Against Wokou Frontline
In the codexAdventureIndieStrategy

Against Wokou Frontline

Amidst the Wokou raids along the southeast coast of China during the Ming Dynasty (1552–1565), lead your troops, fortify your line, and repel the brutal invaders in this heroic tower defense game. Defend the common people and secure the shore!

DEV: YiXia StudioPUB: YiXia StudioAppID 4256560
UPDATE PULSEevery ~2d·last 59d ago·19 recent on record

Is Against Wokou Frontline still being updated? — the short answer, with the evidence.

Should you look into this?

From Steam's own record

Current price

$4.79$5.99−20%

Development

Dormant

Last heard from developers

2 months ago

Usual rhythm

every ~1 days

Substantial updates (6 mo)

1

Current silence

59× normal

The developers have been silent for 59 days against a normal rhythm of about 1 — roughly 59 times longer than usual. 1 substantial update landed in the past six months, 1 of them major. It is currently 20% below its usual price.

Distilled by the oracle

Our coverage

1 dispatch written from this game’s announcements

releaseAug 25, 2026

Against Wokou Frontline Launches With a Save-File Warning for Demo Players

Against Wokou Frontline, a tower defense game set during the Ming Dynasty's coastal campaigns against pirates, released today after ten months in development. The project was built and tested almost entirely by a single developer, 黑月DM, who describes it as a finished work aimed at both genre veterans and newcomers.

With solo development comes an candid admission: bugs and unfinished details are expected, and the developer has committed to frequent updates to smooth out the experience. Bug reports from players are explicitly welcomed.

What changed — and what to watch out for

  • The full version is now available to all players.
  • The developer plans continuous updates to polish the release.
  • Critical save-file issue: the demo and full game share the same save directory, and demo saves are entirely incompatible with the full release.
  • Players who ran the demo must start a New Game — selecting Continue Game will load corrupt demo data.
  • The developer has apologized for the oversight.

For anyone who sampled the demo, ignoring that warning is the fastest way to ruin a first session — start fresh, and the game should proceed as intended.

Two years of development

■ substantial ■ routine

Nov2025FebMayAugNov2026FebMayAug

26 announcements · 1 substantial · 18 months with nothing

Recent Transmissions

26 entries in codex

Community AnnouncementsAug 6, 2026
V 1.0.4 Patch Notes

Fixed the bug where no enemies would spawn in Hard and Challenge difficulties of level Pre-meditated Ambush.Further fixed the issue that enemies could be pushed away by collision. The problem cannot be fully eliminated when speed multiplier…

Community AnnouncementsJul 30, 2026
V 1.0.3 Patch Notes

Replaced the video background of the main menu with a real-time day-night scene, whose lighting dynamically changes according to real-world Beijing Time.

Community AnnouncementsJul 22, 2026
V 1.0.2 Patch Notes

Optimized enemy spawn position logic to minimize the risk of soft locks caused by enemies failing to attack after spawning.Fixed an issue where the Wolf-Fern Spear Soldier battle formation could not be activated.Revamped game UI; moved the …

Community AnnouncementsJul 21, 2026
V1.0.1 Patch Notes

Fixed an issue caused by packaging settings where levels after Stage 6 became unplayable.Fixed mouse stuttering problems when running the game at low frame rates.Added game speed adjustment function. Available speed options: 1x, 1.5x, 2x, 3…

Community AnnouncementsJul 20, 2026
Against wokou Frontline – Launch Today & Critical Important Notice

Against wokou Frontline officially releases today!ːsteamthumbsupːAfter ten months of development, the full version of my tower defense game set in the Ming Dynasty’s coastal anti-pirate campaigns is now available to all players. I’m truly p…

Read our dispatch on this

Read this patch for

Community AnnouncementsMay 6, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.1.1 Patch Note

ESC can now close individually opened UI screens.Fixed an issue where enemies would stand idle after defeating our soldiers.Fixed a bug causing some models to flicker strangely.

Community AnnouncementsMay 1, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.1.0 Patch Note

Replaced all AI-generated modeling assets, optimized detail effects for certain scenes, and enhanced the level’s visual quality.

Community AnnouncementsApr 5, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.22 Patch Note

Fixed an issue in Level 1-1 where enemies could get blocked by an invisible wall.

Community AnnouncementsMar 27, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.21 Patch Note

Readjusted lighting and ground textures for all levels to enhance visuals.Made minor adjustments to the tutorial and Level 1-1, and replaced models.

