Welcome to the latest dev update for Tyr. This time, we're talking about our recent playtest extension, tournament results and future matches, and the latest patch.
As always, we offer these updates in written and video form. Video here, text version below.
Let's begin.
We'll start with the quick news. This past Sunday, we extended our current playtest until August 2nd, 2026, at 6pm PT.
Here's the adjusted end time for time zones around the world.
Timezone
End Time
Pacific Time (PT)
06:00 PM (August 2)
Eastern Time (ET)
09:00 PM (August 2)
UTC / GMT
01:00 AM (August 3)
Paris/Berlin (CEST)
03:00 AM (August 3)
Singapore/China (SGT/CST)
09:00 AM (August 3)
Tokyo (JST)
10:00 AM (August 3)
Sydney (AEST)
11:00 AM (August 3)
Auckland (NZST)
01:00 PM (August 3)
We're currently in an open state for playtesting here on Steam. That means anyone who wants in gets in immediately when they request access to the Tyr playtest on our Steam page.
We'll close the playtest once this session ends on August 2nd, but players who have access will retain access.
To be super clear here: we are not wiping the progress you make during the playtest when Tyr launches into Early Access. The tanks you unlock, the cosmetics you unlock, and the progression you earn will all be there for you when the game leaves its playtest phase and moves into Early Access.
We are not planning any account wipes.
Alongside the playtest extension, we've just released the latest patch. It's a large update, offering a new tank in the Alpha Program, Vehicle Mastery levels, balance changes, skins, quality-of-life improvements, and more.
Here are the major beats.
This is a small, light tank built for speed, scouting, and tracking down enemies who would rather stay hidden. Seeker's ability deploys a snitch that hunts down and pings the closest enemy in range. If there are no enemies nearby when the snitch is deployed, it will loiter in the area and activate once it detects a target.
As with all Alpha Program tanks, Seeker is still very much a work in progress. Alpha tanks live and improve through player feedback, and you'll likely see changes over time as we learn more about how Seeker fits into actual matches.
You'll also notice that Seeker's 3D model is still rough. That's intentional. Alpha Program tanks use work-in-progress models so it's clear that what you're playing is still in active development, not a final version.
What happens when you take tanks beyond level 20? Before this patch, not too much. A bar went up and, eventually, you got some career XP to help with future unlocks and drops.
With this patch, we've introduced Vehicle Mastery levels and a host of brand new titles to go along with it. Level a tank beyond level 20 to receive a new player title befitting your time spent and experience earned.
There are titles for Mastery Levels 21-30, and each level takes progressively longer to unlock. If you run into a Rook Master on the battlefield, know that they've spent a considerable amount of time playing with that tank.
Back in June, Ikarus was in an unhealthy spot. Players (ace pilots, more like) had developed skills that enabled insane looping runs, keeping the flying tank aloft long enough to absolutely decimate enemy teams.
Manageable with coordinated teams, but an absolute menace in uncoordinated pubs.
So, we worked to rein Ikarus in. To a point, we were successful. The patch in late June made it so that these insane maneuvers were no longer possible, and Ikarus became a much more manageable enemy tank in pubs.
But, as our community quickly let us know, Ikarus' in-air maneuverability had been nerfed a bit too hard.
So, we've made some adjustments. It shouldn't be possible to perform those seemingly infinite looping runs, but horizontal flight should feel significantly more responsive and last longer.
Players will be able to perform strafing runs that allow for quick damage, spots, and escapes, but the tank shouldn't be able to dominate as it did a couple of months back.
Did you know Tyr has a replay system? You need to enable it in the Settings menu below the Game tab.
In its first iteration, this replay system only allowed players to save the most recent 10 matches. If they wanted to hold onto a replay, they'd need to hop into the replay directory and rename the file they wanted to save.
We heard from the jump that some players wanted to save more replays, so now we've added that capability.
You have a few options for how many replays you'd like to save: 10, 25, 50, 100, and Unlimited.
If you select anything under Unlimited, you'll still need to open the replay directory and rename replay files you'd like to keep.
We've introduced three new skins with this patch, unlockable with scans and dropped Gold, and you can see them in the dev update video above.
