The Swashbugglers
In the codexIndieStrategy

The Swashbugglers

A cartoon-style 2D roguelike autochess focused on tactical strategy. Recruit insect "heroes" from the forest to form a team. Develop their skills, equipment, and stone inscriptions through battles to defeat the source of chaos within the time limit.

DEV: Asmodeus GamePUB: Shuffle Play GamesAppID 3607470
DEVELOPER POSTSevery ~7d·last 41d ago·7 recorded in 6 months

Is The Swashbugglers still being updated? — the short answer, with the evidence.

Catch up before you play

Developer activity at a glance

Catch up on The Swashbugglers with the developer’s own announcements. Start with the newest recorded post, then explore the details before you return.

Newest identified developer post

V1.1 Update

· Published by the developer

3recent developer posts shown belowSelected from the developer record, separately from press coverage. Announcements are not necessarily shipped patches.
Last successful news check: This is our collection date, not the date of the latest patch.

  1. Newest in this record ·

    V1.1 Update

    From the recorded announcement

    1. Fixed bugs in the game content. 2. Added and adjusted a small number of event rooms. 3. Reduced the number of skills that can cause friendly fire, and added clearer indicators to existing friendly-fire skills. 4. Reworked Raven’s Will-o'-the-Wisp skill effect. 5. Significantly reduced the base strength of bosses,…

    Read more of this announcement

    1. Fixed bugs in the game content. 2. Added and adjusted a small number of event rooms. 3. Reduced the number of skills that can cause friendly fire, and added clearer indicators to existing friendly-fire skills. 4. Reworked Raven’s Will-o'-the-Wisp skill effect. 5. Significantly reduced the base strength of bosses, while allowing their strength to scale with game difficulty. 6. In Endless Mode, enemies will now become significantly stronger each time you enter a new map. 7. Improved UI prompts and interactions. For example, characters can now be dragged on and off the field, the backpack will highlight runes of the same type as the currently selected character, and character portraits now display indicators for Wasteland effects, Snowfield effects, and being knocked out of battle. 8. Improved localization and UI adaptation. 9. Adjusted the maximum number of characters that can be deployed. 10. Adjusted some skill and equipment mechanics, and improved several descriptions.

    Read original announcement ↗

  2. Earlier announcement ·

    V0.0.3 Update | Encyclopedia Text Fixes & UI Improvements

    From the recorded announcement

    This update focuses mainly on improving several small details of the overall experience. We’ve corrected some encyclopedia descriptions, added red highlighting to friendly-fire related information, and optimized several UI prompts and functions to make information clearer and easier to understand.

    Read original announcement ↗

  3. Earlier announcement ·

    Update v0.0.2

    From the recorded announcement

    - Updated Steam SDK compatibility

    Read original announcement ↗
Explore news & source history ↓
72.9
Mixed

Elixir Rating

79.3% of 184 Steam reviews are positive, which after adjusting for sample size gives a reception score of 72.9. Recent developer activity did not move the score in either direction.

reception 72.9·support +0.0·Mixed

Computed from Steam’s own review tally and observable developer activity — never from anyone’s opinion of the game. How this is calculated

Should you look into this?

From Steam's own record

Current price

$7.99

Development

Unusually quiet

Last heard from developers

41 days ago

Historical posting rhythm

every ~7 days

Substantial updates (6 mo)

2

Current silence

6× normal

The developers have been silent for 41 days against a normal rhythm of about 7 — roughly 6 times longer than usual. 2 substantial updates recorded in the past six months, 1 classified as major.

Last successful news check: Oct 20, 2026, 2:01 PM UTC. This is when we checked Steam, separate from when the developer last posted.

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Distilled by the oracle

Our coverage

1 dispatch written from this game’s announcements

releaseSep 6, 2026

The Swashbugglers Launches on Steam at 20% Off

The Swashbugglers (AppID 3607470) is now available on Steam, published on 4 September 2026. A 20% launch discount reduces the price to $6.39 for the launch period.

What's in the full version

The release build ships with a substantial spread of content:

  • 12 playable characters
  • Nearly 40 skills and over 100 skill talents
  • Around 400 pieces of equipment across different rarities
  • 4 regions, each with their own enemy sets
  • Random events, relics, and multiple build paths

The core loop asks players to recruit bug outlaws, then compose teams by mixing skills, equipment, runes, and class paths. Formation matters: once a battle begins, characters fight automatically, so preparation and positioning carry the strategic weight. The developers note one detail worth flagging — friendly fire is a factor, meaning poorly arranged teammates can threaten each other as readily as any enemy.

The studio has stated that post-launch development will continue, with fixes and adjustments driven by community feedback submitted through the Steam Community hub.

For players drawn to auto-battler tactics with deep build variety, the launch window is the lowest the price has been.

Two years of development

■ substantial ■ routine

Nov2025FebMayAugNov2026FebMayAug

7 announcements · 2 substantial · 21 months with nothing

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News & source history

7 recorded posts · includes developer announcements and press coverage

Community AnnouncementsSep 9, 2026
V1.1 Update

1. Fixed bugs in the game content. 2. Added and adjusted a small number of event rooms. 3. Reduced the number of skills that can cause friendly fire, and added clearer indicators to existing friendly-fire skills. 4. Reworked Raven’s Will-o'…

Read this patch for

Community AnnouncementsSep 5, 2026
V0.0.3 Update | Encyclopedia Text Fixes & UI Improvements

This update focuses mainly on improving several small details of the overall experience. We’ve corrected some encyclopedia descriptions, added red highlighting to friendly-fire related information, and optimized several UI prompts and funct…

Community AnnouncementsSep 4, 2026
Update v0.0.2

- Updated Steam SDK compatibility

Community AnnouncementsSep 4, 2026
The Swashbugglers is OUT NOW! 20% Off at Launch!

Hello everyone! We can finally say it: The Swashbugglers is now officially available on Steam! Thank you so much for all your support, wishlists, playtesting, and feedback along the way. After months of development and adjustments, the full…

Read our dispatch on this

Read this patch for

Community AnnouncementsAug 28, 2026
Sept. 3 Launch! Hand-Drawn Auto Battler, Only $6.39!

Dear players, Our new game The Swashbugglers is finally ready to meet everyone! After a period of development and polishing, the game is now confirmed to officially launch on September 3. Thank you so much for your continued attention, wish…

Community AnnouncementsAug 19, 2026
Live

Live

Community AnnouncementsJun 15, 2026
Demo Update Announcement

Hello everyone! Our demo is now participating in Steam Next Fest. We welcome everyone to try it out! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4486400/_Demo/ 1. Added three difficulty levels and made balance adjustments. 2. Adjusted the balance of…