Steam news
Full Steam announcements and update articles for this title.
Make proper use of the summer holidays by doing something truly productive, like spending countless hours perfecting your 4X strategy skills. Sunshine is overrated. Get anything in the game at 50% off and return from summer break with an ELO rating that helps you achieve elevated social status.
Konka Nuts are regularly hulled and placed in front of structures of great importance. The nuts are believed by the Kickoo to be a show of great wealth and pride, and the wealthiest Chieftains will decorate their palaces with as many Konka Nuts as possible. We have created a special Weekly Challenge to celebrate Kickoo named Command & Konka! An island with a whole bunch of Konka mounds. The first one who takes over that city will see it level up enough for border growth. It's a massive map so most players will not being able to even explore the full map and trying to find some additional ground while defending in all directions.
The road to the Polytopia WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026 begins NOW with the Kickoo Qualifier Finals!
This Sunday at 17:00 CEST / 11:00 AM EST, the best players battle it out in the Kickoo Qualifier FINALS — featuring the semifinals and the final LIVE on stream. Expect insane plays, clutch moments, mind games, naval warfare, and peak POLYTOPIA emotions from start to finish.
Who will claim the first spot at the World Championships? Find out this weekend.
🏆 All about the World Championships HERE: https://championship.polytopia.io
JOIN the fight and compete for the CHAMPONSHIP ⚔️ https://www.challengermode.com/s/Polytopia
COME CHAT about this match and everything else Polytopia at Our Official Discord!
VISIT our online POLYMERCH store 👕: https://shop.midjiwan.com
Compete for a $10,000 prize pool and a spot in the live finals in Stockholm. Qualifications start May 11, 2026. Do you have what it takes to make it all the way to Stockholm?
Free registration is now open. The Battle of the Tribes features 12 winners (one for each tribe) advancing to the Face Off Round, where the top 8 players will qualify for the live finals in Stockholm on October 10.
Qualifications for each tribe will run weekly, most Qualifiers span two days, you can check the tournament descriptions for precise timings. Qualifier finals will be hosted on Sundays at 19:00, make sure you have time to participate.
Buy tickets to watch the finals live in Stockholm: Polytopia World Championship 2026 – 33% Early Bird discount until June 30th.
First up: Kickoo. Sign up inside Polytopia > Multiplayer > Tournaments or here: Polytopia World Championship
∑∫ỹriȱŋ has come upon an enchanted land, with plenty of hidden treasures of the past. But while they frolic in the peaceful meadows, basking in prismatic sunlight, other tribes are closing in. They're rushing for the ruins from every corner of the square, and they have a head start...
Do you have what it takes to get into the top 100 score? There are six leagues to compete in. Which league are you? If you want some ideas how to master the Ruin Run Challenge, you can check out this Discord Thread
Also, did you know that the ∑∫ỹriȱŋ tribe and the ₼idŋighţ skin are both 50% off until April 27th? Get them now if you haven't already!
You'll play Sha-Po against a Xin-Xi empire of Riders and mighty Swordsmen. You'll have a Cloak and two Archers to counter this. New Dawn will also be hanging around in the far corner of the map. Do you have what it takes to get into the top 100 score? There are six leagues to compete in. Which league are you? If you want some ideas how to master the Hats of Steel Challenge, you can check out this Discord Thread
Or check out this YouTube Video from Justeeni Lingueeni
Hey Polytopians!
The New Dawn Movement has emerged, attempting to use their new, adorable forms to ensure the survival of the Cymanti Hive, and they need your help! Use the power of Fairies, Shoos, Squishies, Claudes, and many other funky bugs as you try to convince the rest of the Hive that you know what's best for the future of the swarm.
You can get the New Dawn skin right now, and we've even added a discount for the normal Cymanti, so you can pick them up, too!
Hey Polytopians!
We've released a massive rework for the Cymanti, and if you want a detailed explanation for why we made the changes we made, head on over to our blog by clicking this link!