Community AnnouncementsMar 24, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.20 Patch Note

Added a hint text to the level completion results screen.Adjusted the descriptions of some units.Added a simple animation to the enemy health bars for better visual feedback.Fixed an issue where ranged enemies could occasionally become stuc…

Community AnnouncementsMar 20, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.19 Patch Note

Optimized the tutorial level: added a short gameplay preview before the tutorial begins and made slight adjustments to the scene.

Community AnnouncementsMar 19, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.18 Patch Note

Fixed an issue in Level 1-1 where enemies could occasionally break through the defense line without reducing the point count, causing the game to get stuck.Made adjustments to the wording of Tactical Formations to be more specific.

Community AnnouncementsMar 17, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.17 Patch Note

Added a tutorial-only level, accessible only on your first playthrough, where you can directly experience late-game content.Various adjustments and optimizations to improve gameplay.

Community AnnouncementsMar 15, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.16 Patch Note

Adjusted the Ronin enemy line: reduced their base attack, but added a high-damage Charged Slash for the Sakikiki​ and Hatamoto Ronin.The Honezan​ now has a chance to appear as a “Runner” type, moving twice as fast and evading arrows and lan…

Community AnnouncementsMar 14, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.15 Patch Note

Changes the default difficulty to Story Mode.Boosts performance by disabling features like Lumen global illumination and reflections in scenes. Averages a 30% FPS increase.Adds FSR support. Disabled by default. Can be enabled in Settings > …

Community AnnouncementsMar 13, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.14 Patch Note

Updated the attack animation for the Ronin, changing it to a charged slash, and increased its attack power.Adjusted the enemy spawn logic in Endless Mode: reduced the number of enemies per spawn but increased the spawn frequency, preventing…

Community AnnouncementsMar 12, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.13 Patch Note

The Level Select screen now remembers your last chosen level, mode, and difficulty, even when switching between game screens.Added tutorials for Skill Upgrades and Unit Unlocks.Adjusted enemy spawning logic to optimize potential stuttering …

Community AnnouncementsMar 11, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.12 Patch Note

Musketeers have been adjusted: a new firing logic replaces the previous realistic one, now guaranteeing 100% accuracy.Due to adjustments to the Musketeer‘s firing logic, their Specialization skill “Pierce” has been replaced with “Spitzer Bu…

Community AnnouncementsMar 10, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.11 Patch Note

Added Steam features, including Cloud Saves, Achievements (only one for now), and Leaderboards (with a separate board for every level and difficulty in Endless Mode).Fixed an issue where the max wave display in Endless Mode was incorrect.

Community AnnouncementsMar 9, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline Demo 0.0.10 Patch Note

Added background audio to all levels.Added a maximum wave record feature to Endless Mode. Records are kept separately for each difficulty.Changed the default difficulty setting to “Hard”.Adjusted parameters like brightness and contrast for …

Community AnnouncementsMar 2, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline – Steam Next Fest Demo Livestream

I'll be livestreaming the game's demo throughout the upcoming Steam Next Fest to give you a solid, well-rounded look at what it offers. If what you see sparks your interest, you're welcome to download the demo and try it for yourself. If yo…

Community AnnouncementsMar 1, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline – Steam Next Fest Demo Livestream

I'll be livestreaming the game's demo throughout the upcoming Steam Next Fest to give you a solid, well-rounded look at what it offers. If what you see sparks your interest, you're welcome to download the demo and try it for yourself. If yo…

Community AnnouncementsFeb 28, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline – Steam Next Fest Demo Livestream

I'll be livestreaming the game's demo throughout the upcoming Steam Next Fest to give you a solid, well-rounded look at what it offers. If what you see sparks your interest, you're welcome to download the demo and try it for yourself. If yo…

Community AnnouncementsFeb 27, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline – Steam Next Fest Demo Livestream

I'll be livestreaming the game's demo throughout the upcoming Steam Next Fest to give you a solid, well-rounded look at what it offers. If what you see sparks your interest, you're welcome to download the demo and try it for yourself. If yo…

Community AnnouncementsFeb 26, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline – Steam Next Fest Demo Livestream

I'll be livestreaming the game's demo throughout the upcoming Steam Next Fest to give you a solid, well-rounded look at what it offers. If what you see sparks your interest, you're welcome to download the demo and try it for yourself. If yo…

Community AnnouncementsFeb 24, 2026
Against Wokou Frontline – Steam Next Fest Demo Livestream

I'll be livestreaming the game's demo throughout the upcoming Steam Next Fest to give you a solid, well-rounded look at what it offers. If what you see sparks your interest, you're welcome to download the demo and try it for yourself. If yo…