Coming soon

About This Game

Sons of the Arena is a turn-based tactical game where you run a gladiator school in a brutal world inspired by Ancient Rome. Buy fighters at the slave market, equip them, train them in real combat — and watch them grow or die.

Hex-based tactical combat

Battles play out on a hex arena in the tradition of classic turn-based strategy. Position is everything: facing, flanking, line of sight, terrain, and zones of control shape every turn. There are no resurrections — when a gladiator falls, his gear goes back to the armory and his name to the wall of remembrance.

Four classes, real choices

Recruits start as basic gladiators and specialize at level 2 based on their weapon:

• Swordsman — master of counterattacks, high parry, lethal in single combat.

• Spearman — long reach, shield-wall formations, "Push" skill to break enemy lines.

• Archer — covers the whole arena, area volleys, no zone of control.

• Mace Fighter — crushes armor, +50% damage against targets shielded by allies.

Stamina, formations, perks

Every action costs stamina: a tired fighter hits softer and misses more often. The enemy AI uses real formations — shield walls, wolf-pack flanks, archer screens — so the same skirmish never plays out the same way twice. Level-up perks let you specialize each fighter: "Last Stand," "Spear Wall," "Quick Shot," "Battle Cry."

Run your ludus

Between fights you manage the school: build barracks, infirmary, smithy, and quarry; hire workers and healers; feed your fighters — or watch them weaken. Wounds heal in real days. Money is always tight.

Pre-alpha — in active development

The game is in active development. Wishlist it to be notified when the demo drops.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Visual and audio assets in this game were generated using AI tools and then edited and integrated by the developer. Character animations were created manually by the developer using rotoscoping. The game's design, balance, and integration are the developer's own work.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

Sons of the Arena: Pollice Verso depicts gladiatorial combat with realistic violence, blood, dismemberment, and on-screen deaths. Fighters can be wounded, maimed, or killed during battles, with permanent consequences. There is no sexual content, drug use, or other mature themes - the mature content is limited to combat violence and gore consistent with the gladiator setting.