But, in case you don't want to go to a whole different site, here's the changelog.
Update 2.15.0.15024 - Cymanti Rework
Naval changes
– Cymanti explorer can now move on water like other tribes
– Moved around naval techs to replicate Path of the Ocean changes
– Algae is now a tile effect instead of an improvement, other improvements can be built on top of it. Spawns with a fruit on top
– Algae does not cripple movement for naval units (but still for land units)
– Clathrus is now a land building and grows from spores instead of algae. It is poisonous, but no longer creates networks (Mycelium can now be built on Algae instead)
– Raychi is split into two units; Boomchi that explodes to create algae, and a slightly adjusted Raychi
– Boomchi get “amphibious” ability so they can move on land
– ’Floating Island’ unit in navigation, spawns algae + area damage
Other changes
– ’Mantis’ replaces Swordsman, same stats but with ‘creep’ ability
– Fungi is limited to level 2 – ’Microbes’ ability in ‘Recycling’ allows Fungi to grow 1 additional level
– Growing units (centipede head, dragons, larva etc.) inherit the damage from their previous state
– ’Kiton’ get ‘creep’
– Creep no longer overcomes mountain movement penalty
– Phychi get a “double attack” ability
– Poison defense debuff increased to 50% but defense bonuses are intact
– Poison now slow down enemy units
– Explode units can explode even after attacking
– Doomux cannot become veteran
– Doomux attack down to 3.5
Diplomacy changes
– Cloaks replaced by Moths, they can fly but are not invisible. When they infiltrate a city they poison defenses and lay Eggs
– Eggs can’t move but can explode, and if you wait 1 tur,n they will hatch into Larva that are similar to Daggers
– After 3 turns, Larva will turn into Moths, making the circle complete
Shaman changes
– ‘Boost’-ability replaced by ‘Swarm’ that only buffs movement
– Movement buff is retained until the unit gets attacked
– ’Shaman moved to ‘meditation’ so it is easier to replace
– ’Mountain temple’ moved to ‘Philosophy’
– ‘Pacifist’ task is replaced by ‘Converter’ (convert 3 enemies to build ‘Church of Converts’ monument)
Non-Cymanti adjustments
– Improved Explorer movement
– Score penalty for starving cities
– Adjusted look of UI
Think you’re a true strategist? The Battle of Polytopia is part of the Difficult Games Bash—a ruthless test of intellect and precision where only master tacticians conquer the Square. Show what you’re made of—or is it all just talk?
Discount on Steam until November 4th.
Hey Polytopians,
Compete for a $10,000 prize pool and a spot in the live finals in Stockholm. Qualifications start September 13th, 2025 Free registrations are now open for the Qualifications for the Polytopia World Championship 2025. The concept is ‘The Battle of the Tribes’ with 12 winners (one for each tribe) advancing to the Face Off Round that determines the 6 top players who will compete in the live finals in Stockholm. 🔥
Details HERE: World Championship - The Battle of Polytopia (Official Page)
Hey Polytopians!
What’s changed? Let’s talk about it, but before we do, we’d like you to know that there are ZERO Cymanti changes in this update. We agree with you that they need to be adjusted, and we tested out some ideas in the beta, but we feel that they need more time in the workshop before we’re happy with them. We’ll be implementing a Cymanti Rework in the near future, so stay tuned.
