We’re ecstatic to be a part of Steam's Real-Time Strategy Fest, along with a wealth of other amazing RTS games!

Real-Time Strategy games have been around since the early 1990s and we’re honoured to be listed among, and to have played around with, this diverse genre with the Circle Empires series. With Circle Empires 2 on the horizon, we thought it’d be a fun idea to dive into a few RTS games from the past & present that have been a huge inspiration for the Circle Empires series.

Here’s Mikhel Trei, developer at Luminous, on some of his personal favourites:

My favourite RTS games are Warcraft 3, Age of Empires 1 & 2, Total Annihilation, and Command & Conquer: Red Alert.

To me, Warcraft 3 has the best 4-player Free For All mode in any RTS. What makes it so good for me, is the fact that it is reliant on heroes, who gain power by fighting. This provides a unique incentive to engage in battles during Free For All games, which otherwise reward passive play and result in stale games when players play correctly.

Age of Empires 1 and 2 are what I grew up with. I've probably played through AOE1’s Rise of Rome expansion demo campaign a thousand times as a kid, because I didn't have the full version of the game. Age of Empires 2 places you in this incredibly engaging fantasy of being a medieval king and I used to play the 1v7 single-player mode quite a lot.

Total Annihilation is one of the first RTS I ever came across. I remember seeing it at a friend's place and being mesmerised. It has a fantastic unit command system, great 3D spacial physics, a wide array of units and so much more. It did require a beefy computer for its time and it's overall a bit less intuitive than other, non-SciFi RTSs (Just because you're in the future and don't have horses and men with sharp sticks that are self-explanatory). But like.. sea planes that can land underwater and flying builders that create cannons that shoot on the other side of map… This game is just great.

I feel like for Red Alert, all I need to say is: mass teslacoils and air strikes.
Since these are all big titles, I feel like I should mention a few games that, in my opinion, should get more recognition.:

• Knights and Merchants had a really cool economy system. Fans made a complete rebuild of the game called KamRemake.
  
• Beasts and Pumpkins had a cool live economy where people would be born and get old, eat bread, fight each other when they're in bad mood and fight giant bees by throwing rocks over a fence.

Thanks for joining us in this celebration of one of our favourite genres! Check out the other great games in Steam's Real-Time Strategy Fest, and share your favorite RTS titles in the comments!

Happy strategizing!

Luminous

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1100260/Circle_Empires_Rivals/?curator_clanid=1137099

[h4]Jerry and Jobe, our friends from Circle Empires 2, wish you very Happy Holidays:[/h4]



For real, though, I can’t describe how amazing it is to have such a dedicated fanbase. Your reception of our new project has been so lovely and we’re taking your comments to heart. Thank you for all the kind words and the motivation to keep going.

It’s been an amazing year and we can’t wait to show you more of Circle Empires 2 in 2025. In the meantime, you can enjoy Circle Empires Rivals at 70% off, so if your friends haven’t picked it up yet, this is their chance!

Happy holidays!

Luminous

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[h5]In case you missed it, the next game in the Circle Empires series has been officially announced! [/h5]

We’re thrilled by the incredible response from all of you. Your excitement for Circle Empires 2 is inspiring, and we’re more motivated than ever to create something special for this next entry.

After the announcement, we noticed some questions about the new look and features of the game. To answer those, we’ve put together a post-announcement FAQ on the CE2 store page.

If you still have questions, feel free to ask them in the comments or join us on the Iceberg Interactive Discord.

Oh, and in case you haven’t done so yet, make sure to wishlist and follow Circle Empires 2 to stay up to date with the development!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3093020/Circle_Empires_2/

We’ll be back with more updates once we’re ready to share them!

Luminous

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Hey everyone!

We’re back and we’re going full circle! Today, Luminous and Iceberg Interactive are incredibly excited to reveal that we’ve been working on Circle Empires 2!

Watch the reveal trailer right here:

This direct sequel will make the indie smash hit bigger and better than ever. Still, we tried to maintain the approachability and simplicity of the previous games’ unique take on the RTS genre, which we’ve always seen as the core of the franchise.

Wishlist and Follow it here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3093020/Circle_Empires_2/

For old players: CE2 is completely rebuilt with new core structures. This unlocks lots of cool stuff that wasn't technically possible before. You now have granular control over terrain and building placements. You can balance the maze-like defensive plans of the circle with optimal economic layouts. Units can push each other, leading to group vs group struggles in key areas, which you can manipulate with your defensive layouts, magic units and positioning. Any unit can ride any other unit that is large enough. Want to employ the dragon as a mount for a worker? Can do. Just lots of cool stuff that wasn't possible before.

