Greetings Newsbearers! The wait is almost over — we’re thrilled to announce that the News Tower Community Playtest is officially kicking off today, July 23!

This is your chance to get hands-on with some of the biggest new features coming in the 1.0 release. We’re opening the newsroom doors early so you can try out new systems like Competitors, Perception, Factions, and more — and most importantly, share your feedback with us as we move toward launch.

• The new Competitor System

• The updated Factions System

• The new Perception System

• A leaderboard for your highest scores achieved in News Tower! (Leaderboard will not carry over to the live game)

• New gameplay systems that shake up how you build your news empire.

• A chance to help shape the final release with your input

You can read all about the various features coming in 1.0 in our recent Road to 1.0 blog here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1649950/announcements/detail/610914203288475712

You can get more information on how to join the playtest via our Discord in the #community-test-faq channel. The presses are rolling, so it's time to get reporting. Don't lose out to your competitors and make sure you're meeting the needs of the different factions and your readers!

IMPORTANT: Your save data from the live game will not work on the Community Test, and likewise, any progress made on the Community Test will not carry back over to the live game, or the 1.0 release.

We can’t wait to hear what you think, and we’re incredibly grateful for your help as we make News Tower the best it can be. Stay tuned for more info soon!

– The News Tower Team

✨ From July 23-29, Stellar Poetry is being featured in the Steam China Showcase 2025. Come and play my demo!

We're hard at work on a new version of the demo! Please feel free to send me any feedback or bug reports—your help is essential for optimizing the game.

Don't forget to add Stellar Poetry to your Wishlist!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2993550/_/

You can contact us here:

QQ Group: 580994487

Discord: https://discord.gg/2BedZuxcFP

— MXL-Studio

To ensure the game's stability and enhance overall service quality and user experience, "Blood of Steel" will undergo maintenance on July 24th from 07:00 to 12:00 (UTC+8). During this period, the game world will be temporarily closed, and game matchmaking will be disabled around 06:45. Additionally, comprehensive maintenance and backup of the account database will be performed. Please notice that the maintenance time may change based on specific work conditions. We kindly ask all players to plan the game time accordingly.

\[New Content]

1 .Battle Pass Update:

• Battle Pass Rewards: Includes 2 swimsuit skins for Godfrey's inheritance Ada and Octavia with matching primary/secondary weapons/shields, 4 soldier skins for Dian Wei, Liu Bei, Hattori Hanzo, and Mochizuki Chiyome, etc.

• Soldier Skin Returns: 24 selectable soldier skins, including 6 popular skins voted by players and 18 others.

2 .New "Gameplay Lab" event is now available. Players can access it via "Normal Mode - Entertainment Mode". This event will feature the "Tactics System", available every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 19:00 to 22:00.

a. Tactics System: Reclassified based on hero and army characteristics, with each hero type having its own selectable and equippable tactics library.

• Hero classifications (viewable in hero info):

  1. Snipers: Mid/short-range archers like Huang Yueying, Xiao Qiao, etc.

  2. Marksmen: Long-range archers like Sun Shangxiang, Zhen Ji, etc.

  3. Shield Guards: Shield infantry like Ling Tong, Diao Chan, etc.

  4. Pikemen: Spear infantry with anti-cavalry skills like Zhang Fei, Joan of Arc, etc.

  5. Guards: Non-shield infantry without anti-cavalry skills like Qin Qiong, Bai Qi, etc.

  6. Rangers: Stealth/ranged infantry like Zhurong, Hattori Hanzo, etc.

  7. Lancers: Cavalry with charge skills like Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, etc.

  8. Raiders: Cavalry without charge skills like Xiahou Yuan, Guan Yu, etc.

• Three tactic types: Hero-only, Soldier-only, and Army-wide. Hover for details.

• Each hero has 100 tactic points limit. Right-click to equip/unequip.

• Max 4 skills per loadout within 100 points.

• 3 recommended loadouts provided, or customize your own.

