Hi all, Big apologies to anyone this affected, but it looks like I broke the saving of overkill numbers on my last update. It was brought to my attention that the record for overkill on each rank was not being saved correctly if you closed the game and opened it back up (even if
Hi all,
Big apologies to anyone this affected, but it looks like I broke the saving of overkill numbers on my last update. It was brought to my attention that the record for overkill on each rank was not being saved correctly if you closed the game and opened it back up (even if it was showing the correct numbers during your playthrough before closing).
If this happened to you I would be happy to work with you to fix your save so you don't have to redo anything you don't want to. The easiest way to do so would be to join our discord and drop me a message so I can work with you directly. Discord link: https://discord.gg/qYPKKX7Cbk
This should be fixed now on version 1.00.23. You can check that version shows on the bottom right of the game when you open it.
Again, really sorry about that!
Smaller things included with this hotfix/update:
better display for really high numbers and true cap for health/defense numbers
Three whole days for an update!! I know, ridiculous, but I went to Seattle to meet with my mysterious Polish publishers on Tuesday (jk we've met before 👽). It was fun - Seattle is beautiful : ) In this new build are mainly 2 things: There is now a speed up button always visible
Three whole days for an update!! I know, ridiculous, but I went to Seattle to meet with my mysterious Polish publishers on Tuesday (jk we've met before 👽). It was fun - Seattle is beautiful : )
In this new build are mainly 2 things:
There is now a speed up button always visible on the top right of the screen during gameplay. This is to address a problem that people were having where synergies were taking a long time to resolve during the preparation phase. There are hotkeys for this problem (0 on keyboard or pressing right stick on controller), and those remain, but now it's a bit more obvious. I'd still like to do something more to limit the time it takes for runaway synergies to resolve, but it's slightly complicated. Hopefully this is a good stopgap for now. If you run into a synergy that appears to be truly endless, and can post a screenshot, that would be helpful : )
Some people have been creating some truly unhinged builds, and found that the highest attack/defense could be was 2,147,483,647. Truly unacceptable. It is now moved to a maximum of 9,223,372,036,854,775,807. I am truly sorry for this oversight 😅
Adds an increase-game-speed button to top right of screen so that speedup is more obviously available during shop phase, updates icons of battle speed buttons Increases max attack/health from a mere 2,147,483,647 to a much more reasonable 9,223,372,036,854,775,807
Adds an increase-game-speed button to top right of screen so that speedup is more obviously available during shop phase, updates icons of battle speed buttons
Increases max attack/health from a mere 2,147,483,647 to a much more reasonable 9,223,372,036,854,775,807
It's been three days since launch... sleep alludes me... is there something meaningful here beyond the game's surface level appearances??? jk I'm fine 😜 I appreciate all the feedback and responses! It's been fun to hear what people think and to make the game better bit by bit :
It's been three days since launch... sleep alludes me... is there something meaningful here beyond the game's surface level appearances???
jk I'm fine 😜 I appreciate all the feedback and responses! It's been fun to hear what people think and to make the game better bit by bit : )
Another little patch today with some QoL features and a small bug fix:
Abandoning ritual after 9 wins in Serpent's Arena will now award you Understanding and save highest Overkill instead of just quitting out. Some people get lucky and create a build that can go for a reaalllly long time on their first go - I wanted to make it easier for them to quit out and get the 100% if they wanted to.
Getting tons of Understanding awarded after a battle is a lot faster. This is pretty related to the previous issue. If you really go the distance in Serpent's Arena the end run screen to a very long time.
Indulgences that give discarded units attack/health to unit in hold spot do it in one boop now. Again, people really pushing the game to the max had to wait a bit for these buffs to resolve.
Fixes bug related to pressing escape during ending run screen. Not a bug anymore!
