Share buyback fixes
Fixed buying back the last 1% of your company (could look like it worked but stay at 99%).
Fixed Aggressive buyback failing in some cases.
Fixed hostile takeover / buyback flows that could drop your ownership unexpectedly.
Buyback wizard
Quick buttons for common targets (e.g. buy back all remaining shares).
Clearer help text: buybacks use company cash, not personal cash, and what going private does.
Going private
Going private no longer locks you out of the stock market (trading, Market Wire, etc.).
Going private now generates a Markets Wire headline in the news (as it is a news worthy event!)
Subsidiaries (racing team, etc.) stay manageable after delisting — use Manage links from the holding group panel.
Path: Empire → Capital Markets → Stock Market → Share Management.
My Company / investor view
Empire Portfolio only lists divisions you actually own (e.g. no airline row if you don’t have one).
Star ratings on portfolio rows.
Spin-offs / tracking stocks with their own tickers shown clearly.
Your main ticker and price shown on the stock market screen; optional view for secondary tickers.
Market Wire
New Markets Wire newspaper on the stock market (headlines, rumours, tape events, AI images).
Earnings reaction moved to its own tab.
Timeline of past market news for investors.
More image variety (less repetition).
Fixed conflicting earnings stories showing side by side.
Sidebar
Empire is its own top-level section (not under Grow).
Split into Command, Capital Markets, and Ventures for quicker access.
Market funds
Broad market funds investing lives on the Stock Market screen (simple tier), not duplicated under Finance.
UI polish (flat BriefLayout)
Command, Stock Market, Boardroom, Acquisitions, and Mogul Profile refreshed to match Weekly Brief / Portfolio style (flat surfaces, no photo backgrounds).
Bidding wars
You can bid on healthy rival studios, not only distressed ones.
Interactive bidding war mini-game: rival suitors counter-bid; hot targets cost more, low-interest targets are cheaper.
Distressed studios still go through bidding, usually with weaker rivals.
Easier to find targets
Browse rivals opens a table modal (health, value, buyer interest) instead of digging through Industry.
Click a name for full profile; start a bid from the table or profile.
Acquisitions page explains the flow and links into it.
Requirements
Advanced stock-market settings needed for rival acquisitions.
Paths
Empire → Ventures → Acquisitions → Browse rivals
Or: Grow → Market → Industry → competitor profile → Make a bid
Newsstand (new)
One place for all papers: Industry Gazette, Statecraft Wire, Market Wire, Sport Wire.
Unlocks around week 4.
Path: Daily → Newsstand (standalone sidebar row under Home).
Industry Gazette
Legacy Home News tab removed; Industry Gazette is a full wire (headlines, images, filters) like the other wires.
Old news links (Dashboard, Weekly Brief, etc.) go to Newsstand.
Sport Wire
New sports newspaper for football, racing, golf, wrestling ventures (AI images, filters).
Contextual wires (unchanged locations)
Statecraft Wire still on Politics.
Market Wire still on Stock Market.
Sport Wire still available in venture contexts where relevant.
Home clarity
Dashboard renamed Studio Dashboard (studio/hardware focus).
Copy clarifies Portfolio (whole empire) vs Weekly Brief (week overview).
Weekly Brief includes a short political headlines snapshot when politics is unlocked.
Racing Team
Full UI refresh: flat layout, team-colour accent, header stats, pill sub-tab nav.
All six tabs updated: Overview, Staff & Drivers, Facilities, Transfers & Sponsors, Race Weekend, History.
Path: Empire → Ventures → Racing Team
Fitness Chain
Same flat BriefLayout treatment (no luxury photo background).
Header stats: clubs, members, chain cash, weekly P&L.
Pill nav across all 13 tabs.
Map tab fixed — world map renders again after the layout change.
Path: Empire → Ventures → Fitness Chain
Fan engagement
Fixed fan engagement getting stuck (forum report).
Fan engagement actions on Overview (Open Pit Lane, Merch Giveaway, Fan Meet & Greet) still work as before.
Subsidiary spin-offs / IPO floats handled correctly when parent goes private (tracking stocks vs internal divisions).
Markets Wire image pipeline expanded (more topics and variants).
Industry Gazette images use fictional generic art only
What
Where now
Newsstand
Daily → Newsstand
Studio dashboard
Daily → Home → Studio Dashboard
Stock market & wires
Empire → Capital Markets → Stock Market
Browse / bid on rivals
Empire → Ventures → Acquisitions → Browse rivals
Market funds (simple)
Stock Market screen
Racing / Fitness
Empire → Ventures