''Towerborne'' is a

side-scrolling A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller) is a video game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling grap ...

action role-playing An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games emphasize real-time combat wh ...

video game developed by

Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed i ...

and published by

Xbox Game Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, fo ...

. It released on

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

(via

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

) as an

early access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...

game on September 10, 2024 and is scheduled to be released for

Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...

on April 29, 2025 through

Xbox Game Preview The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Australia, and South ...

Gameplay

''Towerborne'' is a side-scrolling

video game inspired by

beat 'em up A beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in Side-scrolling video game, scrolling, 2D c ...

s. The game takes place in the City of Numbers, a post-apocalyptical fantasy world overwhelmed by monsters. The heroes of Towerborne are known as Aces, who must set out to reclaim lost territories and make the land safe while refugees make their way to the Belfry. Aces can be customized at the Belfry, the game's hub world. Players can choose from several weapon classes, including Pyroclast, Rockbreaker, Sentinel, and Shadowstriker. Players are not locked to any playstyle. The game features a hex-based overworld map. As players explore the game's world, they will open up more hexes and therefore, unlock new mission opportunities and encounter new enemy types. The game supports both local and online four-player

cooperative multiplayer A cooperative video game, often abbreviated as co-op, is a video game that allows players to work together as teammates, usually against one or more non-player character opponents ( PvE). Co-op games can be played locally using one or multiple in ...

Development and release

''Towerborne'' is being developed by

and published by

. The game was developed using

Unreal Engine Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter video game '' Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of ...

, and the game's art style was inspired by animated feature films. Initially the game was designed to be a 2D game like ''

The Banner Saga ''The Banner Saga'' is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Stoic and published by Versus Evil. It was released for personal computers and mobile phones in 2014, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016 and for Nintendo Switch in 2018. ...

'' series, though this was later expanded to include more axes of movement. The tone of the game is more uplifting when compared with ''The Banner Saga''. While the game is set in a post-apocalyptic world, the tower of Belfry was described by the team as "a beacon of hope and safety amongst the ruins of humanity and the City of Numbers". Codenamed ''Project Belfry'', the game was first leaked in October 2021. The game was officially announced on June 11, 2023, during the Xbox Games Showcase. ''Towerborne'' was envisioned by Stoic as a

live service In the video game industry, a live service game (also referred to as games as a service, abbrevated to GaaS) represents providing video games or game content on a continuing revenue model, similar to software as a service. Live service games are ...

game, with the studio planning to introduce new content to the game following its official launch. On August 20, 2024, it was announced that the game would release in

on September 10, 2024 for Windows, with the final game releasing as a

free-to-play "Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...

game in 2025.

References

External links

* {{Stoic Studio Unreal Engine games Upcoming video games scheduled for 2025 Video games developed in the United States Free-to-play video games Fantasy video games Cooperative video games Xbox Series X and Series S games Action role-playing video games Beat 'em ups Stoic video games Side-scrolling beat 'em ups Multiplayer and single-player video games Microsoft games Windows games Early access video games