For new players: CE2 is an extremely easy to learn strategy game where you conquer, develop and defend small kingdoms in deeply varying circumstances. Fight detailed, tragic battles, defend or sacrifice regions and develop the smartest route to domination in every situation. Start out easy and improve until you master the Impossible.

So, Circle Empires 2 takes everything you love about the original game and sequel and adds even more strategic depth, variety, and fun. We've introduced new units, weapons, and terrain effects to keep you coming round for more. There’s also a brand-new mounting system that lets any unit ride another larger one. Want to put a necromancer on a dragon? Go for it!

As we keep working on the game, we’ll need some playtesters to figure out what works and what doesn’t. So, wishlist Circle Empires 2 to not miss out on the chance to help us test the game early!



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Fixed: lobby password field did not display the typed text
Fixed: sometimes the hotkey view showed invalid category names
Fixed numerous other places where potential rare crashes could happen.

Update 2.0.41: Fixed a bug where loading a saved game with more than 1 AI players crashed (unless you played right before the loading a game that had same number of AI players).

Todays update fixed a few rare crashes, most notably the crash when pumpkin finished growing to level 2 while in an acid pool.

Circle Empires Rivals has received a major technical update.

We have switched the service provider from Improbable to Amazon Gamelift. A lot has changed under the hood. The update should now be live and up and running.

This change has taken place because Improbable shut down its game server branch.

There are small changes to starting a new multiplayer game. When creating a new lobby, players now choose between co-op and pvp mode, set the name for the lobby, and can optionally set a password. These settings can not be updated once the lobby has been created due to limitations on Gamelift.

If you find any strange issues related to multiplayer, please let us know on Discord or our other social media channels!





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Greetings, commanders!

There's nothing better than a fair scrap between two balanced forces, right? Wrong! Introducing the all-new cheat menu for Circle Empires Rivals! Ever wanted to trample over your foes with an army of 300 max-level knights? Easy. Defend a single circle from an armada of dragons? Now you can!



And that's not the only good news. You can pick up Circle Empires Rivals at 55% off during our weeklong sale!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1100260/Circle_Empires_Rivals/

Can't get enough of conquering circles? Even more good news! The entire Circle Empires Franchise Pack is also on sale.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/14153/Circle_Empires_Franchise/

When you create a game lobby, click on the advanced button. In this menu, tick the box that says Ingame cheats are allowed.



Once in game, place your storehouse as you normally would. After this, you'll notice a new button has popped up next to your usual unit and structure buttons.



Using this menu, you can spawn anything your heart desires, and for any faction!

First, select who you want to spawn the unit for. You can choose between monsters, hostile empires, barbarians, bandits, and of course yourself. Next, you can fill in how many units you want to spawn.



Pick a unit from the list, or search for it in the search bar, then all you need to do is click on a circle and watch the magic happen!



How many units can you spawn with it? A lot.



You can now answer the age-old question of: "can a level 3 swordsman win against 300 poison zombies?" The answer, as you might expect, is no.

Yes, the spawning menu is also available in multiplayer! Play with your friends and spawn massive armies to defeat. In multiplayer, the host can enable cheats in the same way as in single player, after which both players will have access to them.

Note that in multiplayer, spawns are limited by the population limit setting. This can be changed in the same advanced menu as the cheats.



That's all from us. Go out there and create some seriously epic battles, and please do share the insanity with us on Discord!



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Hail Commanders!

The time is NOW — Circle Empires Tactics is available on Steam!

Sharpen your swords and mount the horses, because this is Circle Empires unlike ever before! Flex your tactical muscles in single-player as you empower your army with various upgrades, or show your strategic superiority in multiplayer.


You can buy Circle Empires Tactics on Steam from today onwards for $14.99, with a 10% discount during the launch week. Plus, for our veteran players who own previous Circle Empires games, there will be an additional 15% off via bundle deals ON TOP of that!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1515260/Circle_Empires_Tactics/

FEATURES
• Fight exciting simultaneous turn-based battles. Predict your opponent's moves, plan your own, then watch the chaos unfold!
  
• Battle through randomly generated single-player maps. Equip your units with upgrade tokens to empower them, and find the craziest combos!
  
• Take to the field in multiplayer with or against your friends in Co-Op and PvP!
  
• Find the playstyle that fits you. Master the balanced Humans, the rush strat Orcs, or the mystical Wizards!
  
• Build your perfect battlefield in the powerful map editor, then share it with the community through the Steam Workshop!
  
• For returning Circle Empires players: feast your eyes on a graphical overhaul! The familiar Circle Empires look in an all-new jacket.

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