1. Slay the Spire
  2. News

Slay the Spire News

Slay the Spire 2's early access release delayed to a "secret Thursday" in March 2026, alternate acts teased

You're gonna have to wait a bit longer to murder the steeple for a second time, with Slay The Spire II's early access release having just been delayed until March next year. Developers Mega Crit have at least cushioned the blow by revealing the day of the week it'll arrive. A Thursday. Which Thursday? The cheeky folks won't say.


Read more

The Neowsletter - September 2025



Hi everyone, it's time for the September Neowsletter. This one comes with a pretty big update right off the top, so let's dive right into it.

[h3]Early Access Timeline Update[/h3]

After a lot of internal discussion, we've made the call to move Slay the Spire 2's Early Access launch to a secret Thursday in March 2026.

We know this isn't the news anyone wanted to hear (ourselves included, we're dying to get this into your hands!) Originally, we were shooting for late 2025, but turns out we were wrong. We need some more time.

There's no single dramatic reason. Some personal life stuff hit the team (everyone's okay!), we kept saying "wouldn't it be cool if..." one too many times, and honestly, the game just needs more polish to meet our standards.

All that said, we know you still have questions, so Demi, our community manager, has put together a pre-emptive FAQ to help answer some of them.

[h3]Will-Probably-Be-Asked Questions:[/h3]

Is the real reason for the delay the timing of the Silksong release?
We got together as a team to determine our new release window before Silksong’s date was announced. The timing just worked out like that, but on the bright side, everyone can keep busy playing Silksong during the wait!

Is the real reason for the delay that you’ve been spending your time on making merch/community events/etc?
Our merch is made by 3rd party partners and our community manager is the primary liaison on our team for collabs like that. No game development was harmed in the making of those plushies! Likewise, anything community-focused that we create, participate in, or promote is generally handled by the CM and doesn’t cut into any game development time.

So is it because you’re adding in a bunch of new features and content?
Yes, in part. Because you know what does cut into game development time? Game development! Compared to Slay the Spire 1's early access launch (and for that matter it's final 2.0 form) this new sequel has a lot more content that we can't wait to share with you. In addition, we want to make sure we're upholding the quality bar that both we and the gaming community have come to expect for Early Access titles.

So what’s so different from StS1?
In case you haven’t been keeping up with our trailers and Neowsletters–quite a lot. There are new characters, more cards/potions/relics/events/etc, more visual polish, more animation and VFX, quality of life changes, entirely new mechanics, and still a whole lot more we can’t tell you about just yet. Although, if you read on to the next section you'll learn about a pretty big one...

When was the game originally planned to launch?
2025! Ok, but in all seriousness, we were initially aiming for a Fall 2025 release window. For now, we’ll just have to savor these moments of anticipation a little longer.

Will this be anything like other games that get repeatedly delayed with no explanation?
No, for one thing, you should never expect radio silence from us. That’s why we’re here talking to you now. And, as opposed to a general release year, we have an actual specific date that we’re aiming for internally and are confident we can hit this time. As you've already heard, it’s releasing on a Thursday, but the exact date will be revealed closer to launch.

So, do you regret the “Still coming in 2025” gag at the end of the TGA trailer?
Demi, the CM, who is writing this, pushed for that one so she can take the fall for it. In her defense, it was pretty funny at the time.

[h3]Alternate Acts[/h3]

As a treat, this month's content teaser is a pretty big one: alternate acts.

Once unlocked, upon entering a new act in Slay the Spire 2, you will be randomly greeted with one of two possible acts. These acts differ radically in their environments, enemies, events, and bosses, all of which greatly increase the variety of gameplay between runs.



For instance, Act 1a is Overgrowth, a lush, tangled ruin with much of its fauna resembling mystical woodland creatures and sentient flora that might just eat you alive. This is the act you've primarily been seeing in our teasers and trailers, though there's still plenty left to uncover here.


Act 1b is known as the Underdocks, a miry waterway connected to the Spire's sewer system, from which all manner of mutant sea creatures and vagrants might emerge. We've only just begun to tease the trove of content that lurks within these murky depths.

As the mathematically-inclined among you have probably realized, that means there will be double the amount of content in this new act structure. We won't be launching with all of the alternate acts right away, but Acts 2b and 3b will come later down the road in Early Access updates.

The capabilities of these different enemies, the opportunities these events offer, and how they all might impact your strategy as you ascend the Spire will be seen in time.

[h3]A Whole New Wiki[/h3]

For those who haven't heard: the new community-run Slay the Spire wiki is now live on wiki.gg!!

