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Summer, the time of beaches, sun, and facing an unfathomably large swarm of terrifying alien bugs.
Good luck in Ulora.
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Hello Settlement Leaders!
To celebrate the Yangwu Update and our recent bundle, we have teamed up with the amazing developers of Diplomacy Is Not An Option to bring our first-ever cross-community event. Introducing the…
We want to see YOUR strongholds! Share your defenses, settlements, or fortresses in Here Comes The Swarm, Diplomacy Is Not An Option, or both!
Share a screenshot or video of your Stronghold in Here Comes The Swarm.
Share a screenshot or video of your Stronghold in Diplomacy Is Not An Option.
Way #1 $25 Steam Gift Card
Share a screenshot of your strongholds in both games for a chance to win one of 3 $25 Steam gift cards.
Way #2 Steam Keys
Share a screenshot of one or the other to be entered for a chance to win a Steam key of the opposite game. i.e., HCTS screenshot to win a DINAO Steam key or vice versa.
Additional Entries. Share your Strongholds in both games on Discord to get additional entries to win.
5 Keys for Here Comes The Swarm
5 Keys for Diplomacy Is Not An Option
3 $25 Steam gift cards
Start: June 19th - HAPPENING NOW End: July 17th
Additional Guidelines
Must share at least one screenshot of a fortress in either game
Must be in a country that can accept USD Steam gift cards to be eligible
Screenshots must be from your game, no googling!
Winners will be chosen by random draw
Winners will be contacted through the platform they submitted on
Don’t have the games? Don’t sweat, both are available now in our Here Comes The Swarm x Diplomacy Is Not An Option bundle at 10% Off!
Good luck, everyone! We can’t wait to see your Strongholds!
That's right, Settlement Leaders, the deity you've all been waiting for is finally here. Our small team is excited and proud to say we reached the end of our current roadmap with this major update. Just because this stretch is over doesn't mean we are done yet, we can now focus on more content, which you have been asking for, for a long time. More on that below!
For now, enjoy the all-new deity Yangwu, alongside fresh progression options, gameplay improvements, quality-of-life enhancements, and community-driven fixes. Find the patch notes below.
Added Yangwu, an economic play-style Deity who aims to develop a wealthy settlement and maximize resource production.
Level 1 Blessing: Yangwu Workshop → Unlocks the Yangwu Workshop building.
New Building: Yangwu Workshop → Increases the production of nearby buildings by 30%.
Level 2 Blessing: Hand of Yangwu → Start the game with the Yangwu's Bracelet relic, which can be equipped by one of your units.
New Relic: Yangwu’s Bracelet → Earn Tribute from kills, chests, and shrines within range. Tribute can be deposited at the Yangwu Workshop to provide a global buff.
Level 3 Blessing: Yangwu’s Reach → Buildings not connected to the Core gain an additional 30% efficiency.
Level 4 Blessing: Valley of Plenty → An additional Geyser spawns near the Core.
Level 5 Blessing: Resonance → Start the game with 1 additional empowered Arcanum Node.
Level 6 Blessing: Recycling → Increases the refund value of units and buildings by 20% when they die.
Level 8 Blessing: Hoarder → Units and buildings gain Attack Damage and Health based on the amount of Blood Rubies in storage.
Level 10 Blessing: Golden Age → Increases the duration of all Infusions by 50%.
Added Essence: Disconnected → Production buildings not connected to the Core gain an additional 30% effectiveness.
Added Essence: Red Pill → Gain 6 additional Red Talent points.
Added Essence: Green Pill → Gain 6 additional Green Talent points.
Added Essence: Blue Pill → Gain 6 additional Blue Talent points.
Added Essence: Tent Subsidies → Dwellings generate +2 Blood Rubies.
Added Essence: Compound Interest → Increases production income based on a percentage of stored resources.
Added Essence: Economic Baseline → Gain 75 ruby, 10 wood and 3 gas.
Added Essence: Fast Castle → Reduces the cost of the Stone Tier research by 50% and increases Research building production speed by 50%.
Yangwus Relic Item & Yangwus Workshop
Enemies in waves are now always visible on the minimap.
Wave spawn range is now visible on the minimap.
Wave locations are now announced 2 minutes in advance on all difficulties.
When a wave location is announced, the countdown timer is now displayed above the Swarm Level.
The remaining preparation time is now shown in the Swarm Level tooltip.
The time until the next wave is now shown in the Swarm Level tooltip.
Updated the in-game roadmap with upcoming content.
Production buildings that are not connected to the Core now operate at 40% efficiency instead of being completely inactive
Affliction tooltips now display their duration.
Removed burned tree props from map generation.
Improved terrain generation by removing isolated water-edge tiles, resulting in smoother map layouts.
Added a light particle effect to Arcanist projectiles.
Added subtle wind sway animations to trees.
Improved occlusion handling to reduce tree rendering jitter.
Increased Arcanist Armor Penetration from 6 to 10 as originally intended.
Production income now rounds values instead of flooring them, resulting in slightly higher yields from boosted production buildings.
Performed several rendering optimizations, particularly for Ballista bolts.
Fixed a memory leak that could occur when Tunnelers attempted to spawn without any valid spawn locations.
Food and Population cost reductions are now correctly reflected in upkeep and refunds when units die.
Fixed an issue where production bonuses were applied only once instead of per worker.
Fixed Expedition Graces not stacking correctly.
Fixed an issue where Knights could occasionally fail to aggro Hive buildings.
Fixed an issue where the Breach Burden would not spawn Tunnelers inside the settlement.
Fixed a rare map generation issue that could create isolated islands.
Fixed an issue where the first unit given a move command would sometimes fail to respond.
Fixed an issue where the credits screen would no longer auto-scroll.
We've heard you loud and clear: Campaign Mode. That's right, we are thrilled to also announce we are developing a brand-new campaign, along with three additional major content updates. Upcoming
Campaign
Garrisons
Blessings & Burdens
...More to come!
To celebrate this milestone, we have also joined up with the awesome devs for a bundle with Diplomacy Is Not An Option. Pick up or gift insurmountable odds with Here Comes The Swarm and Diplomacy Is Not An Option at a 10% discount!
We really can't say this enough, but thank you to all our amazing players for the feedback, ideas, suggestions, bugs, and memes. It's your support that got us here and has us excited for the future of Here Comes The Swarm. May Yangwu bless your settlement,
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It's been a little over two months since Here Comes The Swarm launched in Early Access, and it's been an amazing ride.
Thank you to everyone who played, reviewed, gave feedback, and reported bugs. Since our March 5th release, we've seen some BIG numbers come through.
Killed 157 Million Swarm
Lost 154 Million Units to the Swarm
Empowered 917 Thousand Essences
Cleansed 512 Thousand Shrines
Completed 150 Thousand Games
Our jaws dropped with these numbers. We are humbled and thankful to our community! Keep up the good fight, Settlement Leaders!
See you in Ulora,
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Hello Settlement Leaders!
It was about time we answered your burning questions and on May 3rd that's exactly what we did. Special thanks to r/RealTimeStrategy for allowing us to host and to everyone who left us questions. There were so many good ones and the team had a great time answering.
