There’s a lot happening on the road to the Star Birds grand finale! We’re expanding our plans for the Full Release, preparing the fifth and final Star System, and working on bringing Star Birds to even more platforms. And before we get there, you can look forward to another campaign level and a brand-new way to play every month.
Big news for all console fans! We’re squeezing in another update in October to use Level 15 as the setup for a technical spectacle in the final Star System. At the same time, we’re giving our indie team a few extra months so we can launch 1.0 on many of the platforms you’ve been asking for.
For us, that means there’s still a little more work ahead but we’re convinced the end result will be all the better for it.
And there’s no denying it, the finish line is coming into view:
Image: Early Access Roadmap, August 2026
If everything goes according to plan, the 1.0 release will bring Star Birds to Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. And as a plus, we’re also planning to make the game available through the Epic Games Store and GOG.
Until recently, we were considering a full release as early as autumn 2026. But one question kept coming up in the community: "What about other platforms?" 🤔❓
You’ve also kept asking us whether some of the big concepts in astrophysics could find their way into the game. And by big concepts, we mean really big ones. Massively big ones. We're space fans ourselves and that idea got us hooked. So we want to make it happen.
Long story short: we’ve adjusted our plans a little.
The Windows and Mac versions will, of course, continue all the way to 1.0. And a little reminder for our Mac players: we released the Mac version earlier this year, so Apple Silicon users can already join the bird crew and play everything currently available in Early Access.
Content-wise, the full release will take you into the fifth and final star system.
We plan to save some of the biggest tech ideas from astrophysics for last. Things are going to get a little more… cosmic. You can also look forward to finally uncovering the mystery surrounding the Strangelets and learning where this strange journey has been leading all along.
Behind the scenes, we’re already hard at work on new buildings, new resources, and new cutscenes for the final chapter.
There’s still plenty we don’t want to spoil just yet. But we think the last star system will be a worthy conclusion to everything the bird crew has discovered so far.
Image: Selection of New Buildings, Sketches and Models
We don’t want to leave you waiting until 1.0 for new content, though.
Level 15 will arrive separately this autumn, currently planned for October 2026.
The level still takes place in Cinnakeet, where the Star Birds have already had their fair share of scorching temperatures and lava lakes. This time, however, their attention turns towards a much bigger question: Where did the Strangelets actually come from? And what ARE they?
The crew finally gets a first idea of their possible origin. There’s just one problem: the distances involved seem completely absurd. Stella may have slightly underestimated just how far the crew would have to travel to follow the Strangelets back to their source.
Usually, moving on to a new Star System means building a new spacecraft, fitting it with an engine and setting off into the unknown. But what kind of engine could possibly cover a distance like this?
Eventually, the Star Birds come across an idea. It all comes down to a matter of… antimatter.
Image: Building Model, Producing Antimatter
The Antimatter Update will also introduce a new way to play Star Birds in Free Play Mode: Cosmic Seasons.
Every month, you’ll get a new predefined scenario to tackle. Everyone plays with the same seed, meaning you’ll all face the same generated map and the same starting conditions.
Each Cosmic Season comes with a predefined map size, star system, available resources and gameplay settings. Your job is to figure out how to make the most of what you’re given, and how well you can master that month’s setup. Each monthly challenge will have its own leaderboard, so you can compete with other players to perfect that month’s map.
Image: Announcement Monthly Challenges ("Cosmic Seasons")
That’s it for now! If you have any questions about the Full Release, Level 15, or Cosmic Seasons, feel free to leave them in the comments below. And while we’re here, we’d also like to take a moment to say a huge thank you to everyone who has already left us a Steam Review. It makes an enormous difference for us as a small indie studio!
Thank you for joining us on this Early Access journey. We’re looking forward to the grand finale! 🚀
Star Birds is an indie project by Toukana Interactive and kurzgesagt. We are over the moon to have such an amazing community. You are the reason why this project exists.
If you want to support us, download the game here on Steam, and tell your friends about it.
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