- Dev Diary #51: Mission Selection Overhaul - 11 September 2026
The next big update will be the so-called “Mission Selection Overhaul,” as it does exactly that. We will change how operations are planned, how missions are selected, and how enemy assets work. Read on to find out why this is necessary and how it will play out! Why Rework the Mission Selection?Currently, each operation resembles a tree of connected missions that are loosely tied together by a narrative and thematic structure that will always lead up to a single final mission that ends the operation. The idea behind this was to generate a meaningful narrative of that operation based on which missions players select. At the same time, offering different missions on each level to choose from was supposed to give players some agency in deciding which mission type to play, which strategic asset to get, and what difficulty the player felt comfortable with. In theory, it is a great system, but…
- MENACE News Roundup at the Hooded Horse August Publisher Sale - 28 August 2026
It's been a busy couple of months for MENACE. With three new updates and two new Dev Diaries, there has been a ton of recent news and additions to MENACE, including a terrain and OCI rework with supporting Dev Diaries and the newest update, the Alien Update, which revamps and reimagines the Alien enemy faction. Check out the roundup below to catch up on any of this news you may have missed. MENACE is also part of the Hooded Horse August Publisher Sale at 25% off. Check it out, and check out the other games on sale during the Hooded Horse August Publisher Sale. Hooded Horse August Publisher Sale MENACE News RecapThe MENACE OCI Rework completely revamped the OCI system and, at the time of release, was the biggest change to gameplay during Early Access. In the new system, there are still three basic OCI slots, but they have been renamed to better include certain OCIs. You will now start th…
- Save 25% on MENACE - 21 August 2026
MENACE is now 25% off during its Steam Weekend Deal. Lead a strike force against an alien threat in this turn-based tactical RPG from the developers of Battle Brothers. Answer distress calls across different worlds, train and equip infantry, deploy tanks and mechs, and plan and execute missions in detailed turn-based battles.
- Alien Update - 20 August 2026
The Alien update is now live! Today we bring you some new challenges that will be added to our early game faction, the Alien wildlife. With the new units the Aliens will stay more relevant and challenging beyond the early game into the mid game. Another goal was to add some more units with high point costs as to reduce the amount of units needed to fill up armies. Less units translates into faster turns and less pressure on hardware. The new units will show up roughly after the 8-10th operation, so don't expect to run into them right away. This update is compatible with existing save games. Blaster Queen In order to add more anti armor options that are ranged we added the new Blaster Queen. It is a mix of the existing Blaster Bug but comes with the size and staying power of the classic Queen. It creates a massive ball of heated bioplasma that it can haul over long distances and that exp…
- MENACE Hotfix #12 - Passive Rogue Army Battle Tank - 11 August 2026
Hotfix #12 fixes three more issues. Thank a lot for your bug reports and feedback! :) This update is compatible with existing save games. Changelog: v0.7.13 FIXED The 'Rogue Army Battle Tank' was too passive and didn't use its primary weapon FIXED Enemy vehicles sometimes still spawned on enclosed tiles FIXED Adjusted tooltip of 'Short Squeeze' to correctly reflect the increased range of 10 tiles Known Issues Some antivirus programs incorrectly classify the "GameAssembly.dll" file as malware and delete it, making the game unplayable. If that happens, please whitelist the "GameAssembly.dll" and "Menace.exe". If the game is installed on HDD drives, loading times are bad, and barks are delayed. Display mode "Fullscreen" sometimes behaves as not expected after minimizing the game. Until this is fixed, please consider using "Fullscreen Window" instead. Steam Reviews: Your Feedback MattersHi…
- MENACE Hotfix #11 - Mission Objective, Deployment & Cover Fixes - 7 August 2026
Hi All, Hotfix #11 fixes some issues introduced with the terrain update yesterday. Thank you very much for your bug reports and feedback! :) This update is compatible with existing save games. Changelog: v0.7.12 FIXED Enemies, recoverable objects, and structures sometimes spawned on isolated tiles, which made some objectives unaccomplishable FIXED During mission preparation, it isn't possible anymore to place units on large boulders and other blocked tiles FIXED Half-cover was sometimes floating in the air Known Issues Some antivirus programs incorrectly classify the "GameAssembly.dll" file as malware and delete it, making the game unplayable. If that happens, please whitelist the "GameAssembly.dll" and "Menace.exe". If the game is installed on HDD drives, loading times are bad, and barks are delayed. Display mode "Fullscreen" sometimes behaves as not expected after minimizing the game.…
- MENACE Terrain Update - now live! - 6 August 2026
The Terrain update is now live! It not only includes overhauled terrains, but also new weapon 3D models, alien skins, quality of life improvements and bugfixes. For details how the new terrain is generated check out our dev diary on the Terrain update HERE. This update is compatible with existing save games.Overhauled Terrains New: Old: New: Old: New: Old: Squad Leader Stat Growth Visualization Squad leaders stat growth is displayed now on the mission result screen and in the Armory. New Weapon 3D Models New Alien Harpy Skin and Blaster Bug Skins Changelog - v0.7.11New Overhauled the terrain for all existing planets Squad leaders stat growth is displayed now on the mission result screen and in the Armory Added new 3D models: Anti Materiel Rifle, MOD-C MAAL HE-Rocket Launcher Added new skins for Alien Harpy and Blaster Bug Improvements Light, medium and heavy vehicle weapons can now be c…