In case you missed it, here are the question and answer highlights of the event. You can also check out the full thread here: CableHook Games AMA on Reddit.
Q: Arlague
Hey, love the game, having a blast. Wanted to ask a couple questions : What was the hardest system (eco, mouvement speed, difficulty...) to balance in Here Comes The Swarm, and why? What player behavior surprised you the most during test or after launch? A: Phena3d
Hey Arlaque, nice to see you here!
The most challenging with balancing is that each system is connected to each other. When making a change in the economy system to target a specific issue, such as early-game gas supply, it might influence wave difficulty as you are now able to have an army sooner.
With the amount of modifiers the game offers with the Essences, Deities, Difficulties etc. there are so many tiny things that rely on each other. For us the biggest challenge is the testing of it all, with our small team. We want to make sure sure that an intended change does not turn into a whack-a-mole with issues popping somewhere else.
The biggest surprise is definitely the complete opposite of what players consider OP haha. Where one says a certain Essence is overpowered, somebody else calls it the worst. This counts for a lot of elements in the game. I see it as something positive that we have so many variety, but it does not make balancing any easier!
Ah, also I have been getting absolutely clapped by the map rng, with wave splitting 2-3 ways. Are the any plans to introduce map biome effects? Or some more map generation variety?
A: KoffiePatje
Reposting my comment without embedded URL to make sure it pops up right away (you might or might not see traces of that, no idea);
We’ve definitely seen the wave-splitting feedback come up more often, so that’s something that’s actively on our radar. We still need to find a solution that hits the spot, keeping the game fun and exciting at the same time, but hopefully we can figure something out soon.
Adding more map variety is also something we absolutely want to do later on. It is unfortunately one of the more work-intensive areas, so while we’d love to expand it, other things currently take priority for now. That said, it’s definitely something we hope to get to down the line.
On biome effects, that’s an interesting one. While we do already have a few elements that could be considered biome-like effects, reading this comment is already giving us ideas for more. We also have a feedback channel on our Discord, so if you have specific ideas, we’d love to see them there 🙂!
Q: wildrems
Those kind of defense/Wave RTS are my favorite kind of RTS, so thanks for making one and i really like your game the gameplay is fun and fluid. Question: Do you plan on having other units? Maybe some special unit unlock only a specific deity? Any plan for Air or water unit like Repterra?
A: DaveyBoyHoek
Thanks that is great to hear! We have enough ideas for other units, but no plans. We have a prototype enemy that could potentially fly over water. Making it another hurdle for you to tackle, but that might never reach the game :) I love the idea of deity specific units!
Q: LivelyZebra
Love the format of the arcanum and specialising builds using the same units/buildings, keeps it fresh.
i assume on top of more content and essences etc being added there will hopefully be more expansion into the system itself?
maybe different node layouts/sizes or anything that actually impacts how you lay out your essences more thenjust slapping them in ?
A: DaveyBoyHoek
Developer - Here Comes the Swarm
Hey LivelyZebra, great to hear you are enjoying the Arcanum!
When did you last play HCTS? We changed the empowerment system so you can only unlock essences connected to ones you've already empowered, starting from the default middle essence. Going left, right, up or down opens up the connected path from there, so your choices actually shape the run now. Makes strategizing around the Arcanum a fun thing to do. We also added saving, loading, sharing and importing of Arcanum presets, head over to Discord to find other people's builds and essence unlock orders for optimal efficiency or plain overpowered fun!
The next big update brings a new Deity called Yangwu, specializing in Utility, so expect new essences, a new Arcanum board layout and more awesome utility focussed features! Praise Yangwu! 🐦
A more serious question: How do you see the next deity? What will it focus on, anything you can already share about specific mechanics for it?
Love the game.
- Ganun
A: KoffiePatje
Developer - Here Comes the Swarm
Yangwu is the next upcoming Deity, and it will focus on “utility”.
What that means exactly is something we unfortunately can’t fully disclose yet. Whether that’s because we want to keep it a secret, or because we are still finalizing the details ourselves, is something we’ll leave in the middle for now 👀.
will you add coop?
A: DaveyBoyHoek
Hi! We are not planning to add co-op for now, we have discussed it and it would be a great addition to the game but it is also a huge time investment. We have it on our want-to-have list, so never say never!
Q: timwaaagh
will we get a storyline campaign? A: KoffiePatje
While we can't confidently say yet whether a storyline campaign is our next direction, it's definitely on the board. We're closely observing the feedback we get from the community and will steer our decisions based on that. Small sneak peek, this one is definitely high up there, but no promises yet.
Q: Khelthuzaad
Zeratul or Tassadar?:))
A: Phena3d
Haha, 100% Zeratul!
Thank you again for all the questions, we look forward to doing more AMA's in the future.
See you in Ulora,
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Hello Settlement Leaders!
Our second major update: The Arcanist Update has arrived! In this update, you'll get to train a brand new player unit: The Arcanist. That Scorpion hurling attacks from the back of the Swarm will no longer be the threat it once was, not with a firing squad of long-range blasting Arcanists.
Added the Arcanist, a powerful long-range unit that channels Arcana to unleash devastating attacks.
Trainable from the Barracks after completing the Stone Tier upgrade.
Attack Damage: 125
Armor Penetration: 10
Movement Speed: 3.5
Attack Speed: 0.3
Attack Range: 16
Anyway, so she started blastin'
Overseer: Increases Gas, Wood, and Stone production by 40% for buildings within 10 range.
Spotter: Increases range of nearby units and defensive structures by +2.
Penetrating Shot: Attacks pierce all enemies, dealing 10% of total damage.
Weak Spot: Attacks apply a debuff that increases damage taken by 10%, stacking up to 5 times.
Ocular Implants: Increases attack range by +2 and vision range by +3.
Steady Aim: Reduces attack speed by 30%, increases attack damage by 30%.
Paralyzing Shot: Attacks have 10% chance to stun the target.
Devout: Grants +2 Arcana when cleansing a Shrine with an Arcanist.
Inject (Ability): Buffs an ally, increasing health, attack damage, armor, and scale for 40 seconds.
Mini Nuke (Ability): Throws a small Radiant Nova, costs 1 Arcana, and deals 2000 damage.
Barracks: Accelerator
Increases attack speed by 10%.
Blacksmith I: Quickstep
Increases movement speed by +0.5.
Blacksmith II: Truestrike
Increases armor penetration by +4.
Veterancy upgrade
Attack Speed: +0.5
Armor Penetration: +1
Elite upgrade
Attack speed: +5%
Armor Penetration: +2
Unit upgrades
Added Blacksmith and Barrack upgrades so all units now have three economy upgrades:
Added Priest Barracks upgrade: Greater Healing → Increases the Healing Power of Priests by 0.5.
Added Pyromaniac Barracks upgrade: Extended Flames → Increases the Range of Pyromaniacs by 1.
Added Priest Blacksmith upgrade: Rapid Restoration → Increases the Healing Speed of Priests by 35%.