Without further ado, here’s the changes:
Ai-Mo now starts with Philosophy instead of Meditation, and a Mind Bender to go with it
Extra starting Stars for some tribes to help them out:
Xin-xi begins with 7 Stars
Oumaji begins with 6 Stars ( that’s not a typo, they begin with 6)
Hoodrick begins with 7 Stars
Quetzali begins with 7 Stars
Yădakk begins with 7 Stars
Luxidoor begins with 2 Stars in addition to their upgraded Capital (to match their wealth)
All other tribes begin with 5 Stars
Tech can be researched “backwards,” so Vengir can go from Smithery to Mining without Climbing
Forges can be built on Forests
Temples give 100p per level of growth instead of 50p
Cost of “Burn Forest” down to 3*
Polytaur cost up to 3*
Cost of new Embassies begins cheaper, but increases based on the number of Embassies you have
Polaris changes:
Corrected Glide ability to give 1 extra move (instead of double)
Adjusted Skate ability so Battle Sled only has 3 movement on ice (instead of 4)
Ice Fortress now has Escape and Static
Ice Archers get 1 attack
General changes:
Multiplayer should not fall back to “60 days” turn time limit
Multiplayer should not fall back to “Perfection” game mode
Solaris Crater stays a Crater when an opponent takes over territory
Solaris Lava Bank stays a Lava Bank when an opponent takes over territory
That is all the changes for now, but don’t be surprised if we make more adjustments over time. If you’d like to give us your feedback on these changes, or just want to say “Hi”, stop on by our Discord!
Have fun out there!
Hey Polytopians!
In this new beta, we're going to test out some pretty interesting changes, and we'd like your feedback! We've made some general balance changes, some reworking of Cymanti, and some adjustments to Polaris, and we'll go in that order.
Note: This Beta is just that, a Beta. Everything is subject to change, nothing is finalized, you may find bugs that don't belong to Cymanti, and your feedback does actually matter!
Yes, we're making some adjustments to the base tribes and game systems, hoping to make some of the weaker tribes a little more competitive. We're going to list this tribe by tribe, so you can see how your favorite tribe has been changed.
Ai-Mo now starts with Philosophy and a Mind Bender instead of Meditation
Xin-xi now starts with 7 stars instead of 5
Hoodrick now starts with 7 stars instead of 5
Oumaji now starts with 6 stars instead of 5
Quetzali now starts with 7 stars instead of 5
Yădakk now starts with 7 stars instead of 5
Luxidoor now starts with 7 stars instead of 5
Luxidoor always begins with 3 fruit in their capital
Polytaurs now cost 3 stars instead of 2
You can now research "backwards" from a T3 technology, so Vengir can get Mining and Ai-Mo can get Meditation without needing Climbing first
Forges now grow 2 levels (one pop per level) per Mine instead of giving 2 pop per Mine (and one level). This is so that they synergize better with Markets. Forges are now buildable on Forests and Mountains, as well
Temples give 100 Score per level of growth instead of 50 Score
The cost to use Burn Forest reduced from 5 to 3 stars
The cost of new Embassies increases based on the number of Embassies you have. You want more friends? Spend more
The maximum level for Markets is now 6 down from 8
The moment you've all been waiting for! A rework of Cymanti! After all these years, we're finally doing something to hopefully make them a little more fun to both play and play against. We've given them some new units, reworked old units, and adjusted their personality a little bit. A lot of the changes were to adjust them better around the Path of the Ocean content, but there's plenty of general balance changes, as well.
Boomchi
We sliced the Raychi in half, turning the Raychi into a more general naval unit, while giving its more explosive properties to the new Boomchi. Want to spread Algae more effectively on the water? The Boomchi is the solution, a 5 star unit that is designed to be more expendable than the Raychi. Go, blow up your enemies without breaking the bank! You can find the Boomchi in Sailing and the Raychi now in Ramming.
Living Island
The Cymanti aren't exactly the best at crossing the oceans, so they came up with an idea. "What if we could infest a sea creature and have it spread Algae for us automatically? And that's just what this unit does. As it moves, it creates Algae for free! It's analogous to the Juggernaut, causing area of effect damage, also. The Living Island has the Stomp, Algae, Static, and Stiff traits.
Any resemblance to units that were removed in the past are completely coincidental. Don't become attached, people.
Algae is now a tile feature, not an improvement, so buildings like Mycelium can be built on them. They spawn with a free fruit on them, and no longer slow down naval units
Fungi now start at level 0 and will decrease in level whenever they're stepped on by an enemy unit
Cymanti Explorers can now move on the water, just like other tribes
Units with Explode can attack and then explode, giving them more punch!