- Dev Diary #50: Terrain Update - 24 July 2026
Creating terrain that looks great and feels good gameplay-wise was always high on our list, and we always wanted to improve on that front. Now, finally, after a lot of research and development, we want to show you the result. In this diary, we take a short look at how terrains were generated in the past and how they are generated now. The terrain update is currently being tested in the closed beta and will soon be ready for release! Please note that this update will not contain new assets, only existing ones. We will soon have a dedicated 3D environment artist joining the team who will start working on textures, materials, and assets. Generating, The Previous ApproachMENACE missions are all about having a procedural aspect to them. By changing the seed, you'll always get a new mission layout. While we have predefined layouts of building structures or objectives, so-called chunks, these…
- MENACE Hotfix #10 - 17 July 2026
Hi All, Hotfix #10 fixes a rare but major issue. Thank you very much for your bug reports and feedback! :) This patch is compatible with existing save games. Changelog: v0.7.10+19931 FIXED In some rare cases there were no operations available on the system map. The game now always generates new ones if this happens. Fixed some translation issues in German and Japanese Known Issues Rendering performance needs to be optimized on Backbone, especially for older GPUs. Some antivirus programs incorrectly classify the "GameAssembly.dll" file as malware and delete it, making the game unplayable. If that happens, please whitelist the "GameAssembly.dll" and "Menace.exe". If the game is installed on HDD drives, loading times are bad and barks are delayed. Display mode "Fullscreen" sometimes behaves not as expected, after minimizing the game. Until this is fixed please consider using "Fullscreen Wi…
- MENACE Hotfix #9 - 16 July 2026
Hi All, Hotfix #9 addresses some issues we fixed since the OCI Rework Update. Thank you very much for your bug reports and feedback! :) This patch is compatible with existing save games. Changelog: v0.7.9+19880 FIXED Autosaving didn't work correctly when 'Auto Save Slots' were set to 1 in the settings FIXED Accessory 'AT-Wardog' didn't apply any armor damage The game now shows a notification when the game state is corrupted by certain cheats OCIs FIXED 'Ion Cannon' and 'Upgraded Ion Cannon' had the same stats Increased delay for 'Ion Cannon' from 2 to 3 Increased selectable tiles for 'Upgraded Ion Cannon' from 5 to 7 tiles FIXED OCI 'Next Gen Dropship Engines' was able to set the delay for airpower abilities below the minimum of 1 FIXED 'Airdropped Regulars' had 1 use instead of 3 UI FIXED UI for the maximum amount of squaddies didn't update when installing the OCI 'Quarters' FIXED UI f…
- MENACE OCI Rework - now live! - 14 July 2026
The OCI Rework is now live! To read up on all the major and minor changes head over to our dev diary on the OCI rework over HERE. This patch is compatible with existing save games, but we highly encourage you to start a new game instead! OCI Rework We treated the current OCI system as a sort of placeholder for the more detailed and complex system we always had in mind. The OCI rework is the biggest change to the game during Early Access so far and will open up a whole new level of customization, decisions and replayability. In the new OCI system there are still three basic OCI slots on the Impetus, but we renamed them to better include certain OCIs. Each of these slots can hold a variety of “base OCIs” that are always unlocked. These are very basic upgrades that cover all the essentials that players need without the need to unlock certain trust based faction OCIs. From now on players wi…
- Save 25% on MENACE - 10 July 2026
MENACE is now 25% off during the Hooded Horse July Publisher Sale. Lead a strike force against an alien threat in this turn-based tactical RPG from the developers of Battle Brothers. Answer distress calls across different worlds, train and equip infantry, deploy tanks and mechs, and plan and execute missions in detailed turn-based battles. Hooded Horse July Publisher Sale
- Dev Diary #49: OCI Rework - 10 July 2026
Today, we will show you all the ins and outs of the upcoming OCI rework! The update will refund the OCI points you have already spent, so you can keep playing your existing savegames. However, the update changes progression and balancing quite a bit, so we highly recommend starting a new run! Note: The large OCI Rework will go live Tuesday the 14th of July. OCI Rework We treated the current OCI system as a sort of placeholder for the more detailed and complex system we always had in mind. The OCI rework is the biggest change to the game during Early Access so far and will open up a whole new level of customization, decisions, and replayability. In the new OCI system, there are still three basic OCI slots on the Impetus, but we renamed them to better include certain OCIs. Each of these slots can hold a variety of “base OCIs” that are always unlocked. These are very basic upgrades that co…
- MENACE News Roundup at the Hooded Horse Summer Sale - 2 July 2026