Added Pyromaniac Blacksmith upgrade: Wildfire → Increases the Impact Radius of Pyromaniacs by 25%
Renamed the second Blacksmith upgrade for Knights to Bulwark.
Renamed the second Blacksmith upgrade for Arbalists to Penetrating Bolts.
Armor now reduces damage by a percentage.
Total damage reduction is displayed in the Armor tooltip.
Additional armor provides diminishing returns.
Armor penetration reduces armor before damage is applied, making it more effective than flat attack damage.
Total stat values are now displayed in unit stat tooltips.
Melee units now prioritize targets within attack range before aggro range.
Melee targeting now uses path distance instead of straight-line distance, preventing units from mis-targeting through walls.
Updated healing tooltips to explicitly reference Healing Power.
Healing tooltips now display actual healing values and update dynamically.
Decimal values now display up to two decimal places when applicable.
Resource refunds from building removal now use the modified cost instead of base cost.
Karkadann Relic now also increases unit size.
Pyromaniac
Attack Range: 14 → 13
Splash Radius: 5 → 4
Armor: 1 → 0
Increased armor for high-armor enemies, Walls, and Knights to account for the armor system changes.
Increased armor granted by the Iron Momentum Essence.
Increased Priest base Healing Power: 1 → 2
Increased Arbalist Penetrating Bolt upgrade Armor Pen: 2 → 3
Increased Swarm Armor scaling start level from 7 → 10
Decreased Swarm Armor scaling per level from 5% -> 3%
Radiant Nova now ignores Armor.
Burning debuff now ignores Armor.
Removed maintenance cost of the Blacksmith.
Increased Knight base health from 225 -> 250
Increased Wooden wall base armor from 3 -> 5
Increased Stone wall base armor from 7 -> 9
Increased Gates base armors to be identical to their walls.
Fixed some missing or incorrect keybinds.
Fixed an issue where Blacksmith upgrades were shown as unit orders instead of upgrades.
Fixed a Trigger System issue where some overlap removal events were skipped (affecting aura removal).
Fixed an issue where Hold Position could increase attack speed, it now shares a cooldown with normal attacks.
Fixed dead tree props shifting one tile after loading a save.
Fixed an issue where the Matriarch could spawn eggs at the edge of the map.
Fixed an issue where production buffs were applied incorrectly, resulting in less of a boost than intended.
Fixed an issue where Marketplaces, after the first placed one, would have their buy/sell buttons enabled during construction already
Another update down, which means it's time to focus on the next deity: Yangwhu! Keep your eyes open for the news and teasers for Update #3.
We're also celebrating today's update with a week-long sale! Want to try out the new Arcanist or introduce your friend to the Swarm? Now's your chance at a discount!
As always, thank you all for your feedback and bug reports. It has been a dream to develop Here Comes The Swarm with you. If you run into a bug or have feedback, please let us know on Discord or by using the bug report button in-game. See you in Ulora,
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It won't be long now before the new unit update arrives! To get ready for the update and give you the best chance against the swarm, it's about time we took a deep dive into Units. Enjoy everything you need to know about who you're controlling and the enemies they'll face.
You have four units to work with, each one is built to answer a different question on the battlefield. And the new and upcoming unit is also going to have its role to play.
The Knight is the answer to “how do I hold a line.” He swings slowly but hits hard. The Knight wants to be in front, and is the unit you do not need to babysit.
The Arbalist is our mid-range unit, the ideal backup to the Knight. Her range lets her engage threats before they reach your defenses, and her damage output scales well when you can funnel enemies into tight corridors or chokepoints where many Knights would struggle because of the limited space.
The Priest is the support. Fast attack cadence, lowest armor in the roster (tied with Pyromaniac at zero), and a dedicated Heal Beam ability. We have seen some players use Priests with Knights as a mobile impenetrable wall. I am looking at you Ganun ;-)
The Pyromaniac is the glass cannon. The biggest hit in the game, strong armor penetration, and almost no way to survive a mistake. He has the smallest health pool, no armor, and he is slow. But boy does this unit melt the Swarm with its AoE damage.
Knights and Arbalists band together to take down the Spawner.
On the Swarm side, the Hatchling is the baseline swarmer. Barely any HP, no armor, melee only. On its own, it is almost harmless. But that is not the point. The Swarm sends dozens of them, and left alone on our precious planet, Ulora, they will grow into something far worse.
The Warrior is a grown-up Hatchling. More HP, armor, and the scythe-like claws have matured into something that can actually slice through defenses with their armor penetration. Keep these away from your Arbalists either way, or you might hear some groaning sounds!
The Adult is the Swarm's frontline bruiser. More HP and armor than the Warrior, and better armor penetration. It does not hit the hardest in the Swarm family, but it is the hardest to put down while it is grinding through your defenses. It demands attention not because of its damage, but because it just does not stop.
The Brute is also melee and built to be a wall that hits back. More HP and more armor than anything else the Swarm sends your way, plus serious damage and armor penetration to match. Where the Warrior is a wall you have to clear, the Brute is a wall that punishes you for trying.
The Scorpling is the ranged harasser. It has a long aggro range, wide vision, and throws splash shots from a safe distance. But it fires slowly and has a minimum attack range, meaning it cannot shoot you up close at all. Close the gap, and it is helpless. Let it sit at range, and it will chip your army apart.
The Scorpion is the bigger, slower version of that same threat. Same long range, same minimum attack range, same extended aggro, but hits way harder and fires even slower. If left alive, this unit will make sure that your precious defences and units behind walls are joining one of the Deities up there.
The Tunneler burrows in from a distance and sets up shop near your base. It does not fight directly. What it does is spit out waves of Swarm units from its bowels, and it escalates with each wave it sends. The longer it lives, the tougher and more numerous the units it produces.
A Tunneler that goes unanswered for long enough will be sending Adults and Brutes at you while the main Swarm hits your walls from the other side. It shows up on the minimap once you spot it. Prioritize it.
The Spitter is a stationary ranged attacker. Planted in the ground, long reach, spits once in a while, but it is AoE. And what it spits melts through armor. Its main purpose is to defend the hive and its eggs.
The Spawner moves slowly and walls and does no direct damage, but it lobs eggs from its cloaca that hatch into new Swarm units. The Spawner is heavily armored, but right after its egg-lobbing ability, it becomes vulnerable. Are you going to prioritize killing the eggs before they hatch, or are you going to target the Spawner?
The real threat is not the Spawner itself, it is what it leaves behind if you aggro and ignore it. Kill it before it has time to turn a quiet corner of the map into a new problem after aggroing it.
It is tempting to pick the right unit for a given threat. In practice, composition matters more than any single matchup. The Priest keeps the rest of your army standing. The Knight buys the time everyone else needs. The Arbalist clears the swarm, so your heavier units do not drown in chip damage. The Pyromaniac melts what the rest cannot get through.
A good army is a combination of them all, covering each other's weaknesses. This is without taking the Arcanum into account, your customizable talent tree. With the right upgrades, you could do a one-unit-only run and still tear through the Swarm!
...But beware, not all Swarm will go down so easily, even with the right combination.