Hexapod attack has been reduced from 3 to 2.5
The Clathrus is now a land building more analogous to the Market, growing from adjacent Fungi instead of Algae. It now Poisons units that step on it, but no longer makes trade connections (since Mycelium do that job even on Algae).
Poison now slows down units
Boomchi and Raychi have been given the trait "Crawl", allowing them some ability to slowly work their way on land. "Amphibious"? Well, kinda? They're not exactly land-dwelling critters
Not nearly as extensively as what Cymanti has gotten, but changes, nonetheless. We'll keep this as a simple bullet list, as the changes aren't exactly Square-shattering.
Glide now gives +1 Movement, not double movement
Skate has been adjusted so Battle Sleds now have 3 movement, not 4
Ice Fortresses now have Escape and Static traits
Ice Archers now have 1 Attack
Attacking a frozen unit will unfreeze that unit
All players on Steam are eligible to join the beta by doing these simple steps:
Right-click on Polytopia in your Steam library
Click "Properties" from the dropdown list
On the new popup window, click the "Betas" tab
Use the access code "polytopiabalance" to join the beta!
It should look something like this:
Note: We're using a new backend for this, so it will look like you have lost all of your friends. You have NOT lost your friends, they'll re-appear if you leave the beta.
And that's it! Hop on the beta, give your feedback on our Discord or in our Steam Discussions! We look forward to hearing what you have to say!
-Zoythrus
Hey Polytopians! A new DLC has been released. There is a war raging for eternity that has destroyed countless worlds, a conflict between two powerful foes, both hellbent on wiping out the other. That war made its way to the Square when the nefarious Gaami first made contact with the Polaris, but now the diabolical Ralmi have tracked down their icy nemeses and hope to take the Square for themselves! The Ralmi made their entrance underground and burst forth like a volcano, subjugating nearby Polytopians - the Solaris, shackling them with magic of fire and ash. With legions of followers at the ready, the Ralmi plan to turn the Square into a pile of cinders, just like every other world they've touched. 🌋 Turn water into solid lava and petrify enemies into ash. 💀 Gather bones and minerals for population growth. 🏦 Build lava banks to generate stars. ⚙️ Build turbines on top of volcanoes. 🔥 Master Heatwork to build craters. 🌡️ Master Geothermics to build turbines on volcanoes. 🚂 Surge through lava rivers with the Steam Wagons. 🏹 Petrify your enemies with Ash Archers. 👑 Dominate the inferno with the mighty Ralmi. The SOLARIS skin can be purchased & selected in the Tribe Picker Screen on mobile and be purchased as DLC on Steam. (Update to the latest version.) Much like the Polaris, the Solaris rely on spreading fire throughout the land, using the power of their Pyros to char the landscape into a habitat a bit more suitable for their forces. And the Lava Bank can turn all those burnt (or frozen) tiles into cash. After the water has been thoroughly hardened, their Steam Wagons and Steam Fortresses can roll effortlessly over toward their foes. Not so keen on using ice to stop their enemies, Pyros and Ash Archers can petrify enemy troops! Lastly, the Ralmi have bestowed their followers with "gifts" such as the Tuagama Lizard and the Igmina Crystals, to keep their military on the move and well equipped with fire magic. Will the Polytopians survive the onslaught of two extradimensional invaders fighting a war beyond comprehension? That's for you to decide when the Solaris are released on May 7thh! Some of the new Units: Build turbines on top of volcanus to produce extra population. This unit burns any surrounding tiles and units when moving. Use these little feisty fire balls. To sneak up and invade cities. Strikes hard and burns any surrounding tiles and units when moving.
About
This page aggregates Steam news feeds, patch notes, and developer announcements for The Battle of Polytopia, 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 The Battle of Polytopia 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.
FAQ
Browse related Steam game intelligence pages and categories.