• Each hero has unique tactics library.

b. Tactics System only works in "Gameplay Lab"; other modes still use plate system.

3 .Ranked (map rotation), Territory War, and Elite War seasons conclude and restart.

4 .New seasonal shop skins: Baldwin I \[King of Molten Bones/Lord of Frosty Shadows]. Available next season.

5 .Summer event with rewards: Light Crossbow \[Whale Surge Strike], dynamic background \[Fantasy Sea Daydream], Amonet swimsuit skin \[Dancing On The Waves], classic accessory \[Carp Zither] selection pack, etc. Participate in "Gameplay Lab" to vote in "BOS Creator Camp" for limited avatar \[BOS Partner].

6 .Hattori Hanzo's inheritance hero Iga Oboro now available through regular inheritance.

7 .Open World and Solo Ranked modes reset.

8 .Open World Battle Pass updated.

\[Adjustments & Optimizations]

1 .Hero Balance:

a. Cao Cao:

• Skill \[Tiger Cavalry Charge]: Now consumes 90% Strategy to summon 3 elite Tiger Cavalry that charge a target area (max 45s duration). Enemies hit suffer \[Tiger Cavalry Charge] effect (-20% Block Value, +5% melee damage taken, 20s).

• Skill \[Leopard Charge]: Cooldown reduced to 90s. Orders a sweeping attack with min charge speed, +20% melee damage resistance, and +15% damage vs \[Tiger Cavalry Charge] targets (20s).

• New Skill \[Summon Cao Ren]: Calls Cao Ren to fight alongside you.

• New Hero Passive: Starts with 100% Strategy (regenerates over time). Gains Strategy on kills. If Cao Cao would die while Cao Ren is present, Cao Ren takes the hit instead (Cao Cao retains 35% HP).

• New Army Passive: Heals out of combat. Damage is shared with nearby soldiers. +5% damage vs \[Tiger Cavalry Charge] targets. Killing such targets reduces \[Leopard Charge] cooldown by 5s.

b. Sun Shangxiang:

• Rage gain from hero/soldier hits reduced from 4%/0.4% → 3%/0.3%.

c. Li Guang:

• Skill \[Rapid Shoot]: Now costs 80% Strategy.

• Skills \[Low Angle Fire]/\[High Angle Fire]: Duration increased from 10s → 20s.

• Skill \[Reserve Horse]: Now activated with Z (dismounted).

• New Skill \[Heal]: Restores 10/25 HP to soldiers/hero every 3s (50 HP to mount if riding, 15s duration).

d. Huang Yueying:

• Skill \[Rapid March]: Cooldown adjusted to 120s.

e. Margaret:

• Increased base arrow damage.

• Arc shot duration extended to 20s.

f. Boudica:

• Increased army base armor.

g. Diao Chan:

• Charge buff duration reduced from 25s → 20s.

h. Lagertha:

• Slightly reduced army base armor.

i. Sarutobi Sasuke:

• Skill \[Shadow Blade Jutsu]: Now costs 90% Strategy.

• New Passive: Starts with 100% Strategy (regenerates). Gains Strategy on melee hits. After 10 melee hits, summons a shadow clone (max 3, 30s duration). (Disabled in Hero Duels/Training Grounds.)

j. Robin Hood:

• Skill \[Dice of Fate]: Now costs 40% Strategy.

k. Octavian:

• Reduced tent HP.

l. Deng Ai:

• Slightly increased army base armor.

• Skill \[Sprint]: Melee resistance +20% → 25%; Ranged resistance +35% → 40%.

m. Ma Chao:

• Skill \[Marked Throwing Spears]: Now costs 50% Strategy.

• New Passive: Starts with 100% Strategy (regenerates). Gains 3.6% Strategy per javelin hit (doubled vs marked targets).

n. Gerard:

• Skill \[Lance Charge]: Now costs 70% Strategy.

• New Passive: Starts with 100% Strategy (regenerates). Gains 2.5%/5% Strategy per lance hit on soldiers/heroes (doubled on kills).