The Brute is our most dangerous swarm unit, and it is not close. Most HP, most armor, hardest hit, highest armor penetration in the whole Swarm. It comes in melee range and brings all of that with it.
The Scorpion gets the honorable mention for completely different reasons. It will not win a brawl, but it does not need to. Long range, extended aggro, the widest vision of any enemy in the game, and a slow, deliberate fire rate that wears your army down from a distance you cannot always answer. It sees further and commits to the fight earlier than its smaller scorpion sibling. The Scorpion does not chase you. It just makes sure you eventually have to come to it.
Design-wise, it is the new Knight, and it is not even close. The old version was still the sci-fi Knight model from an earlier version of the project. He was fine, but he never really really fit the theme. The new one looks like he is actually part of the army. Seeing him on the battlefield next to the rest of the units was one of those small moments where the whole game felt a bit more like itself.
Favorite unit to play is a different question, and honestly, it shifts with whatever Arcanum build we are running at the time. I (Davey) keep coming back to mass Arbalists. There is something very satisfying about a volley of bouncing bolts because of the Ricochet Essence, and seeing people on the Discord share their own versions of that build has been one of the best parts of development. If that sounds like your thing, come hang out with us on Discord!
There is one setting we want to point at, because we think it is underrated: every unit has a target selection mode, and it is one of the more powerful tools at your disposal.
The options are Closest, HighestMaxHP, HighestArmor, and Random.
On paper, that sounds like a small thing. In practice, it changes how the unit fights. A slow heavy hitter set to HighestMaxHP will not waste its shot finishing off a Hatchling that is also one-shottable for the Arbalist, so the damage lands where it actually matters.
An armor-penetration build paired with HighestArmor targeting keeps picking the fight it was built for, instead of chipping whatever happens to be closest. Random is there too, and it is exactly as messy as it sounds, but there are compositional reasons to want it. Think of the mass Arbalist build I mentioned earlier with the Ricochet Essence, this makes your Arbalists super efficient AoE damagers.
It is just a button, but once you start thinking about your army with it in mind, your whole army feels less like a group of units and more like a plan!
We are not ready to name it yet, but the design problem is easy to talk about. Right now, when the Swarm is already at your walls, and there is a Scorpion throwing attacks from the back, you do not have a good way to tackle this, that is what we are trying to resolve.
And that is all the hints you are going to get!
Thank you for reading! We hope this gives you a leg up against the Swarm, and we can't wait to release the next unit very soon!
See you in Ulora,
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That's what we want to know! To celebrate the recent Arcanum Update, we want to see your Arcanum loadout! Have a combination that crushes the Swarm? A unique combo just for fun, or just your go-to loadout? Share it with the community! Everyone who shares a screenshot and the loadout code will be entered for the chance to win a $25 Steam gift card.
Learn more about the Arcanum Major Update recently released:
In-game, take a screenshot of your Arcanum and copy your loadout code.
Where to find your loadout code: Under the Arcanum tab --> load your favorite --> click the drop-down menu --> +Share to get the loadout code, and copy that to your clipboard!
Example below:
Share your loadout code and screenshot on one of these platforms:
That's it! After sharing, hang tight, experiment with other people's Arcanum shares, and we'll announce the winner on April 28th!
Event begins: April 17th - Submissions open!
Event ends: April 27th
Winner announced: April 28th
One randomly chosen winner will receive a $25 Steam gift card.
Must share both a screenshot and their loadout code to be entered
The winner is chosen randomly from a pool
Must be in a region that accepts USD Steam gift cards. A new winner will be chosen if not.
Enjoy the update!
We hope you are enjoying the first major update for Here Comes The Swarm and look forward to seeing your Arcanum loadouts!
See you in Ulora,
What’s Your Arcanum!? - HAPPENING NOW!
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Hello Settlement Leaders!
We are thrilled to announce the first of our major updates: The Arcanum Update. This update introduces the new Arcanum Loadout System, allowing players to create custom loadouts and share and import them into their game. We have also made changes to roads, Tunnelers, balancing, and more! Check out all the changes in this massive update below, and enjoy!
Added the Arcanum Loadout System: create, share, and import custom loadouts.
Locked Essences can now be unlocked using 20 Fragments.
Removed auto-fill prompt when for loadouts with empty slots.
Right-clicking an Essence now automatically inserts it into your loadout.
Updated various tooltips for clarity.
You can now build over roads by holding the modifier key (default: Alt).
Roads can now be removed while placing roads using the modifier key (default: Alt).
Roads are now highlighted during building placement and removal.
Roads not connected to the Core are now shown in red.
Increased the radius at which road connectivity is displayed while building.
Tunneler spawn locations are now seed-based.
Increased time before Tunnelers start spawning units to 50s (all difficulties)
Increased time between Tunneler unit spawns from 35s -> 45s on Normal (scales with difficulty)
Reduced frequency of Tunneler spawns from 480s -> 540s on Normal (scales with difficulty)
Reduced maximum Tunnelers per spawn from 4 -> 3.
Reduced the spawn distance scaling:
Distance increase per event: 15 -> 10
Max random distance: 40% -> 20%
Tunnelers now level based on the Swarm level, not independently. This solves an issue where Tunnelers could outscale the Swarm if they spawned more often.
Updated the Tunneler unit composition to better match current wave composition.
Increased Tunneler level from which Brutes can start spawning from 4 -> 8
Modifier keys (Alt, Ctrl, Shift) can now be assigned as keybinds.
Added full match details to the Escape menu.
Increased selection radius of Brutes and Scorpions for easier targeting.
Increased Scorpions collision size and height for better visibility in waves.
Updated visuals for world-building tokens.
Marketplace auto-sell now performs a full sell action when a resource reaches its cap.
Reduced Field Hospital build time: 30 -> 10 sec.
Reduced Field Hospital costs:
Ruby 50 -> 40
Gas 5 -> 2
Wood 15 -> 10
Increased Field Hospital range: 6 -> 8.
Reduced War Camp build time: 15 -> 5 sec.
Redcued War Camp costs:
Ruby 80 -> 60
Gas 4 -> 3
Wood 12 -> 10
Increased War Camp range: 7 -> 8.
Removed Claustrophobia attack range debuff.
Reduced Stone Tier research time: 200 -> 170sec.
Reduced repair costs of the Core.
Fixed missing Dark Prayer ability keybindings.
Fixed issue where the aggro range didn’t update when the unit attack range was changed.
Fixed Six Pool burden to actually spawn 90 seconds sooner instead of later.
Fixed issue where only the first placed Marketplace could trigger auto-sell.
Fixed various localization issues.
Fixed pressure spawning not restoring after loading a save
Fixed Tunnelers remaining visible during the Sneak Attack burden.
Fixed issue where a boss wouldn't spawn as it was generated on the map edge.
Fixed issue where fewer Shrines were available in the final Skirmish of the Expedition.
Fixed multiple issues that could cause islands to be generated in the maps.
Fixed visual glitch on the empowerment fx when opening an Arcanum loadout.