It's still a work in progress, so if you'd like to contribute and help make it a fully comprehensive one-stop-shop for Slay the Spire info, visit this page to learn how. Also, the ⁠wiki channel on our Discord is always there for wiki-related discussions/questions!

The old wiki hosted on Fandom is still live, especially during this transitional phase, but the wiki.gg one exists as an alternative for those who were looking for one and is the one that will be maintained going forward.

Thank you to the organizers and thank you in advance to all of those who contribute!

[h3]Spire Spotting[/h3]

Though the Spire is still being prepared for your arrival, there are always some more Spire species to spot in the meantime!

First let's take a look at last month's mystery monster silhouette:



Now let's examine our community's hypothetical renderings of said monster...


The award for grossest guess goes to Snubobo, which might be the hardest award to achieve honestly!



The award for most abstract goes to Vanessa and (9 year old!) Lucas, who physically illustrated their guesses instead of digitally!



And the award for most accurate goes to NewGuyJack–it’s even animated and everything?!

As always, we got many Spire Spotting submissions, so here are some other great guesses we got!


Credit from left to right: Brave, tenacious_unicorn_94746, Cyb3rm00k, Emma, ssorgatem, karmamitch, pasq, Panez, Alcapwne101, koiking213, BlakeDrake, Nevve1776, Purcy, bomo73, duckgoquack

So what does this creature really look like?



It's a terrifying eel-like creature covered in wiggly little eyeballs… wait, it’s that inhabitant of the recently revealed Underdocks! We'll call it the Terror Eel for now. But I have a strange feeling that our work has just begun...



Just as I thought, another shadowy monster has emerged! If you have any clues as to what this creature could be, be sure to submit them via [email protected] or in our Discord's fanart channel!

[h3]Connections Section[/h3]



And for you Slay the Spire Connections lovers out there, don’t think we forgot about you!

[h3]Community Corner[/h3]

Thank you to Qmint for this month's gorgeous cover image, and thank you, as always, to all of the other incredible submissions as well!


Credit from left to right: Alcalmy, clover, Cyb3rm00k, Suspa

Next month's theme is: Neow-loween! (That's Neow, but Halloween.) If you'd like to submit your art for consideration, reminder that it must be submitted to us via [email protected] or in our Discord's fanart channel, have dimensions of 800x450px, feature no text, and leave room for a title!

Now to highlight some work from our wonderful, steadfast community...


This stunning pixel Ironclad art by D.M.!


Inscryption-style cards of StS1’s heroes by JustOzzy!


A beautiful illustration of Ironclad by Linke!

Thanks so much for tuning into this month's Neowsletter! We'll have lots of dev updates and content teases in the coming issues as we get closer to Slay the Spire 2's launch. See you next month!

The Neowsletter - August 2025



Greetings! This month's issue marks the 1-year anniversary of The Neowsletter!! Thank you to everyone who has been reading along since the beginning.

The Mega Crit team is still hard at work on the sequel. We're on that grindset >:( But also striking a good work/life balance >:)

The main focus lately has been content. It has to be fresh, challenging, and complex while also making sure that the game is accessible to new players and retains that Slay the Spire feel and magic. That was a bit too vague to be interesting news... let's take a sneak peek at some relics and potions instead!

[h3]Relics & Potions[/h3]

Here's an assortment of relics (top row) and potions (bottom row) coming in the sequel! Relics retain their classic look but you may have noticed that potions got a little makeover; they each have their own distinct sprites. Very rare potions can look quite exotic too.

  1. Wongo's Bargain Ticket: Here we see a standard bargain ticket from a Wongo's. Only patrons of Wongo's can find out what this means.
  2. Stone Humidifier: This handy little device ensures that you gain a great night's sleep.
  3. Joss Paper: Mysterious sheets of incense paper... what could it be for?
  4. Heart of Iron: This is also in the first game but I wanted to show off how a classic potion got an art do-over :).
  5. Ship in a Bottle: We're not quite sure if you're drinking this one, but there's a feeling that it can get you to safety.
  6. Foul Potion: We're not sure who or what is making a potion called Foul Potion. What is it for? How foul is it!?

Okay, we hope you enjoyed this sneak peek.

[h3]Q&A with Casey & Anthony[/h3]

Alex asks: What is your favourite beta art from Slay the Spire 1?
Casey: Certainly TURBO
Demi: Popping in to say Tantrum was the first one to come to mind. It's cute :)

Akroo asks: I'd like to know if you are planning on improving even further the modding possibilities of STS2 ?
Casey: We're creating more entry points in the game but I don't know about improving modding possibilities... in STS1 you can rewrite any part of the game already. You could put a game in the game or order a pizza already.