- Abandoning ritual after 9 wins in Serpent's Arena will now award you Understanding and save highest Overkill instead of just quitting out - Getting tons of Understanding awarded after a battle is a lot faster - Indulgences that give discarded units attack/health to unit in hold
- Abandoning ritual after 9 wins in Serpent's Arena will now award you Understanding and save highest Overkill instead of just quitting out - Getting tons of Understanding awarded after a battle is a lot faster - Indulgences that give discarded units attack/health to unit in hold spot do it in one boop now - Fixes bug related to pressing escape during ending run screen
Another day another patch 😅 Hehe - overall people don't seem to be running into anything terrible, but I'm doing my best to prioritize any run stopping bugs or really annoying stuff. Here's what I fixed in the latest: positive cell effects that copy highest unit's attack or defe
Another day another patch 😅
Hehe - overall people don't seem to be running into anything terrible, but I'm doing my best to prioritize any run stopping bugs or really annoying stuff.
Here's what I fixed in the latest:
positive cell effects that copy highest unit's attack or defense buff in one go instead of one by one (it was taking people minutes to buff some of their units this way. sorry for that!)
audio/graphics settings apply on start screen automatically instead of having to open settings menu - full screen check box still doesn't work but i didn't want to hold up update
fix bug for +1 money when selling unbought shop units with unbought item equipped when +1 for discard understanding bonus is on
shared pouch now only gives +1 item spot as stated instead of giving 3 (still max 3 item spots)
include Mimes in infinite combo stopping - (infinite combos currently attempt to cease after 9 triggers)
super speed button - press 0 during preparation or battle - right stick press on controller - (current best fix for infinite-ish combos)
About that last one: There are some grid setups that start infinite-ish combos. As far as I know, these are not truly infinite. I try and stop the combos after a unit in the combo is triggered 9 times. Previously, it was only upping the count for this on Madame and Cat, but I've extended this to also count the triggers on Mime.
Even with all that, it's still possible to get combos that take a looong time to resolve. I need a little bit of time to think about how to handle this, but for now if you press 0 (or press right stick on controller) the game will go into super speed mode. Consider this a "power user" feature for now 😅 I think it will help but I'm not 100% sure it doesn't cause anything else weird to happen. Seems okay so far though : )
That's all for now - thanks for all the feedback and bug reports!
positive cell effects to match highest attack/def buff in one go instead of one by one audio/graphics settings apply on start screen automatically instead of having to open settings menu - full screen check box still doesn't work but i didn't want to hold up update fix bug for +1
positive cell effects to match highest attack/def buff in one go instead of one by one
audio/graphics settings apply on start screen automatically instead of having to open settings menu - full screen check box still doesn't work but i didn't want to hold up update
fix bug for +1 money when selling unbought shop unit with item equipped when +1 for discard bonus is on
shared pouch now only gives +1 item spot as stated instead of giving 3 (still max 3 item spots)
super speed button - press 0 during preparation or battle - right stick press on controller - (current best fix for infinite-ish combos)
Hi all : ) Thanks for an exciting launch day! We're working hard to address any issues that people bring to our attention. I just pushed out our first hotfix, version 1.00.19, that fixes a run stopping bug in the endgame. I don't want to say too much so as not to spoil anything
Hi all : )
Thanks for an exciting launch day!
We're working hard to address any issues that people bring to our attention.
I just pushed out our first hotfix, version 1.00.19, that fixes a run stopping bug in the endgame. I don't want to say too much so as not to spoil anything 👽
I'm being extra careful with builds right now, so I only included this one small fix right now: I'm giving priority to anything that borks a run 100% of the time, and I want to make sure I do more testing for some of the other issues.
Other issues that we're aware of and working on:
Units sometimes getting negative defense between battles
Audio and video settings not applying until reopening the settings menu and then clicking on audio or graphics tab
Near-infinite loops with some setups (someone had to wait a whole hour for their grid to resolve 😅 - sorry about that!)
Making someone's GPU fan spin like crazy
Various adjustments and fixes in settings menu
Requests to speed up buffs when it gets into higher numbers
If I missed an issue you've been having please let me know! Doing my best to keep on top of everything.
TL;DR Order Automatica is OUT NOW! A tactical roguelite autobattler played on a tiny 3×3 grid - or, as we like to call it, chess with demons . Available on PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One & Series1X|S, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android . $5.99 , with 20% off at launch . Cr
TL;DR
Order Automatica is OUT NOW!
A tactical roguelite autobattler played on a tiny 3×3 grid - or, as we like to call it, chess with demons.
Available on PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One & Series1X|S, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android.