• Army Passive: \[Lance Charge] now applies Vulnerability.

o. Bathory:

• Increased army base armor.

p. Sibylla:

• While crouched on camel: +15% damage resistance.

q. Caesar:

• \[Javelin Throw] no longer interrupts normal attacks.

r. Ying Zheng:

• Chariots can now knock aside horses.

• Removed 50% ranged damage reduction.

• Slightly reduced chariot HP.

• Skill \[Scythed Chariot]: Cooldown increased to 120s.

s. Meng Huo:

• Skill \[Summon Elephant]: Cooldown reduced to 120s.

t. Wu Zetian:

• Increased banner max height to 8m.

u. Temujin:

• Removed 20s cooldown reduction on missed \[Bolas].

• Added max range to \[Bolas].

• Reduced bonus damage from empowered shots after 5s without firing.

v. Aguda:

• Skill \[Iron Chain]: Now costs 90% Strategy.

• Skill \[Chain] (Q): Cooldown adjusted to 45s.

2 .Core Combat Mechanic Adjustments & Optimizations:

a. Added Basic Horsemanship for the following heroes: Bu Lianshi, Margaret, Boudica, Wu Zetian, Zhurong, Hua Mulan, Zhou Yu, Baldwin I, Edward I, Harald, Bai Qi (Restrictions: Bai Qi cannot use high/low angle shots mounted; Wu Zetian cannot plant banners mounted.)

b. Adjusted Summon Mount skills (Basic/Intermediate Horsemanship): Now limited to 1 use per cooldown period (swapping heroes in Siege resets this limit).

c. Removed post-shot interruption for these heroes: Lyu Bu, Ma Chao, Deng Ai, Huo Qubing, Xiang Yu, Fan Lihua, Catherine, Yuan Chonghuan, Agrippina, Cao Cao, Saladin, Wanyan Aguda.

d. Formation Optimization (Death replenishment rules): When soldiers die, formations now prioritize retaining units closest to the banner position.

e. Uniformly increased anti-cavalry damage for: Zhang Bao, Zhang Fei, Napoleon, Qin Liangyu, Zheng Chenggong, Germanicus.

f. Standardized ranged aiming rules across all heroes.

g. Unified throwing weapons mechanics (Daggers/Shurikens): Adjusted to 8 projectiles with auto-replenish for: Diao Chan, Stephanie, Mochizuki Chiyome, Sarutobi Sasuke, Cleopatra.

3 .Siege Map Optimizations:

a. Luoyang: Added hero swap camps

b. Penghai Port 10v8: Adjusted spawn points

c. Fort Zeelandia: Reduced slope penalty

d. Jade Palace 6v5: Reduced defender NPC stats

4 .Added \[Eternal Strife] category to Market-Contract Item.

5 .Adjusted new player quests and activities.

\[Fixed Issues]

Fixed bug where Liang Hongyu’s arc shot could fail if targeting immediately after raising the camera.

Fixed incorrect ally/enemy hero count display in Cleopatra’s \[Scales of Retribution] radius.

Fixed an exploit where Fan Lihua could break shields and pull enemies by using \[Flying Claw Throw] + kick while dismounted.

Fixed 1s delay for Victoria’s \[Aura of Avalon] self-effect.

Fixed Han Xin being able to swap weapons during \[Military Stratagems].

Corrected inaccurate description of Agrippina’s passive \[Holy Woman].

Fixed Full Moon sometimes ignoring targets in F7 assault mode.

Fixed missing draw animation when Qin Qiong switches from secondary to primary weapon.

Fixed incorrect secondary weapon name display for Guan Yinping.

Fixed name error for Mochizuki Chiyome’s accessory \[Osmanthus Dream Lantern].

Fixed hand/head display issues for Bu Lianshi’s soldier skin \[Yuanchu Guard] during stealth.

Fixed Boudica’s \[Abyssal Night Witch] skin display error in matchmaking.

Fixed Li Yuanba being able to throw heroes through floors in Knight’s Castle.

Fixed discrepancy between described and actual token rewards for "Three King" title.