Oscar asks: Will some cards have pun-based art?
Casey: Preferably not. If STS2 has puns, I've failed.

Brandon asks: Do the characters have canon names? Like, sure, they're the Ironclad, but is his real name Steve? What about watcher? Is her name Jasmine? Cause that's a pretty name
Anthony: no

Delta asks: If all the artifacts are made of bronze… does using Feed to kill Donu turn the Ironclad into Bronzeclad?
Anthony: no

Thaan asks: What can we expect from general UI Improvements? My wish list includes a turn counter display that doesn’t disappear after two seconds and a way to know how much you have spent on card removal so you can budget your next one.
Casey: Yes



[h3]Spire Spotting[/h3]

Demi here! That means it's time to continue our journey through the much-evolved Spire.

Let's take a look at last month's mysterious silhouette:



And now, let's check out our researchers' hypotheses:


The award for saddest theory goes to alex1729, who drew Neow trapped in vines at the bottom of the ocean... poor Neow :(


The award for most accurate theory goes to PrincexKoi, who drew an organic-looking, viny, quadrupedal monster!

Shout out to all of the other submissions (many of which seemed to center around Neow or another character becoming trapped/corrupted actually...)


Credit from left to right: ssorgatem, gummyfungi, Marmoth, popnfresh24, GooseEle, Multi-Man, Ada, Mound Sand, Podunk22, Nevve1776, mainasuarafa, ironstove, B.D., PorpleKnight, 2kiye, Trevor.

Without further ado, let's have a drum roll for the unveiling...



Agh! It's an enormous, shambling monster seemingly made of vines?? This publication is currently referring to this creature as a Vine Shambler, which we thought was apt.



Of course, there are always further discoveries to be made--yet another shadowy creature has emerged! If you have any guesses as to what this creature could be, be sure to submit them via [email protected] or in our Discord's fanart channel!

[h3]Connections Section[/h3]


Cant seem to beat the heat? Have a Slay the Spire Connections puzzle as a treat!

[h3]Community Corner[/h3]

Thank you to Osakana for our incredibly beautiful cover image this month! And a very special shoutout to all of the other artists who ALSO submitted incredibly beautiful potential cover images... it was so hard to choose, as always!

Credit from left to right: WildeChelsy (timelapse on Instagram!), HAN, tide, and 周恒辉!

Next month's theme is: Neow in an autumnal forest! If you'd like to submit your art for consideration, reminder that it must be submitted to us via [email protected] or in our Discord's fanart channel, have dimensions of 800x450px, feature no text, and leave room for a title!

Ok, let's take a look at some of this month's top community highlights!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVE4SlP02d8
An amazing Slay the Spire parody song/animation by PixelPenguin (released in honor of the 1-year anniversary of their "Drawing badly until StS2 comes out" project!)


A pixel Ironclad as well as a mini pixel Ironclad by Lamily!


A Binding of Isaac x Slay the Spire crossover mousepad made by GM_Whitose!

Alright, that's it for this issue. Cheers to one whole year of Neowsletters! Be sure to tune in, as always, next month!

The Neowsletter - July 2025



Hi again everyone, it's time for a July update!

I don't have any clever things to say in this intro, let's just get into it. This month we'll take a sneak peek at Colorless Cards!

[h3]The Cards Without Color[/h3]

Hey everyone, Anthony again with some more card previews. This time, we are showing some Colorless cards that any character can make use of. We are making a bunch of new Colorless cards, tweaking some old ones, and even changing some old cards to now be Colorless.



Thrumming Hatchet might look innocuous, but the consistency it provides is surprisingly strong. You may have noticed an older version of this card on our store page, but we are constantly iterating in development and will be refining balance up until release!



Rolling Boulder is an inevitable powerhouse and one of my favorite new cards to build around.



Scrawl sure looks familiar.... what is that doing here? 👀



⚙️⚙️⚙️

[h3]Q&A with Casey & Anthony[/h3]
Most of the questions seem to revolve around fishing for spoilers so it's been difficult to get content in here this month. I'm an extreme spoiler hater so do keep that in mind when you submit stuff to [email protected]!

TabbyCat asks: Will there be more "written" lore for STS2 (like a bestiary with descriptions of the enemies you fight)?
The Aloner asks: Hello! I recently started playing Slay the Spire, and was wondering if StS2 will have more lore/worldbuilding regarding the characters. I really liked the events in the first game.
Casey: Ya

Kodiak Crew asks: Can you please show us a new card for the Necrobinder? Pleaseeeee.
Anthony: No
Casey: Sure ok. But only this much.