$5.99, with 20% off at launch.
Created by Mickey Sanchez / New Beings as a solo project that started around four years ago.
We first met Mickey and discovered Order Automatica at SIX (Seattle Indies Expo) in Seattle.
It became the first international publishing project for better. publishing with a developer from the US.
What started as a small PC game eventually turned into a worldwide, multiplatform release.
Along the way, we also partnered with Comma 49 to give the game dedicated support in Asian markets, including Japanese and Korean localization.
Want a little more? There's also a Supporter Edition including the original soundtrack.
And we're celebrating the launch together with some of our indie friends - special Steam bundles with other great games are available from day one.
And below is the slightly longer story of how we got here :)
This one is personal for us. There are launches where you look at the calendar and think, "Okay. Release day. Let's go." And then there are launches where you look back at everything that happened along the way and think: "Wait… how the hell did we get here?"
Order Automatica is definitely the second kind.
It started in Seattle
We first met Mickey at SIX (Seattle Indies Expo) and got introduced to this strange little game called Order Automatica. It didn't need a 30 - minute presentation. There was a tiny 3×3 board, some unique creatures, you placed them, they fought automatically, you changed something and they fought again.
And then you realized that moving one creature by a single square could change absolutely everything. So you tried again. And again. It looked simple. It wasn't.
That was probably the moment we understood why this game was special. There was something incredibly satisfying hidden underneath those few pixels and simple rules. The easiest description we eventually found was "chess with demons" - and somehow, once you play it, that description actually makes perfect sense.
Then we started talking
Those first conversations with Mickey eventually became something much bigger. For better. publishing, Order Automatica became our first international publishing project with a developer from the United States, which alone made this game an important milestone for us.
But Mickey had already spent years developing Order Automatica largely by himself. It was his game - his unique creatures, his systems, his sense of humor and his obsession with making a tiny board produce an absurd number of possibilities. We didn't want to change that. We wanted more people to discover it. And that became our job.
"Okay… what if we release it everywhere?"
Somewhere along the way, we made a slightly crazy decision: Order Automatica wasn't going to be just a PC release anymore. Let's bring it to consoles. And mobile. And basically everywhere we realistically can.
Suddenly our little 3×3 board needed to work on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android. Which sounds very nice when you put it in a launch announcement. Getting there was… slightly less simple.
There were certifications, store pages, different builds, controllers, achievements, trophies, localization, QA, platform requirements, pricing, trailers, more builds, more certification… and then another build. And another. You get the idea.
But slowly, platform by platform, it started coming together. And today, for the first time, we can finally say: Order Automatica is available everywhere we wanted it to be.
And then we went even further
At some point, we started thinking about what a genuinely global release should actually mean. Simply putting the game in stores around the world wasn't enough - especially when it came to Asia.
That's why another important chapter started when we began working with Comma 49, who joined us to support Order Automatica across Asian markets. That meant dedicated local support and bringing the game to even more players, including through Japanese and Korean localization.
Watching a tiny indie game we first talked about in Seattle prepare for players in the US, Europe, Japan, Korea, China and beyond has been one of the coolest parts of this whole process. Especially because underneath all of that… it's still the same tiny board.
And that's probably what we love most about it
Order Automatica didn't suddenly become a huge game. It didn't need to.
It's still a unique, clever little roguelite about putting creatures on nine squares and wondering: "Okay… what happens if I move this guy HERE?" Then watching your brilliant plan completely fall apart - or somehow work far better than it had any right to.
You discover another unit, another item, another cell effect or another interaction you hadn't considered, and suddenly you've spent much longer playing than you planned.
That's Order Automatica: simple pieces, complicated possibilities, and hopefully a lot of "one more run."
It's better when we play together
There's one more thing we wanted to do for launch.
If you've followed better. publishing for a while, you probably know that "it's better when we play together" isn't just something we put under our logo. We genuinely believe indie games are stronger when developers and publishers support each other.
So for the launch of Order Automatica, we reached out to some friends we've made along the way — and we're incredibly happy that so many of them decided to celebrate this release together with us.
