Publishers Hooded Horse and Sidekick Publishing have announced the official release of "9 Kings," a strategy game featuring single-player and online competitive multiplayer modes developed by Sad Socket.
The official release is set for November 12, 2026
The game will graduate from Early Access after a year and a half, with additional content to be added
It was announced that the game, which entered Early Access in May 2025, will exit Early Access and officially launch on November 12, 2026—nearly a year and a half later.
A wide range of new content has been added, including “Joker Mode”—a new game mode that allows players to customize battle rules—as well as more new cards than originally anticipated, new edicts, bonuses that enhance the meta in both multiplayer-exclusive and single-player modes, quests, and more. In addition to these updates, the developers have hinted at the possibility of further expansions following the official launch.
The following is the official announcement regarding the game content available in the full release.
Content Included in Version 1.0:
4 Distinct Game Modes
I. Single-Player: Wreak
havoc as usual across dozens of difficulty levels II. Multiplayer: Battle against builds from players around the world, climb the ranks, and aim
to become the King of Kings. III. Quest Mode: Travel across nine lands, solve new puzzles, and take
on unique challenges. IV. Joker Mode (New!): The long-awaited custom mode.Just like a true king, you get to set the rules yourself.Over 130 types of cards
: Originally, we planned to include 81 types of cards in this game. But look at it now!Thanks to all of you, we’ve been able to expand the game to a scale we never imagined (enough for more than 9 kings!). Even in the 1.0 official release, the special card pool will continue to grow, with a massive addition of Rainbow Cards. On top of that, we’ve left plenty of room for the game to evolve in other ways as well!Over 140 Edicts
: More than 30 new edicts will create hundreds of entirely new combos. As a result, each King will finally have 9 unique edicts, and the number of shared and Rainbow edicts will also align to multiples of 9.Over 110 Perks
: With new multiplayer and shared perks, we’ll continue to explore new meta mechanics while ensuring the game remains true to its “9”-based design.Over 80 quests: Quest mode
is undergoing its final polish and may be expanded even further in the future!Over 140 Decorative
Items: A massive number of multiplayer decorative items have been added, allowing you to customize (or completely ruin) your King’s profile picture in ways you never imagined.Gameplay Improvements
: New sound effects, improved animations, enhanced performance, and quality-of-life improvements based on your feedback. If you’ve been following our development process, you know just how seriously we take all of this. The 1.0 official release brings our vision together as one.Joker
: A new game mode is here! Joker is the long-awaited custom mode. In this mode, you can build your own 9-card deck, adjust the game rules, and take the fun of causing chaos to a whole new level.Nine Kings
: We’re truly proud to have come this far, and we’re deeply grateful for your support. Those of you who’ve been playing since the beginning will remember: one year ago, this game featured only “six” kings.Now, we’ve more than doubled the game’s original scale, added numerous new game modes, and finally assembled all 9 Kings. In the official 1.0 release, everything will reach its best state yet, following necessary balance adjustments, a massive influx of new edicts, and further refinements.
In addition to these changes, we’ve also announced a new daily quest system that will test your deck-building skills, new animations, and UI improvements.
The price will remain unchanged upon the official release
Current PC Version
The PC version currently on sale (Epic Games Store/GOG/Microsoft Store/Steam) will not see a price increase upon the official release—which will include the content updates mentioned above—and the price is scheduled to remain at the current 1,980 yen / $19.99. Note that as of this writing, a 50% off sale is underway on the Epic Games Store and GOG.On the Microsoft Store, the game is also available via Game Pass. A Japanese-language demo is currently available on Steam.
The mobile version will also launch on October 12
Additionally, publisher Playdigious plans to release versions for theiOSandAndroidstarting October 12, 2026. For this mobile version, players will be able to try it for free, and purchasing the full version will grant access to all content.