With the Arcanum Update done, our complete focus is now on regular updates and, of course, our next big update introducing the next Deity!
Thank you, everyone, for your support, bug reports, and feedback! Many of these changes and fixes come directly from the community and mean the world to us. If you run into a bug or have feedback please let us know on Discord or by using the bug report button in-game. Keep an eye out for more news, events, and more Swarm!
See you in Ulora,
Coming Soon!
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Huge thanks to everyone who reported bugs and left us feedback, this patch was made possible by your input. If you haven't already, please leave a review, your feedback helps us a ton!
Thanks again, and enjoy the latest patch full of your feedback💛
Added an Early Access welcome screen that appears on first startup.
Added the Active Roadmap to the main menu.
Removed RNG from Arcanum empowering. All essences connected to an empowered slot are now selectable.
Added the ability to spend fragments during Expedition runs when Arcanum editing is allowed.
Added a disclaimer indicating that Arcanum editing is not allowed during Infestation Expeditions.
Renamed Swarm Corruption to Game Length on the Expedition Game Over screen to match Skirmish settings.
Spell abilities are now disabled during construction, preventing use of Infusions and Radiant Nova while building.
The default empowered slot is now always filled with the Bounce Arrows essence.
Resource storage display increased from 9,999 → 99,999.
Research Dome – Wall Health Upgrade changed from +75 HP → +25%, allowing it to scale better with stone walls.
Science Lab – Wall Health Upgrade now only applies to stone walls and gates (no longer affects wooden walls).
Tiamman – Fortified Logistics blessing:
Thorns increased 1.5 → 15
No longer requires a core connection
Adjusted minor essences on Arcanum boards to better match their Deity and balance counts. All Deities now have 20 total minor essences.
Updated the cost of the 2nd talent row from 6 -> 7
Added additional lines to the Tiamman board.
Reduced chest pathfinding footprint from 4×4 → 2×2, making them less effective as blockers.
Increased Radiant Blast damage from 1000 → 5000.
Increased Pylon health from 50 → 100.
Updated Settlement Yield Essence:
Removed the wood modifier
Ruby yield increased 0.2% → 1%
Gas yield increased 0.2% → 2.5%
Unit Range talent: attack range increased 20% → 25%.
Cheaper Ascension:
Now also reduces wood and gas costs
Cost reduction lowered 80% → 40%
Cheaper Walls:
Now also reduces wood costs
Reduction lowered 70% → 30%
Swapped talents:
Red: Faster Towers with Green: Unit Maintenance
Red: Cheaper Units with Red: Unit Range
Armor Penetration talent increased 2 → 5
Fixed an issue where Burden: Barren Trees did not reduce forest wood yield.
Fixed a bug where supply radius visuals would not update when the supplier became inactive.
Fixed a bug where ragdoll velocity accumulated across uses, causing physics issues.
Fixed an issue where some Expedition UI elements did not scale properly with the UI scale setting.
Fixed a bug where selecting the first shrine option would add the second option twice to the pool.
Fixed various localization issues.
Fixed an issue where the tutorial achievement would not unlock.
Fixed a freeze when many buildings finished their Ascension upgrade while selected.
Fixed an issue where the menu Arcanum was used in Expedition Skirmishes instead of the Expedition one.
Fixed a bug where cost modifiers were not applied to walls and buildings.
Fixed a bug where Ascension upgrades did not apply cost modifiers.
Fixed an issue where Shotgun Essence was not properly filtered under the Tower category in the Essence collection.
Fixed an issue where the boss modifier displayed 0.25 instead of x0.25 on the end screen.
Fixed an issue where Worship ability costs did not increase with consecutive uses.
Fixed an issue where units were healed to full after loading a save game.
Fixed an issue where Scorpions could shoot from the edge of the map while still in fog of war.
Fixed an issue where the loading screen did not hide when loading a save with negative population.
Fixed an issue where resolution defaulted to the current monitor resolution instead of the previously saved configuration.
Fixed an issue where it was possible for actor health to become really large when taking very small amounts of damage
Fixed an issue where right-clicking an essence to return it to the collection, while the collection was scrolled, to put it on an offset position
Fixed an issue where the tunneler tooltip in the menu showed 5.00001 instead of 5
See you in Ulora,
3/6 - 3/23: Endless Mode Challenge #2: HAPPENING NOW
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It's been an amazing week since launch! As we take in feedback, reviews, and talk to the community about future changes, we also wanted to take some time to look at where we are headed and the humble beginnings of Here Comes The Swarm.
We have a few exciting things in the pipeline, but we won’t spoil all the surprises! First, there's a new Deity coming: Yangwhu, who is economy and utility-focused. Essences are going to tie directly into Yangwhu's kit, making economy-focused builds really strong.
Second, we want players to be able to save and load their Deity loadouts so you can quickly try out new builds without having to redo your previous one.
Play with all three Deities, Karkadann, Tiamann, or Yangwhu, soon!
One of the updates we are most excited about is the addition of a new unit (sorry, we can't spoil it just yet!). It's going to open up a lot of variety in how you approach each run.
But it's not just the unit itself. Alongside it, we're introducing new Essence types that feed directly into the build crafting part of the game, the Arcanum. Those extra options work as a huge multiplier on all the builds you can create. That ties right back into the loadout saving and loading system, so you'll be able to experiment, save your favorite setups, and swap between them.
The depth this adds to the build crafting loop is massive and should result in many more fun runs to find out which playstyle fits you best and to see how long you can survive in the endless mode!
That said, before the update above was even a spreadsheet, we started a universe away. Literally...
Here Comes The Swarm started as Remnants. That game was about the last surviving colony, the last remnants of civilization. From there, the project became Reaper's Moon, where the concept had you reaping different planets, and your job title, your rank, was called a Reaper.
Both names stuck around for a while before we landed on Here Comes The Swarm.
Reapers Moon title screen. See any similarities?
The name was not the only change, about three years in, we made a big pivot. The original sci-fi theme was everywhere. The Arcanum was sci-fi themed, the main menu and the level select screen, it all carried the Reaper's Moon identity.
But the reality was that the dark Lovecraftian art style was too demanding for a single artist on a four-person team.
Some of the original screens from Reapers Moon.
On top of that, we needed gameplay to be readable at a glance, and we weren't confident we could achieve that with a dark palette and very limited art development time.
We switched to a light desert biome with high-contrast unit colors, red for enemies and blue for friendly units. If you look at some of our early screenshots (where we already made the switch to a desert terrain, which already increases the visibility so much), you can actually see the problem: the Swarm is pushing against a wall, but it doesn't look threatening at all because everything blends into the dark tones.
The switch to a bright, contrasting art style with a bright sun as directional light fixed so many of our problems while making the gameplay instantly more readable.
Before the change. Very dark, hard to visually read what's going on.
After the change. Much brighter, much clearer.
The first thing that remained true to our original concept was an RTS. From day one, the vision was an RTS at its core. We wanted They Are Billions-style swarms with the snappy unit controls of StarCraft, layered with roguelike elements.