Starting today, you'll find Order Automatica in special Steam bundles with a whole bunch of fantastic indie games, including Backpack Hero, Death Howl, Heretic's Fork, Cropdeck, Dice With Death, Combolands, Dungeon Raid, Endgame of Devil, Arms of God, Moldwasher, Blast Beam Bang, The Dungeon Beneath, and our own Flooded.
Some are autobattlers, some are roguelites, some are deckbuilders or strategy games, and some are simply games made by people we're happy to call our friends.
So if Order Automatica is your kind of game, take a look at the bundles too. You might find your next obsession there. :)
Huge thanks to every developer and publisher who decided to join us for launch. ❤️
Want to support Mickey a little more?
We also have an Order Automatica - Supporter Edition, created for anyone who wants to give the game a little extra support.
It includes Order Automatica together with its original soundtrack, so you can take Brendan's music with you even after you've finally managed to step away from the grid.
No extra gameplay content, no essential features locked behind another edition - just the game, the soundtrack, and a way to support the people behind it a little more.
Mickey - thank you.
There's something players rarely get to see about publishing games. Behind every trailer, screenshot and store page there are hundreds of conversations, ideas, arguments, spreadsheets, late builds, bug reports, certification forms, messages sent at completely unreasonable hours - and a lot of trust.
Someone has spent years making something, and then at some point they hand part of that responsibility to you and say: "Okay. Let's do this together." That's a pretty big deal.
So Mickey - thank you for trusting us with Order Automatica. Thank you for being open to our ideas, for telling us when some of those ideas were terrible, and for surviving this whole multiplatform adventure with us.
Most importantly, thank you for making a game unique enough that when we first saw it, we wanted to be part of it.
We're incredibly proud that Order Automatica became the first US project published by better. publishing. But we're even happier that we got to make this journey together.
And thank YOU.
If you played the demo, wishlisted the game, met us at an event, covered Order Automatica, streamed it, made a video about it, gave us feedback, reported a bug or simply sent the game to a friend - thank you.
And if today is the first time you're hearing about Order Automatica… well, you picked a pretty good day. :)
About four years ago, Mickey had a random idea:
"What if Super Auto Pets, but on a grid?"
He made a prototype. People started playing it. The prototype became a game, and the game slowly found its identity.
Somewhere along the way, we found Mickey.
And today that little game is launching around the world.
Order Automatica is OUT NOW.
PC • PlayStation • Xbox • Nintendo Switch • iOS • Android
$5.99 • 20% OFF at launch
You can grab the Supporter Edition with the original soundtrack, or check out one of our special launch bundles with our indie friends.
However you decide to join us - thank you for being here.
Hey everyone! With the launch of Order Automatica just around the corner, we have one more piece of news we're really excited to share. We're teaming up with Comma 49 ( to bring Order Automatica closer to players across Asia! More languages. More players. More demons. 👹 One of t
Hey everyone!
With the launch of Order Automatica just around the corner, we have one more piece of news we're really excited to share.
We're teaming up with Comma 49 (https://www.comma49.com/) to bring Order Automatica closer to players across Asia!
More languages. More players. More demons. 👹
One of the first results of this partnership is something many of you have already been asking about:
Order Automatica will now also be available in Japanese and Korean! 🇯🇵 🇰🇷
That means the game will launch with support for:
🇺🇸 English 🇨🇳 Simplified Chinese 🇹🇼 Traditional Chinese 🇵🇱 Polish 🇯🇵 Japanese 🇰🇷 Korean
For a tiny game played on a 3×3 board, Order Automatica is starting to travel surprisingly far.
Alongside our expanded support across Asia, we're also happy to confirm the regional pricing for Order Automatica:
🇨🇳 China - ¥35 CNY 🇰🇷 South Korea - around ₩8,207 KRW 🇯🇵 Japan - around ¥960 JPY
We want Order Automatica to remain an accessible, easy-to-pick-up game wherever you play - whether you're building your ritual in Seattle, Seoul, Tokyo or Shanghai.
Same nine cells. Same demons. More players around the world.
Why Comma 49?
Releasing a game in another region isn't just about translating a Steam page.
Different communities use different platforms, discover games in different ways, and expect developers and publishers to actually be present where they are.
That's where Comma 49 comes in.
