time I add something new I also have to make sure controller support works perfectly, it would make development way more time-consuming and harder to iterat…
New Update! 2025 is almost over! ☃️ I was reading through some old patch notes yesterday and suddenly realized that around this time last year…I hadn't even started working on Sealed Citadel yet!? This whole year has felt like it flew by, but looking back at the logs, it's actually been pretty packed. All of a sudden, we've got the Sealed Citadel, Infernal Shards, a bunch of new characters, tow…
New Update! So…this update ended up being nothing like what I originally planned! °∀° I've always felt that Emberward has one big issue that's really hard to solve: whether you play Roguelite Mode or Endless Mode, a full run takes a loooong time to finish. But TD games are naturally time-consuming, and when you add maze-building on top of that, the thinking time makes the game even longer. It's…
New Update! Another step towards 1.0! This update fixes several issues I've been wanting to solve for a long time. After finishing the achievement system, most of the major planned features are done. But since the game's been in development for over two years now (!!), some of the early designs don't quite fit anymore as things have evolved. So this update, besides adding more new stuff, also f…
New Update! FINALLY the achievements are out! This patch was a ton of work, and I’m so happy it's finally done! Getting the achievement system finished feels like a huge step toward 1.0. Right now the game has 85 achievements. Aside from the ones you unlock just by progressing, I also added some that take a little creative thinking to figure out, plus a few ideas that came from players during E…
New Update! This patch adds Daily and Weekly Challenges to Endless Mode! Recently, I've been thinking a lot about what the "final form" of Emberward should look like. I've played a ton of fun tower defense games in the past. They were super fun, but once I finished them, I often didn't feel like going back. I always wished there was something that kept pulling me back in with new challenges. Th…
Surprise Update!! Not sure if anyone noticed, but today marks the one-year anniversary of Emberward's Early Access! (I was so naive to think I could finish the game in one year...Emberward is now at least three times bigger than I originally planned.) This past year has been insanely busy and exhausting, but also a lot of fun! I've had the chance to meet players from all over the world, learned…
New Update! I thought this update would be easier to make, but it turned out to be a tough one! Designing the tier 3 Infernal Shards fried a lot of my brain cells, but I'm pretty happy with the result. I tried to come up with a system that isn't too harsh, but still provides an extra challenge. If you're into tough challenges, give it a try and let me know what you think! (Shard level 24 is...r…
New Update! This update introduces the highest difficulty system in the game - Infernal Shards. Since I need lots of feedback to figure out what's the expected difficulty for hardcore players, please let me know what you think after trying it out! The first two tiers are available in this patch, and the third tier will be available in the next patch. Originally, I planned to add more poison tow…
New Update! Since I was a student, I loved seeing all the weird and fun events games would hold on April Fools' Day. Now that I have my own game, it feels like I have to add something special on this day! This update introduces a few more new towers, a limited-time April Fools' character, and a mode that randomly mixes maps from four different regions. As it's an April Fools' event, the new cha…
UPDATE TIME!! This is the patch that took the longest time to develop since the early access launched. The past two months have truly been...a development nightmare. But now, it's finally ready! (And I can go back to making more towers!) As usual, the fourth area comes with unique new mechanics, a new Boss fight, and new unlockable flames. Since it’s currently the last planned area, the design…
Hey everyone! As mentioned last time, I’m currently working on the 4th region. The development has been quite smooth (except I scrapped a main mechanic that took me 2 weeks to make and start over...), but it feels weird not posting anything for this long. So here’s a quick dev update to show what you can expect in the next patch! The next patch will introduce the 4th region, which includes seve…
New update!! As mentioned last time, this update is focused on revisiting older features and includes some suggestions from the community. When I started making Emberward, most of the relics and characters were designed with simpler abilities, which made them feel much weaker compared to the newer additions. This patch focuses on reworking characters and maps. I've listed the changes below and…
New update!! This update introduces another new character, new towers, and lots of changes! The new character, Tana, offers a more relaxed gameplay experience, and with a strategic use of towers and cards, she might be the strongest character yet! The three new towers...were much more complex to make than the others, but I really like how they turned out. (especially the tank :P) Try them out a…
Special Update!! Recently, besides the new towers, I've also been working on some new features that I wanted to find a way to gather feedback, but...it just didn't feel right to put out test features even though we're still in Early Access. Since Halloween is around the corner, I decided to combine these features into a special event! Since this is mostly about gathering feedback for future con…
New update!! As mentioned before, this update adds arcane towers and relics, along with a new character! However, this character is quite different from the others. Since the early access launch, there have been many requests for a faster-paced mode. However, I understand that it might not suit everyone, so the Chrono Traveler is here to offer more exciting and dynamic gameplay, while not affec…
New update!! This update is focused on electric type towers, relics, and mechanics, as well as a new character! The electric element is now more complete after this update. Feel free to leave your feedback on how it feels to play! The next update will be similar to this one, focusing on adding arcane towers and relics (those on Discord might have already seen the new 3x3 tower :P). At the same…
Finally!! After an entire month of work, the Frost Ruins is finally ready! This new region introduces some new mechanics, and the difficulty will be slightly higher compared to the first two levels. If you have any feedback after trying out the new maps, feel free to leave comments on Discord or here! I’ll make more balance adjustments later according to everyone’s feedback. In the next few pat…
Hi everyone! This patch adds a new victory screen and some new content to the game, and addresses some of the feedback and bugs I received over the last two weeks. After this patch, I'll be 100% focused on finishing the maps and boss level for the next region, so some of the requested features will come a bit later (such as discarding hand cards). The new mechanics for the Frost ruins are all f…
New Features · Added damage meter to display the total damage of all towers. (Experimental) · Added the ability to draw on the map by holding down Ctrl. (Experimental) · Hovering the mouse over the backpack icon next to the card deck in the game will show the block cards in your backpack. Gameplay Enhancements · Added "Edge Scrolling" option in the settings menu. · Added tips to disable moving…
Hi everyone! First, thank you for all the support! The launch has been going well so far, and now I'm back working on the next region! I know many of you have already cleared the heroic mode. I'll try to not keep you waiting for too long :P (Don't forget to try out the other characters and fire types!) Also, I've read some suggestions about gameplay or accessibility. Some of them are already in…
Hi everybody! After 1.5 years working on the game, I'm happy to announce... Emberward is coming to Early Access on June 25! At the start of Early Access, here's what you'll see: · 2 Playable Regions: Misty Forest and Bone Desert · 26 Towers (18 in demo) · 45 Relics (16 in demo) · Tower upgrades: All the towers larger than 1x1 have 2 upgrades to choose from! · 3 Extra Characters / 2 Extra Flame…
Small update! This patch is mostly bug fixes, with some design changes. Gameplay Improvements · Players can now start building towers even if they don't have enough coins, and build them once they have enough. · Treasure chests now offer a choice between three bundles instead of just one card. · Poison Dart Towers will now skip monsters whose accumulated poison exceeds their health. · Scrap Tow…
Hi everyone! It's been a while since the last update. Following the Steam Next Fest, I received tons of feedback and suggestions, so I've been busy tweaking the game and have added many new features. This update includes a massive amount of content, so please try it out even if you've played the demo before! (and let me know what you think about these changes!) Also, this will be the last major…
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.