Fixed hero reselection after death in BoS Plus mode.

Added missing "Collection" icon to Stephanie’s skin.

Restored missing dynamic effects for Huang Yuying and Yu Ji’s \[Mountain & Sea Spirit] skins.

尊敬的上仙们：

       我们将对经典服进行停机维护，届时您将无法登陆游戏，维护时间根据实际情况可能会提前或者延后，对您造成的不便，敬请谅解。

维护时间：2025年7月24日10:00-12:00

维护范围： 经典服

活动：

1. 【滚滚元宝转转乐】开启（7.24-7.30）

2. 【彩虹票狂欢抽奖】开启（7.24-8.6）

3. 【仙侠秘宝战力升】开启（7.24-8.6）

4. 【仙侠卡片十连抽】开启（7.24-8.6）

5. 【祝福宝藏众人寻】开启（7.24-7.30）

平衡性调整：

1. 仙防宝石数值提升

The game now supports DLSS 4, including Super Resolution (DLSS-SR) and DLAA.

You can enable or disable them from the settings menu.

“Forbidden Ground: Lair of Aooni” was showcased as a playable demo at the HYDE booth during BitSummit the 13th: Summer of Yokai, held at Miyakomesse in Kyoto from July 18 (Fri) to July 20 (Sun), 2025.

An impressive AOONI will be appearing in the booth, and visitors will receive a limited edition AOONI fan as a gift!

Thanks to your amazing support, the booth was packed with players and full of energy throughout the event.

On the final day, the AOONI came to life, creating a wave of excitement among the crowd!

We also received many heartfelt messages from players who tried the demo—it truly encouraged our team.

Thank you all so much for stopping by!

We hope you’ll continue to look forward to the release!

During the event period from 7/23 (Wed) 21:00 PDT – 7/30 (Wed) 21:00 PDT, you can accumulate 5x the Season Pass Points!
Those who joined the party late have a chance to catch up! Play as much as you can before Season 5 ends and obtain items!

Note: Does not apply to Season Pass Points obtained during Challenges.

• New participants can get bonus to their total score, giving everyone a fair shot at winning and keeping the competition fresh and fun! Event rules will still apply.
  
• No explicit contents are allowed to be seen in the entry. Any entry that can make others feel offended or uncomfortable will be removed with or without permission from Closers Online Operation Team.
  
• Once an entry has been submitted, players agree to have their work published publicly on our official channels (Website, Steam, and SNS).
  
• If you have submitted more than one entry, we will only refer to the first entry submitted.
  
• If you need to change or edit your entry or post, remove your first entry, then re-submit it again before the event ends.
  
• Closers Online Operation team can remove unrelated entries or discussions.
  
• Closers Online is not liable for any violation of copyright or intellectual property. Any violations will be assumed by the event participant.
  
• Event details, rewards, and schedules may change or be cancelled based on circumstances. Please check the official website or in-game notices for the latest updates. Closers Online reserves the right to final interpretation.
  
• Contact https://www.closersonline.com/support/qna or support@closersonline.com for inquiries, concerns, or reports.

TWO TOWNS. ONE DEAL. Experience the perfect balance of adrenaline and relaxation with this bundle featuring both post-apocalyptic hits.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/56409/

🌵 SANDROCK

-Master desert survival through crafting and combat

-Build relationships with the town's quirky residents

🌾 DOLOC

-Explore a charming pixel world

-Cultivate your farm at your own peaceful pace

DEAL HIGHLIGHTS

-10% savings versus purchasing separately

-Perfect for fans of both action and relaxation

又到了温度和日程都火爆到满溢的夏天！美波小姐的海之家也再度开业，客人源源不断——！只有当夜幕降临时，才能欣赏到只属于二人的「绝美景色」……

▶宫下美波泳装夏日短片——「忙里偷甜」|《女神异闻录：夜幕魅影》

宫下美波·夏日 | 日文CV：佐藤聪美

宫下美波·夏日 | 中文CV：多多