Together, we'll be able to give Order Automatica much stronger and more dedicated support across Asian markets - from localization and regional marketing to community management, creators, media and local gaming platforms.
In particular, we're expanding our presence in China and building dedicated places where Chinese players can follow the game, talk to us and meet other Order Automatica players.
Order Automatica started as a small and very personal project built around one deceptively simple question:
How much strategy can you fit onto nine cells?
Now, just days before launch, those nine cells are getting ready to welcome players from all over the world.
Working with Comma 49 gives us an opportunity not only to make the game available to more players, but to properly support those communities after they discover it.
We're incredibly curious to see what strategies, broken builds and completely ridiculous combinations players from different parts of the world will come up with.
Because demons don't care what language you speak.
They'll destroy your board either way. ❤️
Order Automatica launches September 4.
And now in even more languages.
Thank you for being with us on this journey.
A small board. Endless possibilities. Now reaching even further.
Mickey here : ) Order Automatica first started about 4 years ago when I had a random idea that got me excited enough to whip up a quick prototype: What if Super Auto Pets, but on a grid? It's pretty comical saying this now because it seems so simple, but at the time I was enamore
Mickey here : )
Order Automatica first started about 4 years ago when I had a random idea that got me excited enough to whip up a quick prototype:
What if Super Auto Pets, but on a grid?
It's pretty comical saying this now because it seems so simple, but at the time I was enamored with SAP and coming off a bigger group project. I wanted to see if I could make a game all by myself! I started by buying some assets (since I'm not a visual artist) and putting something together. It came together quickly because I just did whatever I thought was right. I put it up online and it got a bit of attention - people seemed to like it!
I continued developing it in public and pushing out new versions as I finished them. The quick feedback loop was a satisfying way to develop the game, and I got great feedback from a ton of people.
As it got further along, it gained an identity. It was always an auto battler, but it started leaning more towards tactics (probably because of my great love of Into the Breach). I tried to make the placement more strategic, and I tried to make the game as systemic as possible, inspired by the games of Michael Brough, such as 868-hack and Cinco Paus. At the same time the setting and premise became more solidified: a story about ancient rituals, secret societies, forgotten games, and an archaeologist who becomes increasingly obsessed with what they have uncovered.
Knower Of Chaos
My goal was to make every unit, item, cell effect, and persistent upgrade simple on its own, but put them together and suddenly the possibilities become much more complicated. Additionally, I wanted adjacency to be something you're always thinking about. This extra adjacency you get from a grid was actually one of the ways I thought I could maybe improve on the Super Auto Pets formula 😅
But even with this “simplicity” there have been a lot of development challenges, and I'd say that along the way the single hardest challenge has been figuring out how to balance difficulty.
The problem with balancing difficulty is that it depends on so many factors, some of which are completely outside your control, like how much experience a player has with the genre or the level of difficulty a player prefers.
We landed in a place that I think is good for easing new players into the genre and introducing concepts one by one. For more experienced autobattler players we added the overkill system, which challenges you with optional targets related to how much you dominate a battle. If things are feeling too easy, these optional challenges provide a bit of flavor. And I hope that all experience levels will find something interesting in the higher ranks.
The Rituals
Your journey through the game begins with the Initiates Rank. The ranks represent the different levels you can reach within this secret society. In each rank you'll encounter new enemy units, new mechanics, and increasingly difficult challenges. I tried to keep things fresh throughout the ranks and encourage new ways to think about the board. I hope you stick around until the higher ranks because I’m really proud of the way things progress.
Something Was Waiting
I’ve always wanted Order Automatica to have some kind of “ending”. As a player I really appreciate multiple off ramps from a game, even if I want to keep playing afterwards. Reaching the highest rank of the Order is one of those off-ramps, but there’s more after that 👽
We won't spoil what happens when you reach the end.
Some things are better discovered for yourself!
May Chaos Be Your Guide!
Order Automatica has been a long journey, and this is the final devlog before release.
I want to shout out Mr. Pekinczyk, the amazing pixel artist for everything in the final game. Without him, Cat, Dog, and Pig Man as they are today would never have existed 😽
I also want to thank better. publishing, especially Kuba, Kacper, and Eleyne, who have been awesome partners in all this. They’ve all really understood the game and been pivotal in its design. Dzięki!