The Twig asks: Pretty much every humanoid character either has an obscured face or lacks one altogether. I interpret this as a stylistic choice, but is there an in-universe reason for this?
Casey: There's not an in-universe reason for it, it's a stylistic choice since I feel that players feel more like the character they play when a face is obscured/masked/covered

makeshiftotaster asks: Why is the client icon for Slay the Spire 2 currently the card art for Burst? Is this just placeholder, or will this be the client icon for the early access release? If the latter, is this subtle confirmation that Burst (and Double Tap/Amplify) will be back?
Casey: I want the icon to be green

[h3]Spire Spotting[/h3]

Demi here! Time to resume our research into the Spire's mysterious flora, fauna, and fiends!

As a refresher, this was last month's silhouette:



Now let's see whose hypotheses we chose to highlight...



The award for best (and seemingly only) Spire Spotting comic goes to PixelPenguin!



The secret bonus award for referencing Demi's current favorite game goes to Alina, who used this as an opportunity to guess the Roaring Knight's true identity.



The award for most inaccurate yet strangely accurate at the same time goes to Zwebbo!



And the award for most accurate overall goes to Mästerbläster!

Here is a selection of other great submissions we received! You'll notice people saw spherical objects and instantly thought of orbs for Some Reason.


Credit from left to right: Anybodyyoudontknow, whoness, Tank, kgrmeagc, 唠个beaker, Wolfluoride, yaza33, 名陈弦上, KSA, WildSamich, Ada, Neossir, z4nzimoon, GreatGopher, INactiveRadio, vexnator

And now all that's left is to unveil the monster in question:



It's a knight with flails!! A Flail Knight, even. I wonder what happens to you when you're inflicted with its flailing... only time will tell. That's all we've got to cover today, so--



...Or not! It appears something just emerged from the overgrowth, but we can't quite make it out just yet. If you have any clues as to what this creature could be, be sure to submit them via [email protected] or in our Discord's fanart channel!

[h3]Connections Section[/h3]


Grab your popcorn folks, it's time for another Slay the Spire Connections puzzle!

[h3]Community Corner[/h3]

Thank you to rat mama for our very detailed, beachy cover image this month! Next month's theme is: Neow underwater! If you'd like to submit your art for consideration, reminder that it must be submitted to us via [email protected] or in our Discord's fanart channel, have dimensions of 800x450px, feature no text, and leave room for a title!

Now for our usual community highlights...


This incredibly dynamic illustration of the Defect defeating Gremlin Nob by @taydungeon (timelapse on TikTok!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCVRfwIoLCY
A very funny animation of The Ironclad vs Gremlins by Flurry of Bricks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XkC6XPiq1c
One of the latest instalments in Asukii's series of Slay the Spire song parodies!

Wow, we're already at the end of this month's Neowsletter, that was a slightly shorter one! See you all next month :D

The Neowsletter - June 2025



Summer's here and so is a new Neowsletter! We're out enjoying the sun during the day, and killing the night... during the uhh.. night (that was a Nightreign reference). Anyways, it's true- we were not part of Summer Games Fest :( But that's okay. As a small team, it's quite a bit of work to put together a trailer, do press stuff, and coordinate with event organizer folks, so we try to keep that stuff to a minimum.

However, these announcements are quite exciting. Mina the Hollower getting a release date is cool.

Okay, let's talk about a known but returning mechanic, Events in Slay the Spire!

[h3]Event Rooms[/h3]

Sometimes when you enter those question mark looking rooms on the map you'll find yourself in an event! We've made them more dramatic by having the event image take up the whole screen, and some of the events will have cute animations, particles, and glowing effects too.



This time around, we're trying to avoid having any options where you simply do nothing and pass through.


But not all of these events are beneficial. The types of events vary between Acts, what state you're in, and they don't all have positive choices for the player! Don't just seek the unknown. Sometimes it's better to take down enemies in order to strengthen your deck.


There are 50+ events in Slay the Spire 2 so far and they're balanced to provide difficult decisions each time you enter them just like before. We're always experimenting with what may or may not be interesting so sometimes the artwork or writing is in a rough form for a good while.

We hope to share this experimental process with you all once we hit Early Access. Repy needs you.

[h3]Q&A with C&A[/h3]

Faely asks: do you plan to collab with Vampire Survivors? I'd love to hunt vampires with the Ironclad!
Casey: I haven't played Vampire Survivors in a while, but this question reminds me- are there actually any vampires in the game??