Those skins are as follows:
Arbalest's Zero
Maul's Reentry
Atlas' Kingmaker
Kestrel's Venom
We've made a visual improvement to tank tread marks, which means your tracks, your teammates' tracks, and the tracks of spotted enemies will now appear on terrain as tanks move through the map.
We've also added water-disturbance effects, so tanks moving through water will now send ripples away as they drive.
Small detail? Sure. But a good one. Tyr is a game about big metal machines tearing across the battlefield, and the battlefield should show the evidence.
We’ve heard your feedback on Echo Scans loud and clear.
The main issue was that Echo Scans were setting the wrong expectation. At 500,000 XP, they felt like they should be a big reward moment, and when the rewards didn’t match that time investment, it felt disappointing.
That’s not what we intended Echo Scans to be. So, we’re making a change.
Echo Scans are now Rushed Scans, and they cost 50,000 XP instead of 500,000 XP.
At that lower cost, they should feel faster, more frequent, and more in line with their intended purpose: a small bonus once you’ve unlocked everything else, with some extra gains and a chance at a cosmetic.
As a thank you to players who spent time working toward the old version, any player with more than 50,000 XP toward a 500,000 XP Echo Scan will automatically receive a charm drop with the new patch.
Thanks for the time, and thanks for the feedback.
We've added a new quickstart tutorial video to help new players get their bearings in Tyr a bit faster.
Tyr has a lot going on. Tanks have unique roles, matches can get chaotic quickly, and the game makes a lot more sense once you understand the basics of armor, spotting, angling, and how to win. The new quickstart video is built to help fresh recruits get through that learning curve a bit faster.
We've also uploaded the video to YouTube, making it easier to share with future players who may not have Tyr installed yet.
One important note: previously, new players received 75,000 SLVR when they first booted up the game, which was enough to unlock their first tank. With this patch, that SLVR is now tied to watching the quickstart video. New players will need to watch the video in order to claim that first-tank unlock currency.
And no, existing players won't receive another 75,000 SLVR for watching the video. You already got that when you first booted the game. 😅
Team Cyanic officially dethroned THUMBS in our most recent monthly tournament. You can catch a vod of that championship bout below.
Congrats to Team Cyanic! Will they hold on to the title? 🏆
We host monthly tournaments for Tyr. These tournaments are open to any player so long as they sign up and either have or are placed on a team, and there's a standard cash prize pool at stake.
1st place: $1,300 USD
2nd place: $700 USD
3rd and 4th place: $250 USD each
No team? No worries. We offer a free agent signup form on our Discord. Hop in at https://discord.gg/tyr and snag the Pre-Release Competitor role to gain access to the tourney channels and info.
Here are the dates for our next three tournaments.
Speaking of tournaments, those 8-stacks out there looking to test their mettle against other 8-stacks will have a small window to do so with a limited queue that we're trying out for the first time during this playtest.
Beginning Saturday, August 1st, at 9am PT, we're running a three-hour block for the Ranked Teams queue.
During that window, 8-player squads will also be enabled in the standard queue. So, if you want to stack up with a full team but aren't looking to jump into Ranked Teams, you'll still have a place to play together.
One important note: Ranked Teams MMR will be separate from Ranked Solo / Duos MMR. Playing Ranked Teams will not affect your Solo / Duos rating, and your Solo / Duos rating will not affect your Ranked Teams rating.
Ranked Teams results will also have no impact on tournament placement or seeding. This first window is about testing the mode, gathering feedback, and seeing how full-team ranked play feels in a live environment. We're expecting longer queue times for Ranked Teams, too, so please consider the mode a great way for tourney teams to scrim without prior planning.
We’re launching an in-game reward for players making Tyr content that goes on to earn views. If you make a qualifying Tyr video, you can earn an exclusive Creator player title in-game, displayed (when you select it) below your username.
To qualify, submit a Tyr video that hits one of these thresholds:
Regular YouTube: 50,000+ views
YouTube Shorts / TikTok / Instagram Reel: 100,000+ views
Once your video qualifies, submit the link and your Steam details through this form.
We’ll review submissions manually. If approved, we’ll grant the title to your account.
That's it for this week's dev update.
Get out there, try out the patch, and I'll see you on the battlefield. 🫡