And of course, thanks to my long time collaborator Brendan for all the awesome music in the game. After all this time I still haven’t gotten tired of listening to it : )
In Order Automatica, every battle is only one part of the ritual. Before your units clash, you have a chance to prepare. After the battle, you return to that preparation phase and use what you have learned to make your team stronger. The game is built around two repeating phases:
In Order Automatica, every battle is only one part of the ritual.
Before your units clash, you have a chance to prepare. After the battle, you return to that preparation phase and use what you have learned to make your team stronger.
The game is built around two repeating phases: preparation and battle.
Prepare Your Team
The first phase is where you make your decisions.
During the preparation and store phase, you spend your in-game currency to add units to your grid, arrange them, and power them up with items and other persistent upgrades.
This is where you decide how your team will enter the next battle. The units you choose, the way you arrange them, and the upgrades you give them all contribute to what happens once the battle begins.
Once you are ready, the ritual begins.
Let the Battle Unfold
The second phase is the battle itself.
Your units attack automatically, using their special abilities as they fight. There is no need to control every attack manually - instead, you watch the team you prepared carry out its actions.
The battle continues until all the units on one or both grids have been destroyed.
And then, the cycle begins again.
Back to Preparation
When the battle ends, your units are resurrected and you return to the preparation phase.
This gives you another opportunity to spend your resources, make adjustments, and make your team even more powerful before the next fight.
The result is a simple but repeating structure:
Prepare → Battle → Resurrect → Prepare Again
Each cycle gives you another chance to improve your team and face what comes next.
Why the Loop Matters
The core loop of Order Automatica is built around the contrast between these two phases.
The preparation phase is about making decisions: choosing units, arranging them, and powering them up.
The battle phase is about seeing those decisions play out automatically.
Rather than controlling the fight directly, you build the team and then watch the result of your preparation unfold.
And once the battle is over, you get to try again - with stronger units and another opportunity to prepare for the next ritual.
That cycle is at the heart of Order Automatica:
Prepare your team. Start the battle. Watch the ritual unfold. Return stronger.
Hey everyone! We can finally say it. Order Automatica launches on September 4, 2026. And when we say launches, we mean pretty much everywhere: Steam • PlayStation 4 & 5 • Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S • Nintendo Switch • iOS • Android All on the same day. For a game that sta
Hey everyone!
We can finally say it.
Order Automatica launches on September 4, 2026.
And when we say launches, we mean pretty much everywhere:
Steam • PlayStation 4 & 5 • Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S • Nintendo Switch • iOS • Android
All on the same day.
For a game that started as a small, deeply personal project built around a tiny 3×3 board, reaching this point feels pretty special.
To celebrate the release date announcement, we're also updating the Order Automatica demo on Steam today!
View game pageThe demo now features the latest version of the game, including improvements and changes we've made throughout development based on testing and your feedback.
So whether you've been following Order Automatica for a while or you're discovering it for the first time, you can jump in and try the newest version for yourself right now.
And if you've played an older version of the demo before, this is a great time to come back and see what's changed.
Nine cells. That's where it started.
Order Automatica started with Mickey Sanchez and a deceptively simple idea:
How much strategy can you fit onto a 3×3 board?
Mickey has been the driving force behind the game from the beginning, shaping its core design, systems, and identity, with the support and contributions of a small group of talented people along the way.
What began as a small project has grown into something much bigger than we initially imagined.
Turns out, you can fit quite a lot into nine cells.
Order Automatica is a tactical roguelite auto-battler where every decision that matters happens before the fight.
You choose your units. Position them. Manipulate the board. Combine items and abilities. Build synergies.
And then you let go.
Your units fight automatically, and all you can do is watch your carefully constructed strategy either work beautifully...
...or collapse in seconds.
There are no mid-battle panic buttons.
The fight is just the receipt for all the decisions you made before it.
Small board. A lot going on.
We've put a huge amount of work into making those nine cells create as many interesting decisions as possible.
