Endless Legend 2, the oceanic, asymmetric 4X strategy game developed by Amplitude Studios and published by Hooded Horse, will leave early access and launch in version 1.0 on September 17. The game entered early access last year and has been in development since.
The 1.0 release will introduce the Sandshapers, the sixth major faction and the oldest civilization on the game's world of Saiadha. The Sandshapers seek to terraform the planet's water-covered surface back into a dry desert, reflecting their ancient origins on the once-arid world.
Also arriving is a new minor faction called the Mangrove of Harmony, described as starfish-like beings. This faction comes with its own hero, questline, and recruitable units and pops, and was developed with input from the Endless Legend 2 community, including art, lore, and mechanical concepts from a community art contest. According to that contest material, the Mangrove of Harmony would provide bonuses to Dust, Food, and Defense through mastery of Dustwater reservoirs, with slow-growing but durable units, and a potential unique unit called the Colossus of Harmony.
Version 1.0 will also debut a new category called Rogue Factions—splinter groups that break off from existing major factions and bring their own distinct quests, stories, and strategic mechanics. Two Rogue Factions are planned for launch: the Order of Zelevas, a conquest-focused offshoot of the Kin of Sheredyn, and the Severed Claw, a Necrophage splinter group that can only replace lost forces by enslaving defeated enemies. Hooded Horse's announcement described these as the first two planned, suggesting additional Rogue Factions may be added after launch.
Alongside the release date announcement, Amplitude has also added an updated demo to Steam, which had been without a demo for months. The new demo includes the Kin of Sheredyn and the Last Lords as playable factions.
Coverage of the early access version has been mixed. PC Gamer's reviewer called it 'an incredible 4X' even in its unfinished state, praising its foundations while noting the combat had not fully clicked despite being an improvement over Humankind. Rock Paper Shotgun noted that among its own writers, only one—a self-described fan of a coral-based faction—responded positively to last year's demo, and said it remains to be seen how the 1.0 version will land.