It’s the final day of Steam Next Fest.
Thank you for the incredible competition this week. The leaderboard battles have been intense. Here is how tonight will work:
Schedule – Sunday
8:00 PM EST – Next Fest Survival Competition locks
8:00 PM EST – Steam Build Update goes live
9:00 PM EST – Top 3 Winners announced in a new Steam Announcement Important:
You do not need to post your score anywhere. All scores are tracked automatically in-game via the leaderboard. At 8PM EST: • The Next Fest Competition period ends
• The updated balance build goes live
• The game begins transitioning toward the Tower Defense Festival competition (March 9 – 16)
Balance Update – Live at 8PM EST
This update includes major tuning improvements based directly on your feedback: • All Turrets Armor increased by 25%
• All Turret Ammo Damage increased by 25%
• Dropship Flare effectiveness reduced from 66% to 25%
• Sniper Turret reload time reduced by 25%
• Replicator Drone Speed Boost cost reduced from 50 to 10 Tech Points
• Anti-Missile Turret improved target detection and faster rotation speed
• Enemy missiles now maintain a minimum targeting distance of 50m Many players mentioned difficulty spikes and late-game pressure. This update increases defensive strength while maintaining strategic tension.
Looking Ahead – Tower Defense Festival (March 9 – 16)
The Tower Defense Festival competition will use the same Contact Rear map — but on this updated and evolving build. Balancing will continue leading into the festival. The next step will likely be increasing the number of enemy Mechs to scale pressure appropriately against stronger defenses. That means the meta will shift. See you at 8PM. — Chris
Solo Developer, Artificial Extinction 2