Swarm Grinder News

[h3]Hello again grinders![/h3][p]The new update is live, and we’ve finally added a feature many of you have been asking for. You can now press ESC in game to view your character stats in detail. How much your damage has increased, which multipliers are active, how powerful your build really is… it’s all right there. Testing overpower builds and diving into the math behind them is now much easier.[/p][p][/p][p]In addition, the Test Workshop is no longer part of the main branch. It was a confusing system and in some cases prevented achievements from unlocking. We have removed it from the main version for that reason. If you would like to try experimental features, you can switch to the beta branch through your Steam settings.[/p][p]We also made an important change to the “Lone Wolf” and “Ace Pilot” achievements. Previously, you had to manually disable all meta upgrades one by one to unlock them. This is no longer necessary. You can now use the reset button to clear your meta upgrades and earn these achievements properly.[/p][p][/p][p]Along with these changes, some players experienced save issues yesterday, but we fixed them quickly. We hope it did not cause too much trouble. We are grateful for your patience and support. After the update, please try the game and do not hesitate to share your feedback. We read every single comment and we promise to bring Swarm Grinder to its best possible state. See you in the next update.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[h3]Hello everyone![/h3][p]Swarm Grinder is taking part in the Tiny Roguelikes Festival. During the festival, the game is available with a 50% discount. This festival is also an important milestone for us. We are happy to showcase both the updates we have already released and the ones planned in our 2026 roadmap to a wider audience. You can visit the festival page via the link below:[/p][p]https://store.steampowered.com/developer/rogueduck/sale/tinyroguelikes2026[/p][p][/p][h3]New Updates[/h3][p]We have also updated our 2026 Roadmap. You can access it directly from our Steam page. Work on the February update is continuing at full speed, and you will be hearing more good news from us very soon.[/p][p]Lastly, after the most recent update, we identified an issue where save files became corrupted on some systems. We sincerely apologize for this. In the next update, we will be adding cloud save support so your save files will be safe. Thank you in advance for your patience.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[h3]Hello grinders![/h3][p]We’ve finalized our monthly update plans for the first half of 2026 for Swarm Grinder. In the visual shared below, you can see in detail what we’re planning from January through June. All of these updates were shaped directly by your feedback and reviews.[/p][p][/p][p]We’ve already shipped the January update, and we hope you’re happy with it. We started with balance adjustments, removed meta upgrade limits, fixed the Gatling Gun issue, and rolled out FPS improvements. In February and March, our focus shifts to UI improvements. Player stats displayed in the pause menu, test workshop and beta branch adjustments, and achievement fixes are all part of this phase.[/p][p]In April, the new content many of you have been waiting for starts to arrive. A new playable mech, new skills, special upgrades, and dash skill adjustments are coming. In May, we aim to deliver a complete revision of all skills and overall balancing. Our goal is to move away from a one note experience and break the situation where only a few specific builds feel viable. In June, we plan to take the game to the next level with new enemies and bosses, environmental storytelling, and map redesigns.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And the thing we’ve been quietly working on in the background will arrive around the middle of the year. At the end of this process is Swarm Grinder 2.0. We’re planning a major update featuring a new endless game mode, new animation designs aimed at FPS improvements, and UI fixes focused on localization.[/p][p]Of course, this roadmap is not fixed or set in stone. Priorities may shift based on your feedback, and some topics may expand further. Please share your thoughts, what you feel is missing, and the updates you’re most excited about in the comments. Let’s keep shaping this plan together.[/p][p][/p]

[h2]Hello grinders![/h2][h3][/h3][p]We’ve started working on new enemies and bosses for Swarm Grinder. The concept art phase has only just begun, so we wanted to ask you first. What kind of enemies would you like to see in the game?[/p][p]You can describe them mechanically or visually. For example, you could say something like “a cosmic Lovecraftian, disgusting, toothy, seven eyed pink rabbit.” (But no promises we’ll actually make that one ^^) [/p][p] [/p][p]Share any ideas that come to mind in the comments. We’ll take notes and try to bring the feasible ones into the game. As new enemy and boss visuals come in, we’ll share them here as well.[/p][p]Looking forward to your ideas, and thanks in advance.[/p]

[h2]Hello Grinders,[/h2][p]As promised, in 2026 we will bring Swarm Grinder to the place it truly deserves. Thank you for trusting us up to this point. This will be a long update post.[/p][p]First of all, I recently joined the team, and I have personally seen how much the team cares about this game. I am a hopeless rogue like and action rogue like player, and I usually do not quit a game until I 100 percent it. And yes, I have also completed Swarm Grinder today with all achievements unlocked.[/p][p][/p][p]So I am actually a player of this genre as well. On top of that, I spent the last week reading all the reviews. Because of this, I believe I now have a very clear understanding of what needs to be done. Let’s move on to what we changed in our first update ^^[/p][p][/p][h3]Balancing[/h3][p][/p][p]We increased the power of some abilities. In addition, all limits in the meta upgrade blocks have been completely removed. You can now unlock all upgrades within a block. One of the core expectations of VS like games is the feeling of becoming overpowered, and we believe we are delivering that feeling much more strongly now.[/p][p][/p][h3]Quality of Life[/h3][p][/p][p]The permanent upgrade reroll cost has been set to zero. Rerolling no longer requires any resources. This system felt more punishing than strategic before. Now you can freely shape your build the way you want.[/p][p][/p][h3]Bug Fix[/h3][p][/p][p]There was a bug with the Gatling Gun that appeared in a rare build, and yes, I personally encountered it while playing. When there are no enemies, it no longer reloads immediately. It now waits for 3 seconds, and if no enemies appear during that time, it reloads. This bug, which occurred when reducing the Gatling Gun’s range with purple upgrades, will no longer appear in the game.[/p][p][/p][h3]FPS Optimization[/h3][p][/p][p]After killing enemies, their corpses used to remain in the game, and once there were thousands of enemies, this caused FPS drops. Enemy corpses are now managed with a pooling system. When the corpse count reaches 300, existing corpses are reused instead of spawning new ones. This change aims to significantly reduce FPS drops during long runs and high enemy density scenarios.[/p][p][/p][h2]So what next?[/h2][p]This is only the beginning. All of these changes were determined directly based on your feedback. Throughout 2026, we will continue to make regular progress on balance, game feel, UI, and performance. If there are things that still feel problematic, improvements you notice, or areas you think need more attention, please share them with us in the comments.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]XoXo[/p]