At launch, Order Automatica includes:
⚔️ 20 playable units
👹 17 enemy units
💎 19 items
🔮 18 different cell effects
👑 Boss encounters
♟️ Unit merging, positioning, abilities, items, curses and board effects that interact with each other
🔁 A huge number of possible builds and combinations to discover
The individual systems are simple.
It's what happens when they start interacting that makes things interesting.
A single unit moved by one cell can change an entire fight. One item can turn an average build into something ridiculous. One combination you didn't expect can suddenly become the strategy your whole run revolves around.
And sometimes one terrible decision ends everything.
That's Order Automatica.
From a small project to every screen
One of the things we're most proud of is just how far Order Automatica has come.
On September 4, you'll be able to play it on:
PC - Steam, GOG
PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 5
Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
Nintendo Switch
iOS
Android
Whether you want to play at your desk, on the couch, on a handheld, or sneak in another run on your phone, you'll be able to.
Bringing a project of this scale to so many platforms at the same time has been a huge undertaking for our small team, and we're incredibly excited that everyone gets to start playing together.
And it's $5.99.
We wanted Order Automatica to be something that's easy to take a chance on.
No complicated editions required. No gameplay content locked away.
$5.99 gets you the full game and we give you also 20% discount for launch.
Want to support us a little more?
We'll also have an optional Order Automatica: Supporter Edition available at launch.
It includes the complete game together with the Original Soundtrack.
The Supporter Edition doesn't contain exclusive gameplay content. It's simply there for anyone who wants the soundtrack and would like to give the project a little extra support.
Some friends are joining us, too.
We're also working with several fantastic games on special Steam bundles around the launch of Order Automatica.
So keep an eye out for:
Order Automatica × Backpack Hero
Order Automatica × Death Howl
Order Automatica × Arms of God
Order Automatica × Cropdeck
Order Automatica x Dice With Death
...and potentially a few more surprises.
We'll share more details about the bundles separately as we get closer to launch.
See you September 4.
Order Automatica is a small game in a very literal sense.
The entire battlefield is just nine cells.
But an enormous amount of work has gone into making those nine cells matter.
What started as Mickey's idea has grown thanks to the work, support, and contributions of a small group of people who helped bring Order Automatica to where it is today.
And watching players take it from there - discovering strategies we hadn't considered, breaking systems in unexpected ways, sharing feedback, and coming back for another run - has made all of that work worth it.
Now we're almost ready for everyone to play the full game.
But you don't have to wait until September to see what we've been working on.
The updated demo is available to play right now.
September 4, 2026.
PC. PlayStation. Xbox. Nintendo Switch. iOS. Android.
$5.99.
Thank you for playing, wishlisting, sharing, testing, and supporting Order Automatica.
One question we often see is: "How much content is actually in the game?" Since Order Automatica is all about discovering new synergies and strategies, we wanted to give you a quick overview of what you can expect as you progress. 20 Player Units, 17 Enemy Units Units are the hea
One question we often see is: "How much content is actually in the game?"
Since Order Automatica is all about discovering new synergies and strategies, we wanted to give you a quick overview of what you can expect as you progress.
20 Player Units, 17 Enemy Units
Units are the heart of the game. There are 20 player units to unlock and 17 unique enemy units to face. Every Degree introduces at least one new enemy, and every victory unlocks at least one new player unit.
Each unit brings something different to the table. Some summon allies, some generate extra money, others attack outside of combat or trigger the abilities and items of nearby units. Building a strong board is all about finding the right combinations and making every placement count.
19 Items
Most units can equip up to two items, and there are 19 items to discover.
Some may seem simple at first, but their real strength comes from the synergies you build around them. Triggering item effects multiple times or combining them with the right units can completely change the outcome of a battle.
18 Cell Effects
There are 9 positive and 9 negative Cell Effects that temporarily change individual tiles on your grid.
Positive effects can help turn the tide of battle, while negative ones force you to rethink your positioning. Learning when and how to use them is often the key to overcoming tougher Degrees.
33 Persistent Modifiers
Outside of battle, you'll also encounter 9 Curses and 24 Indulgences.
Curses make future battles more challenging by adding persistent obstacles, while Indulgences provide lasting bonuses that can unlock powerful synergies. Finding combinations that work together is one of the most rewarding parts of the game.