On top of that, we took heavy inspiration from Anno for the city-building side and looked to Diablo for the talent and build-crafting systems. That mix of influences hasn't changed, those are still our core design pillars. That wasn't all. Structures like the tents, housing, church, and field hospital all survived the transition and are still recognizable.
Other things had to change. The ballista, for example, was redesigned to feel more tower-like. The biggest change was the settlement itself. It used to be a spaceship. We turned it into the fantasy-themed Core, which now fires the devastating eradication charge that wipes out all remaining enemies at the end of a skirmish run.
It looks awesome to see all those enemies flying into the air, but it also fits perfectly into the story of cleansing the planet step by step.
Before the changes.
After the changes.
We've come a long way in Here Comes The Swarm's development and have a longer road ahead of us as we now look towards updates, feedback, and the march to 1.0.
Thank you for taking this trip into the future and down memory lane with us! If you'd like to know more about the behind-the-scenes of Here Comes The Swarm and our inspirations, you can also read our first Dev Diary. For today, we'll leave you with this and hope you are as excited about the future of Here Comes The Swarm as we are.
See you in Ulora,
3/6: Endless Mode Challenge #2: HAPPENING NOW
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It was great seeing everyone's high scores during the playtest, we decided to bring back the Endless Mode Challenge for launch! Once again, jump into Endless Mode and get as high a score as you can. This time, we'll give the players with the top THREE scores a $25 Steam Gift Card!
In-game, play Endless Game Mode with these settings:
Event Rules / Setup Area Size: Large
Map Type: Plains
Seed: 1337
Deity & Essences: The choice is yours. Choose well, this could be the difference!
Share a screenshot of your highest total score in one of these places:
Multiple entries are allowed if your score gets beaten!
Our last winner, Arlague, can you beat their score?
Three Settlement Leaders with the highest three scores overall will receive a $25 Steam Gift Card
Players must share a screenshot of their highest score on Discord in #Endless-share, on X with the hashtag: #HereComesTheSwarm, or here on Steam!
The settings must be as described above to count.
Multiple entries are allowed if your score is beaten. Keep an eye on other leaders' scores!
Must be in a region eligible to receive USD Steam Gift Cards.
The event runs from March 6th to March 23rd.
After sharing your score, don't forget to leave a review. Your feedback will help shape future updates and help us a lot. Thank you, and have fun!
Good luck against the Swarm,
3/6: Endless Mode Challenge #2: HAPPENING NOW
2/24 HAPPENING NOW:
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It's time to reclaim Ulora, Settlement Leaders!
⚔️ Fight, Build, Survive In Here Comes The Swarm, players must defend humanity’s last foothold on Ulora. Expand settlements, gather resources, and prepare your forces for the endless waves of the swarm. Tactical pause allows strategic planning on the fly, while expeditions push players beyond safety to confront the source of the infestation.
🙏 Harness Divine Power Choose from powerful deities and wield their blessings to turn the tide. Will you favor resilience, destruction, or cunning? The decisions you make and the powers you invoke shape not only your strategy but the fate of Ulora itself.🧭 Explore, Adapt, Conquer
The initial Early Access version features tutorials, skirmishes, expeditions, and first encounters with the mighty Tiamman and Karkadann. Each expedition brings unpredictable threats, blessings, and enemy evolutions, allowing players to experiment with builds and roguelike adaptations that carry over as the game grows.
Of course, with Early Access, we are not done yet! While core systems are in place and ready to play, we have more plans on the way. We will continue to work with the community to refine gameplay, expand content, adjust balance, and guide the long-term vision leading up to the full Version 1.0 release.
Update 1:
Arcanum loadouts
Fixes
Balancing
Update 2:
New Player Unit
Update 3:
New Deity: Yangwhu
Yangwhu Deity Tree
Yangwhu Arcanum
Update 4:
(TBD)
If you run into any bugs, have feedback, or just want to join the community and say hi, join us on Discord.
CableHook Games started Here Comes The Swarm 9 years ago with a lot of ideas and a lot of passion, but that is only part of building a game. It also needs playtesters, feedback, and a strong community. We have been incredibly humbled and fortunate enough to have had that community. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for helping us make Here Comes The Swarm what it is today. With your support, we cannot wait for what comes next. 💛
Now, excuse us while we also celebrate. Happy launch day, everyone!
See you in Ulora,
2/24: Meme Machine Community Event: HAPPENING NOW
2/25: Endless Mode Challenge #2: HAPPENING NOW
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We are so proud to bring you Here Comes The Swarm tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who joined us on this amazing journey.
See you tomorrow in Ulora,
2/24: Meme Machine Community Event: HAPPENING NOW
3/6: Endless Challenge #2: HAPPENING SOON
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Hope everyone is having a great Steam Next Fest! With it in full swing, we wanted to take some time to dive into the deep end of our recently updated demo.
One of the biggest things players can look forward to in Here Comes the Swarm is the variety of ways they can engage with the game.
We have built multiple game modes to ensure there’s always a different kind of challenge to tackle. What ties it all together are the Arcanum and Deity systems. These let you define your playstyle and shape how you confront the swarm.
In the demo, we are giving access to our most direct game mode: the Skirmish. This mode is perfect for experimenting with strategies, testing builds, or just jumping straight into the action.
Without the longer commitment of an Expedition in the full game, or the stress of an Endless mode arriving in an update after the Early Access launch.
Karkadann stands out as our most aggressively oriented deity. Karkadann is primarily offensive and rewards exploration, forward momentum, and players who are not afraid of some risk.
Karkadann’s strength shines when you’re actively pushing back the swarm rather than merely trying to survive it. Because of that, Karkadann tends to resonate most with players who are already comfortable with the genre and the game.
If you enjoy high-impact builds, aggressive scaling, and making proactive decisions, Karkadann’s likely to feel incredibly satisfying.
The Tunneler's danger comes from forcing the player to respond. They will emerge at strategic locations on the map and start applying sustained pressure from that location.
The longer they remain active, the more powerful they become. However, after a while, they will retreat again. But there is hope, if they are killed before they retract, they will drop a reward. This creates an interesting risk-reward dynamic. So be fast when a Tunneler appears.
What is the best way to keep your units alive? Experiment!
There are many ways to play Here Comes the Swarm. Find synergies and playstyles that suit you best. Start on a difficulty that suits you well based on your previous experience with strategy games.
And don’t forget the pause button!
The swarm is designed to feel intense, because of this, it's important not to panic when things get overwhelming. Survival comes down to controlled positioning and efficient resource use. It is easy to get flooded by even a small mistake, so create a strong defense or enough offense to hold back the Swarm.
Spoilers: This Knight did not survive.
Thank you for reading this far!
This demo gives you the first taste of Here Comes the Swarm. We’ve spent a lot of time iterating on the core and making it feel good. The demo shows a snapshot of a game with a lot more options and variety.
Systems like the Arcanum, Deities, the Swarm, and our game modes are designed with long-term depth in mind. The demo shows the foundation of these systems that we are actively building on.
