After a period of silence during Mega Crit's annual break in September, development on Slay the Spire 2 is resuming its regular cadence with significant new features on the horizon. The studio has confirmed via its October Neowsletter that the next update will launch in beta on Thursday, November 12. While the team declined to reveal specific details, citing that the impact of the content would be greater if kept under wraps, they teased that the patch includes major pieces of content alluded to in previous communications.
Work on this substantial update began in earnest in August, following a period where the developers focused on stabilizing the core game. The upcoming beta will feature experimental game modes, an alternate Act Two, and potentially a new character, though not all projects may make the final cut. Mega Crit emphasized that these additions require extensive design, UX work, art, animation, and balancing before being ready for the experimental branch. Players accessing the preview branch via Steam will receive content that is currently exclusive to beta, while the main branch will be updated with balance changes and fixes from the stable v0.111.0 version.
In response to community inquiries, Studio Co-founder Casey Yano addressed the future of co-op and custom runs. He noted that the positive reception of the current co-op mode has motivated the team to add more longevity to it, though he ruled out resource sharing mechanics like pooling gold to prevent one player from snowballing too easily. Regarding custom runs, Yano expressed a desire to include features that allow players to explore every aspect of the game, but indicated this would likely arrive closer to the 1.0 launch due to technical constraints involving controller support and text size requirements. He added that desktop players and modders will likely retain the most flexibility in this regard.
Co-founder Anthony Giovannetti also shared plans to include a feature allowing players to revisit old beta art for cards and the Timeline. The Neowsletter concluded with a reveal of a creature previously teased by the community as an inhabitant of a dark, shadowy area of the Spire, likely connected to the upcoming alternate Act Two. Described as an aquatic creature that seems lost in this realm, the developers jokingly suggested returning it to the Underdocks without naming it. Players wishing to try the November 12 update will need to switch to the preview branch through the Steam Library properties menu and are advised to back up their save files beforehand.
Sources: PCGamesN.