It's been a busy month for MENACE. Between two new dev diaries and a subsequent squad leader update, there are big changes, additions, and, as always, great new content that has come to MENACE recently. Here's a roundup of all the recent development news you may have missed. MENACE is also part of the Hooded Horse Summer Sale at 25% off. Check it out, and check out the other games on sale during the Hooded Horse Summer Sale. Hooded Horse Summer Sale MENACE News Recap Squad Leader Update 1 is the latest major update to release for MENACE. This update brings a ton of changes, but to get the full story, let's take a look at the two previous dev diaries. This one is a big one, with a lot of discussion from the Overhype Studios team, requested additions, new items, 3D models for weapons, and, of course, three new squad leaders coming to MENACE. Dev Diary #47, part one of the squad leader upd…
- MENACE Hotfix #8 - 1 July 2026
Hi All, Hotfix#8 addresses some issues we do not want to hold back until the next major update. Thank you very much for your bug reports and feedback! :) Changelog: v0.7.7+19467 FIXED Buying a black market restock and other items with one transaction sometimes didn't grant the other items FIXED Pinned down enemy units were not displayed grayed out FIXED Sometimes recover objects were not able to spawn on the map FIXED Mission 'Escort Research Truck' - Truck was able to block the entrance to the evac zone after getting deactivated FIXED Perk 'Standby' granted accuracy buff when using any skill FIXED Effect of perk 'Drive By' was not reset by using the 15cm Assault Howitzer of the heavy tank FIXED Perk 'Solid Grouping' stacked up by using non-attack skills FIXED Perk 'Spear Of The Spine' now also triggers when moving next to a tower containing an enemy FIXED Operation 'Outbreak in Colony'…
- Save 25% on MENACE - 26 June 2026
MENACE is now 25% off during the Hooded Horse Summer Sale. Lead a strike force against an alien threat in this turn-based tactical RPG from the developers of Battle Brothers. Answer distress calls across different worlds, train and equip infantry, deploy tanks and mechs, and plan and execute missions in detailed turn-based battles. Hooded Horse Summer Sale
- SL Update 1 - now live! - 25 June 2026
Get ready to enjoy our second big EA update that focuses on three new characters but also brings a long list of additional changes and content! This patch is compatible with existing save games. Below is a short list of what's new with the patch, but if you want to get more detailed info head over to our last two Dev Diaries and read up on all the new things: Dev Diary #47 and Dev Diary #48 New Squadleaders:Three new Characters join the fray with this update, Weiwu (Backbone), Corlain (Dice) and the vehicle pilot Murdock (Mock). These are so called honor guards closely affiliated with the according Wayback faction and you will have to earn the faction's trust to allow them to take these new characters on board your ship!Custom Difficulty Options:When starting a new game you now have a wide variety of new options to make the game harder, easier or adjust it to your playstyle: Nested Tool…
- Dev Diary #48: SL Update 1 Preview - Part 2 - 19 June 2026
Last week, we looked at all the additional content and changes that come with the Squad Leader Update 1, and today, we can finally reveal the three new characters that give this EA update its name! The next update will feature the first set of new SL-Status Members to recruit. Unlike the Squad Leaders currently in the game, these ones cannot be identified and then hired through the Black Market. Instead, these fighters are what we call “Honor Guards”, units with direct relations and loyalties to specific planets within the Wayback system. To recruit them, you will have to reach a certain trust threshold with the faction to which they are bound. However, be wise with your selections: the first Honor Guard can be recruited fairly fast, but each hiring pushes back the availability of the others. These characters are technically level 2, but as they are harder to come by, they start with sl…
- MENACE Hotfix #7 - 16 June 2026
Hi All, Hotfix#7 addresses some issues we didn't want to wait until next week to fix. Thank you very much for your bug reports and feedback! :) Changelog: v0.7.5+19023 FIXED In Chinese some missions didn't end properly, when the mission granted Squaddies by an OCI or Strategic Asset FIXED In rare cases mission generation got stuck during 'Gathering Intelligence' FIXED Some missions didn't show the correct numbers in the objective text anymore FIXED Uncommon display setups sometimes caused issues FIXED The install distillery event installed the OCI up to 3 times FIXED Objective 'Save X%' of local forces was not tracked correctly If a destroyed vehicle is rescued by the OCI "Wreckage Recovery Teams", it now has 1 HP so it can be used in the next mission without additional repair. Previously the vehicle had 0 HP and was unusable, which confused some players. Known Issues AI acts too passiv…
- Dev Diary #47: SL Update 1 Preview - Part 1 - 12 June 2026
In today's dev diary, we take a first look at the next Early Access update: The Squad Leaders update 1. As the update is really big, we split the diary into two parts, with the second following next week. As the name of the update suggests, it will include the next batch of 3 completely new SLs; two of them being infantry leaders and one a pilot. Today, we are looking at all the other changes and improvements that will also be released with that update. Estimated release date for the “SL Update 1”: Thursday, 25th of June 2026 AI ImprovementsOne of the biggest topics for us is improving the enemies' AI in the game. While they are working decently well, there are still a lot of instances in which it reacts too passively, avoids players, or misses opportunities to cause damage. We tried to improve all these aspects, and our main goal was to make the AI more aggressive in general and be mor…