We are not developing Here Comes The Swarm alone either, our team is paying very close attention to feedback! Either written on Discord, reviews, or reported in-game. Seeing the community stress test our ideas, discover unexpected strategies, and share their thoughts is one of our favorite parts of developing Here Comes The Swarm. Check out our demo today because during this phase, it's players who help us shape the direction of the development going forward.
Enjoy the demo and see you in Ulora, - CableHook Games
2/23 - 3/2: Gleam Giveaway : HAPPENING NOW
2/24: Meme Machine Community Event : HAPPENING NOW
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Hello Settlement Leaders!
Our community on Discord has long made us laugh in the Memes channel, and we want to see more. Think you're funny? Thoughtful? Just want to share something you made about Here Comes The Swarm. Now is your chance, and we'll even give away game keys for it!
\\
Made by Ganun on Discord.
❓What:
Create a meme about Here Comes The Swarm and share it with the community! Memes can be as creative as you'd like; use whatever template you'd like, or be a meme you've previously made for the game. Keep it light, fun, and all about the swarm!
🎁 Prizes:
We'll give our 3 favorite meme makers a key to Here Comes The Swarm.
🌐 Where:
Share your meme in our Discord in the #memes channel, on social media (don't forget to tag us!), or here on Steam. Links below.
🗓️ When:
Starting today, February 24th to March 9th.
📍 Additional Guidelines:
Play Here Comes The Swarm's demo during Steam Next Fest to create your memes.
Must be topical to Here Comes The Swarm.
NSFW memes are not allowed.
Memes must be original. No stealing from other players.
There you have it. Go forth, have a great time with the demo, and make some memes!
Made by Arlague on Discord
Can't wait to see what you all make,
- CableHook Games
2/24: Meme Machine Community Event : HAPPENING NOW
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We are once again floored and humbled by the support of this community. This playtest was our biggest yet and had a huge impact on development. With all your feedback, we were able to not only make updates to the launch build but also update the latest demo for Steam Next Fest. Thank you again from the bottom of our developer hearts for all your bug reports, ideas, memes, and feedback. Our team is excited for the future of Here Comes The Swarm, and you, our community, is a large part in that. Thank you again, and see you soon in Ulora,
- CableHook Games
2/23 - 3/2: Gleam Giveaway
2/24: Meme Machine Community Event : HAPPENING NOW
2/25: Demo Deep Dive Dev Diary : Coming Soon
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To celebrate and thank all of you for your support during Steam Next Fest, we are giving away 5 keys to 5 lucky winners with a Gleam Giveaway.
Follow the link to Gleam.
Participate in as many tasks as you can. The more you do, the better your odds!
Good luck, everyone, and thank you again! Enjoy Steam Next Fest, - Cablehook Games
2/23 - 3/2: Gleam Giveaway
2/24: Meme Machine Community Event starting
2/25: Demo Deep Dive Dev Diary coming 2/24
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It's our turn to be part of Steam Next Fest! We are thrilled to be bringing an updated demo for you to face against the swarm. It was with your help during the last playtest that we were able to make changes to the demo. 💛
With the March 5th Early Access Launch just around the corner, our team is excited for you to try out the demo. Let us know what you think so we can continue to develop with community input.
Steam Community Discussions
Here Comes The Swarm Discord
Applied all changes, fixes, and balancing updates done during the beta period. Limited to all content available in the demo.
Additional changes/fixes:
Changed the relic location of Karkadann to be in front of the starter units.
Fixed Spitter rotation not working during pause.
Fixed a bug where if multiple auras would overlap, the effect would be removed if the first aura stopped overlapping.
Fixed self-healing providing veterancy xp.
Fixed an issue where the settlement victory animation would loop after a while.
Fixed a bug where large buildings were stamping the pathfinding grid incorrectly.
Fixed a bug in the particle system that could cause a crash.
Fixed a bug where wave timers would reset after loading.
Fixed the bottom save trash icon not being clickable.
Thank you all, and enjoy Steam Next Fest!
- CableHook Games
2/23 - 3/2: Gleam Giveaway
2/24: Meme Machine Community Event starting
2/25: Demo Deep Dive Dev Diary coming 2/24
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Are you ready to step onto Ulora’s war-torn surface? We hope you are because...
The wait is almost over! We are thrilled to finally announce Here Comes The Swarm is coming March 5th to Early Access. Thank you to every player who joined us on this wild journey, playtested, wishlisted, and became part of our community. We couldn't have done it without you!
Full tutorial
Expeditions
Skirmishes
A boss battle
Two powerful deities, Tiamman and Karkadann.
Your feedback has been invaluable to get to this point and will continue to shape Here Comes The Swarm across its development. With planned updates throughout Early Access, we will continue to work closely with the community.
Thank you again, and good luck against the swarm soon, Settlement Leaders
- CableHook Games
Closed Playtest Happening Feb 6th - 16th
Karkadann's Community Vote on Discord
Endless Mode Challenge Feb 6th - 16th
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Our second closed beta test has begun! To celebrate everyone who joined and is playing, we're hosting a community event where you could win to help design a part of Here Comes The Swarm!
Be the first to play the new Endless Mode! We want to see how you do against the swarm in an endless arena! During the playtest, try out the new Endless Game Mode, and get the highest score to win!
Apply to receive a beta key. (if you are not already in!)
In-game, play our Endless Game Mode with these settings:
Event Rules / Setup Area Size: Medium
Map Type: Oasis
Seed: 1
Deity: Tiamann or Karkadann
Essences: The choice is yours, choose wisely!
Share a screenshot of your highest total score in our Discord under #endless-share. Multiple entries are allowed if your score gets beaten!
Example of what your entry should look like! Can you beat our dev score??
The player with the highest total score by February 16th will win the opportunity to help us design and name a brand-new Essence to be added to Here Comes The Swarm!
Players must join Discord and share their score like the example above.
The settings must be as described above to count.
Multiple entries are allowed if your score is beaten. Keep an eye on the #endless-share channel!
Must have signed up for the beta and gotten a key to play. This mode is not in the demo.
Event runs from Feb 6th to Feb 16th. The winner will be announced Feb 17th
There's still time and limited slots to play until February 16th! Apply here to get a key to test your might against the swarm. Apply to play the beta 👉 For more details about this beta test, read here: Enjoy and good luck, Settlement Leaders! We hope you enjoy the second beta.
- CableHook Games
Karkadann's Community Vote on Discord
Endless Mode Challenge Feb 6th - 16th
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We are excited to announce our second playtest! Be the first to check out the latest development build for Here Comes The Swarm!
The second playtest begins February 6th to February 16th.
Try out some of the new content coming to the demo. Including:
New Mode: Endless Mode.
New Deity: Karkadann.
New Enemy: Tunneler.
Ten New Essences.
Player Profile Screen.
Balance changes and more!
To apply for the second playtest, please fill out the form below and join our Discord.
Playtest Sign Up Form
Here Comes The Swarm On Discord
Join Discord to participate in our Community Quiz Event happening on February 2nd!
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Hello Settlement Leaders!
We are excited to announce that Here Comes The Swarm will be joining Next Fest. Plus, we'll have an updated demo by then! Join us from February 23rd to March 2nd, and jump into our demo full of new content, improvements, and fixes.