Uitle233 and a bunch of other people ask: Are there plans to launch the sequel on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 platform?
Casey: If the console's popular and there's demand we'll port! I want the game to be playable on a lot of different platforms. This is not a true confirmation, just my general philosophy.

sol asks: if there are gonna be multiple options for starting decks for classes or is it just gonna be strike and defences again
Casey: There are no different starting decks as players would just choose the best one and they could lean too hard towards specific archetypes. Instead we're messing about with more choices at the start of the run (i.e. with Neow)

Jacob Delaney asks: Will Grand Finale return for The Silent? It was my favorite card in Slay the Spire :)
Casey: We'll bring it back for you, Jacob.

Ratman asks: Will we see more stuff about/involving Mazaleth? He's by far the most interesting character in the lore to me.
Casey: yes

Zachray2K asks: Slay the Spire features some monsters inspired by real-world animals, like Jaw Worm and Louses. Personally, I don’t find them very cute—so I wonder if Slay the Spire 2 might introduce some cuter animal-based enemies.
Casey: First of all, I think the louse is cute so you're hurting its fuzzy feelings. Either way, our art director Marlowe is VERY adept at drawing cute things; it's actually a minor problem. If you don't find enough cute things in Slay the Spire 2 I would be shocked. SHOCKED I tell you.

[h3]Q&A... with Anailis and Bruce![/h3]

Demi the CM here! If you're interested in hearing more about how the art of Slay the Spire came to be, check out More Games Please's interview with StS1's dedicated artists Bruce Brenneise and Anailis Dorta (the latter of whom is also working on StS2, as seen in the event art above)!!

[h3]Spire Spotting[/h3]

It's time to spot some Spire-dwellers!! First, a recap of last month's shadow monster:



Our research has concluded, and we can now share the results of your hypotheses...


The award for most Defect-ive goes to 唠个beaker! This seems to be a recurring theme amongst some of the guesses each month...


The award for least correct has to go to Funguy, who definitely lives up to their name at least :)



While many different researchers captured different elements of the creature, Szybarek seems to have come the closest overall--congrats!

Thank you to the other fine artist-scientists who contributed this month:


Credit from left to right: WildSamich, Coquillette, Teh Quiper, Cannoliy, Syrupybug, Colin, jangjorim, someitoj, JellyfishLightning.

So what does this mysterious being look like anyways?



KELP!! ...I mean HELP!! This seaweedy ball of spite is currently being referred to as a "seapunk" internally--but our taxonomists are prone to changing their minds, after all. Now, with that out of the way...



Another shadowy menace has appeared before our very eyes! If you have any ideas as to what it could be, be sure to submit them via [email protected] or in our Discord's fanart channel!

[h3]Pride with Friends![/h3]


The third annual Pride with Friends charity streaming event is happening on June 27-29, hosted by Panacea on Twitch! There will be competitive seeded runs, speedrunning, and casual Spire with Friends co-op runs, all of which YOU can sign up to participate in now! There will also be trivia and guest appearances from the dev team (including me, Demi, hi!) All proceeds from donations will go towards the Trevor Project, so be sure to tune in and support a great cause! Check out more info, including the schedule and sign up form, here! Credit for the cute event art goes to @okureito
[h3]Merch Madness[/h3]

SsssSssSs... Something sneaky this way comes! Since there's no such thing as too much Snecko during Year of the Snecko, we're dropping ANOTHER Snecko plushie, this time with Makeship! And this one's CHONKY :) Don't let this opportunity to nab your own little cute, confusing friend slither out of your grasp; this pre-order campaign will only be live for a few more weeks before it's gone for good!!

[h3]Connections Section[/h3]


Another Slay the Spire Connections puzzle is here! And I must say I'm quite ~proud~ of this one :)

[h3]Community Corner[/h3]

First off, thank you to bibimboy for our rainbowy cover image this month! Shoutout to these other incredible submissions from (in order from left to right) Connor, rat mama, Alcalmy, as well as Rowan, who is a 10-year old fan of Slay the Spire!! :') Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful art with us!


Next month's theme is: Neow at the beach! If you'd like to submit your art for consideration, reminder that it must be submitted to us via [email protected] or in our Discord's fanart channel, have dimensions of 800x450px, feature no text, and leave room for a title!

Ok, now for some community highlights!


This intricate illustration by Sean inspired by the Defect's initial promo image!


This awe-inspiring full-sleeve StS tattoo from jamalbernhard--we appreciate the dedication!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M_KLShhDwg
This super well-produced series of Slay the Spire challenge videos from a new StS content creator, MultiBradx!

Phew, that's all for this month, but July's Neowsletter is just around the corner!