9 Kings combines kingdom building, cards and automatic battles. Official artwork: Sad Socket / Hooded Horse.
9 Kings is scheduled to make its version 1.0 debut this Thursday, November 12, 2026, after remaining in Early Access since May 2025. Developed by Sad Socket, a studio with Brazilian roots, and published by Hooded Horse, the game combines kingdom building, cards and automatic combat.
Announced additions include Joker mode, which lets players build a custom deck, and a total of more than 130 cards, 140 decrees and 110 perks. The full release also plans interface, animation and performance improvements. At the time of this check, the Steam page still listed November 12 as the Early Access exit date; there was no independent confirmation yet that the update was available to download.
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What is 9 Kings and how does it work?
In 9 Kings, players choose one of the kings and turn a small territory into a fortress. Cards represent buildings, soldiers, spells and other resources that must be positioned and upgraded to withstand invasions from rival kings. One terrain choice may strengthen nearby units; another opens up different strategies in later rounds.
Combat happens automatically, but decisions made before battle determine the kingdom’s strength. This makes the game similar to auto battlers, while planning combinations relates to deckbuilding and card games. The structure of repeated attempts, in which players try new combinations, also connects it to roguelites.
What changes in version 1.0?
In Sad Socket’s official announcement, the team detailed the content planned for the full release. The announced total includes over 130 cards, over 140 decrees, over 110 perks, over 80 challenges and over 140 cosmetic options, alongside nine kings with distinct playstyles.
Cards expand building and troop combinations. Decrees change match conditions, while perks provide benefits that can alter a strategy. The update plans additional special Rainbow cards and more than 30 new decrees, along with balance adjustments, sound effects, animations, performance improvements and quality-of-life changes.
These figures describe the total content planned for 1.0, not the number of completely new features launching on the same day. Several cards, kings and modes were already available in Early Access.
Joker mode lets you build a nine-card deck
The main customization addition is Joker mode. In this mode, players will be able to assemble their own starting set of nine cards and change match rules. The idea is to enable unusual strategies, including card combinations that would normally be difficult to put together.
The statement from Hooded Horse and Sad Socket also mentions new daily challenges and an expanded range of Rainbow cards. The developer had not publicly detailed every adjustable Joker rule in the announcement consulted, so individual modifiers cannot be listed as confirmed.
What are the four modes in 9 Kings?
- Singleplayer: traditional kingdom building, expansion and survival against invasions.
- Multiplayer: competition against other players’ builds, with competitive progression and a ranking; Steam describes this as asynchronous.
- Quest: dedicated challenges scattered across the lands of the nine kings.
- Joker: a customized mode for choosing cards and changing rules.
These experiences have different goals: multiplayer should not be confused with real-time co-op, while Joker emphasizes deckbuilding freedom and experimentation.
Where can you play 9 Kings?
The version 1.0 release was announced for PC on November 12, with distribution through Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store. The publisher also announced its arrival on PC Game Pass. Availability of the 1.0 update at each store should be checked at installation time.
The game is paid, although a free demo is available on Steam, and it offers Brazilian Portuguese interface text and subtitles. For newcomers, the appeal lies in discovering how cards and board positions work together; for those who followed Early Access, Joker and the added content are the main reasons to revisit their strategies.
Reaching 1.0 represents the planned end of Early Access, but does not, by itself, guarantee that every technical or balance issue has been resolved. Assessing the new features in practice will depend on the update actually being released and on players’ experiences.
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