New Deity: Karkadann
New Enemy: Tunneler
Tutorial
Balancing Changes
While we're busy putting the final touches on the latest demo, you can also participate in community events happening now and in the not-so-far future.
Thank you all for your amazing support. We cannot wait to bring you the next demo edition.
- CableHook Games
Enter to win a Steam gift card on Reddit
Join our Discord for news on the next community event happening soon.
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As we step into a brand new year, we want to take a moment to thank every single one of you for being part of the Here Comes The Swarm journey.
2025 was an incredible year for us, from early builds and community feedback to playtests, updates, and hitting milestones we couldn’t have reached without your support. And this is only the beginning.
2026 will bring bigger updates, tougher challenges, and even more reasons to defend Ulora from the Swarm.
Thank you for standing with us, believing in the project, and helping shape the future of the game.
✨ Happy New Year from the entire Here Comes The Swarm team!
Let’s make this one unforgettable.
As we reach the end of the year, we want to take a moment to wish every single one of you a wonderful festive season. Whether you’re celebrating with friends, family, or taking some well-deserved time to rest, we hope these days bring you warmth, peace, and joy.
Thank you for being part of the Here Comes The Swarm journey. Your feedback, wishlists, playtests, and encouragement throughout the year have meant more to us than we can put into words.
Enjoy the holidays, stay safe, and get ready, the Swarm will be waiting in the new year.
❤️ Happy Holidays from the entire HCTS team!
The Here Comes The Swarm Closed Playtest is wrapping up on December 14th, and we want to give everyone a quick reminder before it ends!
If you’ve been accepted into the playtest and received a key, now is the perfect time to jump in and try out the current build. Every bit of feedback helps us refine the experience and prepare for future updates.
If you're participating, please:
💬 Share your thoughts in the Discord playtest feedback channel
🐞 Report any bugs you encounter in the Discord playtest bug reports channel
Thank you to everyone who has taken part so far, your help makes a huge difference as we continue building the world of Ulora. 🐜⚔️
Settlement Leaders,
We’ve just reached a major milestone: 10,000 wishlists on Steam!
From the very beginning, your feedback, playtime, and support have shaped the world of Here Comes The Swarm.
The Hive Update marked a turning point: Tougher waves, evolving enemies, and deeper strategy. Seeing thousands of you jump back into the fight has been incredible.
This milestone belongs to you, the community that keeps our home planet, Ulora’s, flame alive.
💚 From all of us: thank you for standing with us against the Swarm.
If you haven’t joined the battle yet:
⚔️ Try the demo today
❤️ Add Here Comes The Swarm to your wishlist
👾 Join our Discord to help shape what’s next
The Swarm grows… but so do we.
Settlement Leaders, the Swarm is evolving… and we need your help!
We’re opening a Closed Beta for Here Comes The Swarm!
What will be unique is:
Expeditions (the roguelike gamemode)
Infestation (harder difficulties)
More Essences and Blessings to experiment with
An unlocked Arcanum
Give feedback that will shape the future of the game
Spots are limited, so don’t wait, sign up now:
👉 https://forms.gle/gF4E3BNfMvKEhwy17
Prepare your settlements, lead your armies, and prove you have what it takes to reclaim Ulora. The Hive is coming… will you survive?
Attention Commanders,
Your colonies have held the line, your defenses have evolved, but the storm is only beginning. The Swarm is shifting, adapting… and so must you.
We’ve taken your feedback from the frontlines, and the next operation is ready!
We are updating the already available Free Demo that will change how you face the Swarm forever.
Here’s what’s coming your way
The Spitter Unit defends the Hive itself, acting as a living defence tower that rains acidic projectiles upon intruders. Every Hive is now a completable objective, defeat it, and you’ll be rewarded with Arcana, the power used to unlock your chosen Essences within the Arcanum.
But not all infestations are equal. Smaller Swarm growths now form Outposts, clusters of corruption that mark the early spread of the Hive’s influence. These are smaller infestations but still dangerous, and clearing them weakens the Swarm’s hold on the region. Only when the infestation spans vast stretches of land does it evolve into a Hive, a formidable stronghold, the kind you’ll need every ounce of strength to overcome. Out in the field, you’ll see it with your own eyes, the ground itself tells the story. Outposts and Hives spread different patterns of corruption on the terrain, each revealing how deep the Swarm has taken root.
And when either one falls… the land responds.
The corrupted ground begins to shift, the Swarm’s infestation slowly recedes, dissolving as if the very soil is being cleansed of their presence.
We’ve completely reworked the difficulty balancing.
Normal now delivers a challenge worthy of a Settlement Leader, tense but still fair.
Hard is where veteran RTS players will meet a more true test of strategy and endurance.
The Swarm has taken more ground on our home planet Ulora, expect larger waves, forcing you to adapt quickly and giving a much stronger sense of what it means to be overrun.
Reports from the front indicate changes in battlefield behavior. Our engineers have refined unit pushing to make engagements feel “just better”.
Arbalists can now push each other when attacking, no more clogging the lines as volleys are unleashed. They’ll shift and reposition naturally under pressure, keeping the formation alive even in chaos.
Meanwhile, Knights have been given new priority in movement. They can now stride through attacking or unpushable ranged units, cutting through the ranks to reach their targets without hesitation.
That’s the latest from the front, Commanders.
The Demo Hive Update is live and free to play, dive in and feel the difference for yourself.
More Swarm. More Pressure. Rebalanced difficulty that fights back harder than ever.
We can’t wait to see how you hold the line.
Before we part ways, here is a sneak peek of a new enemy that will be in the full release.
Be sure to check out all of our pages for upcoming updates and events!
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Attention Settlement Leaders!
You’ve built, fought, and survived. But the true Hive has yet to arrive. The next update brings a new enemy, clearable hives, and rebalancing that will reshape the fight against the Swarm!
This is going to be the biggest content drop yet, so let’s dive in to see what’s on the horizon.
The battlefield is shifting and the Swarm grows stronger, more cunning, and the next update to the already available Demo will put your skills to the test like never before. A new enemy awaits, and the Hives themselves are no longer just targets, they are objectives that will shape your strategy.
Outposts and sprawling Hives now leave their mark on the land, and every victory against the Swarm will slowly cleanse the corruption from the terrain. You’ll need to read the battlefield carefully, adapt quickly, and make every move count.
In our next devlog, we’ll go deeper into the Spitter unit, Clearable Hives, Difficulty Changes, and Unit Pushing. Prepare yourselves, the Swarm evolves, and so must you.
Fresh reports from the frontlines tell us that the Spitter brings a new ground infestation that is spreading fast, their presence cannot be ignored.
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About
This page aggregates Steam news feeds, patch notes, and developer announcements for Here Comes The Swarm, sourced from official Steam community posts.
Major updates, balance changes, and seasonal events often correlate with player-count spikes — cross-reference announcements here with the live charts on the main Here Comes The Swarm statistics page.
Articles link back to Steam for full changelogs. SteamScope refreshes news entries as new posts are published to the game's Steam hub.