Heart of the Machine's 1.0 Release Date
Hey everyone! Chris here. I’m very excited to announce that Heart of the Machine is leaving Early Access and releasing as 1.0 on March 6th, 2026. This is the culmination of a full year of major updates, and it marks the point at which this game is “complete.”
[h2]What Does “Complete” Mean?[/h2][hr][/hr]
[h3]First, About The Nature Of The Game[/h3]
This game is unlike any that I’ve made in the past -- it has a lot more story, and it has distinct storylines with impactful endings.
The intense strategic and tactical challenges are mostly for the endgame or for higher difficulties. They tend to require you to use knowledge you gained while playing on normal difficulty.
I was particularly inspired by how Fire Emblem: Three Houses blends story and tactics, and I wanted to do something similar, but on a big seamless map -- and 4X, rather than tactics.
[h3]Stories Need An Ending[/h3]
One common complaint about past Arcen titles is that they really had lackluster endings. Usually just “you win, go play again,” in effect. Those were heavily mechanics-centric games with only a tiny bit of story, so that made sense.
Heart of the Machine has a lot more story, and needs proper payoffs. One thing I heard repeatedly from some folks during Early Access was that they wanted to wait until the game was complete to even start playing it, due to it being an RPG. I can relate to that, so that was the focus for 1.0.
If you were waiting, the 1.0 launch is the time you’ve been waiting for!
There are two major ending scenarios at 1.0, with six overall variants of them. One is focused on committing ALL the war crimes, and is the ultimate combat challenge as well. The other is a construction sandbox, and pays off a bunch of other story beats with minimal combat.
[h3]How Big Is This Story?[/h3]
It’s big! Words-wise, this is about the length of two novels. In terms of time investment for the player, I think of this as being like the “core trilogy” of a work of fiction. To get to one of the main endings will take you anywhere from 25-40 hours.
To 100% the game takes 175 hours at minimum. If you want to just play normal difficulty, but desire to see everything once, then it’s about 90 hours.
Of course, many folks love taking on high-end challenge scenarios in a variety of ways. There are plenty of people who have already put in 200-300 hours during Early Access.
All of that said, this isn’t a game that is designed to be played infinitely. I don’t expect anyone to have 1,000 hours in this game. My focus was on quality over quantity, despite the huge quantity that exists here. Because of all the writing and hand-crafted questlines, content for this game takes a lot longer to develop; it’s again unlike any title I’ve done in the past, but I’m really pleased with the result.
[h2]Post-1.0 Plans[/h2][hr][/hr]I mentioned above that I feel like the 1.0 version of the game is the “core trilogy” if we’re comparing it to other works of fiction in print or video. It’s meant to be a game that you can experience on its own, and leave satisfied without needing anything more.
In all, I just really love this world and the robots in it. I am weighing various options for how to expand on the stories here without ruining the “here is a complete package” nature of the 1.0 build.
But first: a focus on player feedback.
The game is highly polished already, especially thanks to all the feedback during Early Access. That said, any time a large influx of players come into any game, new issues are discovered. My plan immediately after launch is to focus on this.
Thank you to everyone for all your support, and for helping to make the game what it is!
[h3]Connect with the Machine[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Want to stay in the loop or share your thoughts? Join the conversation across these platforms:
💬 Discord – Best place to share feedback, get direct responses, and to talk about Heart of the Machine.
📜 Reddit – Discuss strategies, share ideas, and exchange tips with the community.[/p]
[h2]What Does “Complete” Mean?[/h2][hr][/hr]
[h3]First, About The Nature Of The Game[/h3]
This game is unlike any that I’ve made in the past -- it has a lot more story, and it has distinct storylines with impactful endings.
The intense strategic and tactical challenges are mostly for the endgame or for higher difficulties. They tend to require you to use knowledge you gained while playing on normal difficulty.
I was particularly inspired by how Fire Emblem: Three Houses blends story and tactics, and I wanted to do something similar, but on a big seamless map -- and 4X, rather than tactics.
[h3]Stories Need An Ending[/h3]
One common complaint about past Arcen titles is that they really had lackluster endings. Usually just “you win, go play again,” in effect. Those were heavily mechanics-centric games with only a tiny bit of story, so that made sense.
Heart of the Machine has a lot more story, and needs proper payoffs. One thing I heard repeatedly from some folks during Early Access was that they wanted to wait until the game was complete to even start playing it, due to it being an RPG. I can relate to that, so that was the focus for 1.0.
If you were waiting, the 1.0 launch is the time you’ve been waiting for!
There are two major ending scenarios at 1.0, with six overall variants of them. One is focused on committing ALL the war crimes, and is the ultimate combat challenge as well. The other is a construction sandbox, and pays off a bunch of other story beats with minimal combat.
[h3]How Big Is This Story?[/h3]
It’s big! Words-wise, this is about the length of two novels. In terms of time investment for the player, I think of this as being like the “core trilogy” of a work of fiction. To get to one of the main endings will take you anywhere from 25-40 hours.
To 100% the game takes 175 hours at minimum. If you want to just play normal difficulty, but desire to see everything once, then it’s about 90 hours.
Of course, many folks love taking on high-end challenge scenarios in a variety of ways. There are plenty of people who have already put in 200-300 hours during Early Access.
All of that said, this isn’t a game that is designed to be played infinitely. I don’t expect anyone to have 1,000 hours in this game. My focus was on quality over quantity, despite the huge quantity that exists here. Because of all the writing and hand-crafted questlines, content for this game takes a lot longer to develop; it’s again unlike any title I’ve done in the past, but I’m really pleased with the result.
[h2]Post-1.0 Plans[/h2][hr][/hr]I mentioned above that I feel like the 1.0 version of the game is the “core trilogy” if we’re comparing it to other works of fiction in print or video. It’s meant to be a game that you can experience on its own, and leave satisfied without needing anything more.
In all, I just really love this world and the robots in it. I am weighing various options for how to expand on the stories here without ruining the “here is a complete package” nature of the 1.0 build.
But first: a focus on player feedback.
The game is highly polished already, especially thanks to all the feedback during Early Access. That said, any time a large influx of players come into any game, new issues are discovered. My plan immediately after launch is to focus on this.
Thank you to everyone for all your support, and for helping to make the game what it is!
[h3]Connect with the Machine[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Want to stay in the loop or share your thoughts? Join the conversation across these platforms:
💬 Discord – Best place to share feedback, get direct responses, and to talk about Heart of the Machine.
📜 Reddit – Discuss strategies, share ideas, and exchange tips with the community.[/p]