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Emberward Guides

Emberward Update History: Every Version From Demo to 1.0

Emberward version history from the 2023 demo to 1.0: when each region, character, tower batch and game mode arrived, taken from the official Steam posts.

9/23/2026 1.0 Last updated: 9/23/2026 6 min read

FAQ

When did Emberward enter Early Access?
June 25, 2024. The developer announced the date on June 11, 2024, with two regions, 26 towers, 45 relics, three extra characters and two extra flame types at launch.
What was the last Early Access version of Emberward?
v0.4.12, released April 16, 2026. After it the developer switched to working on 1.0, which launched on September 17, 2026.
When were achievements added to Emberward?
In v0.4.6 on September 11, 2025, with 85 achievements. The 1.0 update added 15 more for a total of 100.

Emberward timeline at a glance

Date Version Headline
2023-11-13 Demo Free demo released on Steam
2024-06-25 Early Access Misty Forest and Bone Desert, 26 towers, 45 relics
2024-08-22 v0.3.0 Third region: Frost Ruins
2024-10-18 v0.3.3 Misty Graveyard, a wave-survival map with a leaderboard
2025-03-04 v0.4.0 Fourth region: Sealed Citadel
2025-05-08 v0.4.2 Infernal Shards, the top difficulty system
2025-09-11 v0.4.6 85 achievements
2025-11-15 v0.4.8 New mode: Enigma Sanctum
2026-02-12 v0.4.10 Controller support and 5 towers
2026-04-16 v0.4.12 Last Early Access update
2026-09-17 1.0 Fifth region: Void Depths; 100 achievements; 13 languages

For the full 1.0 patch notes, see the 1.0 update page.

Version 1.0 (September 17, 2026)

The full release added the fifth region, Void Depths, and the Void Flame; the Volcano and Sentry towers (the Basic Tower was removed); 15 achievements for a total of 100; eight languages; trading cards, block skins and a large balance pass. Details: Emberward 1.0 update and all 100 achievements.

Early Access, 2026: v0.4.10 to v0.4.12

  • v0.4.12 (Apr 16) — Endless Mode Blessings (strong run-wide bonuses; Daily and Weekly Challenges get three), Joker and Scrap Master usable in Endless, multiple save slots, pause-in-background options. The developer then switched to 1.0.
  • v0.4.11 (Mar 9) — Endless event map Wyrmfell Bridge; a “More Challenges!” button to keep fighting waves after clearing a campaign level; the Abandoned Forge level reward; Completion and Game Records pages in the Compendium.
  • v0.4.10 (Feb 12) — Controller support; five towers: Dynamite (1×1), Ballista (2×2), Balloon (2×2), Fort (2×2) and Electro Gate (1×5); Frost Ruins gained Frozen Treasures; new hotkeys (Space/Z/X/C for speed, R/F/V for skills).

Early Access, 2025: v0.4.0 to v0.4.9

  • v0.4.9 (Dec 18) — Endless event map Snowridge Outpost; a Random Challenge in Endless; Custom Game in Campaign Mode; the Campsite map node (Supply Station, Circus, Altar); 5 altar-only relics; a monster resistance system.
  • v0.4.8 (Nov 15) — New mode Enigma Sanctum with Daily, Weekly and Random Challenges; the final talent, Royal Emblem (pick cards from the Royal Library at the start of each adventure); Arcane towers now apply Fragile; many tower damage buffs.
  • v0.4.7 (Oct 17) — New character Estelle the Astromancer (collect 40 tower types in the Compendium); 10 relics; Darkness elite levels on Heroic; a flame rework (Frost Flame and Candle Flame removed); rewards between Endless waves.
  • v0.4.6 (Sep 11) — Achievements (85); towers Blackhole (3×3+), Barrage (1×5), Portal (1×3) and Chainball (1×2); Golden Statue reworked.
  • v0.4.5 (Jul 31) — Daily and Weekly Challenges in Endless Mode; 12 roguelite maps; Academy rerolls; failing a level on Casual no longer ends the run; Stealth Mode in settings.
  • v0.4.4 (Jun 25) — Released on the first Early Access anniversary: Scrap Master, a special event character unlocked by clearing Sealed Citadel.
  • v0.4.3 (Jun 13) — Three Poison towers: Slime, Mushroom and Cauldron (Chomp became Poison); per-character Endless leaderboards; 7 anomaly effects.
  • v0.4.2 (May 8) — Infernal Shards, unlocked after Sealed Citadel; 15 relics; the Trial of the Skeleton King replaced the Frost Ruins wind mechanic.
  • v0.4.1 (Apr 1) — Joker (added as an April Fools’ character); Chaos Realm, mixing maps from all four regions; towers Torch, Icespike, Frost Ray, Scorch, Scythe (the first L-shaped tower) and Froststorm; demo saves can transfer to the full game.
  • v0.4.0 (Mar 4) — Fourth region Sealed Citadel; Ancient Flame (Normal clear) and Candle Flame (Heroic clear).

Early Access, 2024: launch to v0.3.5

  • v0.3.5 (Dec 19) — Map rework: battle nodes, Mini Shops, quests, Gambler’s Tokens, Anomaly levels and the Workshop (reforge, dismantle, add runes); relics Gambler’s License, Blessed Chisel and Beacon of the Sapling Queen.
  • v0.3.4 (Nov 13) — Tana the Sorcerer (open 50 treasure chests); towers Scrap Tank, Bomb and Fan; six buff cards; Compendium monster and tutorial pages; a new Misty Graveyard leaderboard.
  • v0.3.3 (Oct 18) — Misty Graveyard, a wave-survival map with a leaderboard; Mine Tower became 2×2.
  • v0.3.2 (Oct 1) — Chrono Traveler, a timed-play character; towers Magic Arrow, Lava, Mine and Starfall; 8 relics.
  • v0.3.1 (Sep 6) — Tiny (build 500 blocks); towers Drill, Laser, Lasso and Thunder; the Electric Charge mechanic; the Compendium.
  • v0.3.0 (Aug 22) — Third region Frost Ruins and the Frostfire flame.
  • v0.2.2 (Jul 12) — Four maps (two Forest, two Desert), new relics, Japanese translation.
  • v0.2.1 (Jun 28) — Damage meter and map drawing (both experimental), save backups.
  • Early Access launch (Jun 25) — Misty Forest and Bone Desert, 26 towers (18 in the demo), 45 relics (16 in the demo), two upgrade paths for every tower larger than 1×1, three extra characters and two extra flames.

Demo, 2023–2024

The free demo launched on November 13, 2023. Updates v0.1.3 to v0.1.8 added difficulty selection, relics (v0.1.5), the Giant Dice Tower (v0.1.6), and in v0.1.7 the Lightning Ball Tower, path preview, block runes, treasure chests and accessibility options. The demo is still on Steam but runs a pre-Early Access build, so its towers and numbers differ from 1.0.

Sources

Official announcements on Emberward’s Steam page, checked 2026-09-23:

See also: what Emberward is and platforms and Steam Deck.

patch-notes update-history early-access 1.0

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