Monthly Brief: May 2026
This is our first Monthly Brief, and we’ll be sharing these regularly as development continues. Our goal is to give more visibility into what we’re building and where things are going.
Our recent work has been centered on expanding the game as a whole and creating more opportunities for involvement with the Iron Rebellion community.
Here’s what we’ve been working on.
New Features
We are actively working on the addition of secondary enemies and PvE game modes, something the broader community has been asking for since before launch. There are a variety of secondary enemy types that are being built. Flying enemy drones and ships, as well as various ranged and melee ground units such as walker drones and tanks. Each has separate animations and actions as well as particular ammo types like ballistics, energy, and explosive. They feature various traits as well, with some moving slower and sticking to the rear to fire barrages of missiles at their targets, while others are faster and attempt to flank around their current target or objective. The art style is intended to match the current Iron Rebellion universe while expanding upon it in new and interesting ways that players have not yet seen from the title.
Additionally, the team is currently prototyping new enemy types and narrowing down three PvE-focused game modes designed to expand the game beyond its PvP foundation. These modes are being built to support both co-op and solo play, offering a different type of experience outside of PvP combat.
Our goal is to create highly replayable scenarios with dynamic encounters that continuously engage players. As part of this, we are exploring systems that compete for player attention and introduce more variability into each session.
Development Challenges
As these systems take shape, we are also working through several challenges.
Some issues we had with targeting logic made it possible to cloak and complete objectives while avoiding enemies entirely. This has been an interesting edge case, as it removed tension from the experience. In our high-stakes PvP game modes, it’s something we don’t usually experience.
Ensuring we build these systems in a way that properly respects the game’s current feature set has been a challenge, considering many of these features were built solely with PvP in mind. We believe that through due diligence and a bit of extra effort, we can create a system that satisfies the current game and ongoing developments as a whole.
We are also continuing to improve enemy pathfinding and refining systems to ensure encounters feel dynamic and avoid repetitiveness over time.
Worldbuilding and Lore
We know there is a strong interest in the lore of the Iron Rebellion universe, and this is now an active area of development for the team.
As we build out PvE systems, we are simultaneously establishing the foundational elements of the world, ensuring that future storytelling and gameplay systems grow together in a cohesive and interesting way.
SIM Gaming Expo
We are currently exploring SIM rig capabilities and have completed an initial round of telemetry testing.
This work leads into the upcoming SIM Gaming Expo in Chicago this September, where we are aiming to showcase Iron Rebellion as a more fully immersive experience alongside a racing rig partner. Members of our team will be on-site, and the game will also be featured with VR Villa in their on-site VR arcade.
Our community can receive discounted tickets using the code IR10 at checkout. We would love to bring enough players together on-site to host a full tournament.
Community Support
We are adding additional game mode compatibility for community maps, alongside ongoing quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes based on player feedback. If you have feedback to share, we encourage you to join us on Discord.
Last, but not least, we have also launched our first batch of official Iron Rebellion merch on Fourthwall, offering a new way to show your support for the game. This is also something that we intend to expand upon as we grow.
Thank you for continuing to support the evolution and growth of our game.
Your support does not go unnoticed.
Keep an eye out for more updates.
– Black Beach Studio