More Than Just Numbers
In total, you'll discover:
20 Player Units
17 Enemy Units
19 Items
18 Cell Effects
9 Curses
24 Indulgences
The numbers are only the beginning. Every new unlock adds another layer to the puzzle, creating new strategies, new combinations, and new ways to approach each run.
We can't wait to see what builds you'll come up with!
From the very beginning, one of our main goals with Order Automatica was that everything feels instantly readable. When you’re juggling rituals, placement, and choices, we wanted the game to communicate clearly what’s going on - and pixel art turned out to be the perfect tool for
From the very beginning, one of our main goals with Order Automatica was that everything feels instantly readable. When you’re juggling rituals, placement, and choices, we wanted the game to communicate clearly what’s going on - and pixel art turned out to be the perfect tool for that.
Early on, a few artists helped lay the foundation for the visual style, creating character sprites and UI elements. Even though some of them were only involved at the start, their work set the tone for the game. The idea wasn’t just to make something that looks retro - it was to make sure that at a glance, you can understand the state of the game, your options, and what’s happening on the board.
Pixel art gave us the freedom to focus on clarity and simplicity. Every shape, every color choice, and every small detail is there to help players make decisions quickly, without feeling lost. The visuals are designed to guide you naturally, while also giving the game a personality and charm of its own.
It’s been a delicate balance - making sure the game looks clean and readable, but also alive and engaging. When you play, every sprite and UI element is there to support the gameplay, not distract from it. We hope that this clarity helps you dive straight into the puzzles, feel in control, and enjoy the world of Order Automatica as much as we enjoyed building it.
When I first started working on Order Automatica, Canonical Rituals wasn’t meant to be the “main” mode. It kind of became that by accident. Originally, the plan was simpler - you and the enemy would follow the same rules. Same systems. Same drafting. Same preparation phase. A fai
When I first started working on Order Automatica, Canonical Rituals wasn’t meant to be the “main” mode.
It kind of became that by accident.
Originally, the plan was simpler - you and the enemy would follow the same rules. Same systems. Same drafting. Same preparation phase. A fair fight.
But while prototyping, I tried something different: what if the enemies didn’t play by your rules?
That’s when the mode started to click.
Letting the Enemy Cheat (On Purpose)
In Canonical Rituals, the enemy teams use units you can’t draft. They don’t go through a preparation phase. They don’t use indulgences, items, or cell effects.
They just show up fully formed.
At first, that sounds unfair. And honestly… it is.
But that unfairness is what makes the encounters interesting to design. I don’t have to worry about whether an enemy unit would be balanced if the player could draft it. I don’t have to make sure the AI “plays well” in a shop phase.
I can just design a problem.
Each Rank becomes less like a match and more like a puzzle. “Here’s a strange team. Figure it out.”
Candles and Collapse
The Candle system came from wanting tension without making runs too long.
Each Rank asks you to win a set number of battles. Each win extinguishes a Candle. Lose too many, and the ritual collapses - you start the Rank over.
Some Ranks are meant to be beaten quickly. Others are tuned to take a few tries. The goal isn’t to grind stats. It’s to understand what the enemy team is doing and adjust.
A lot of the learning in Order Automatica happens this way - through failure that feels informative instead of random.
Structured Progression
The Ranks are grouped into three sections:
Initiate’s Ranks - learning the core ideas
Penitent’s Ranks - limiting movement and forcing you to commit
Adept’s Ranks - actively disrupting your strategies
As the game goes on, it takes away flexibility and introduces enemies that mess with your expectations. I like that progression because it mirrors the theme of a ritual: you go from learning the rules to being tested by them.
Why This Mode Became the Core
Over time, I realized this asymmetrical structure just felt better.
It allowed encounters to be sharper. Stranger. More deliberate. It also fit the tone of the game - this doesn’t feel like a competitive duel. It feels like you’re engaging with something ancient and structured. Something designed long before you showed up.
Canonical Rituals became the core mode because it consistently created the most interesting design problems - both for the player and for me.
And at the end of the day, that’s what I’m chasing with Order Automatica:
Hello everyone! We’ve just updated the demo for Order Automatica with a bunch of improvements, polish, and one highly requested feature - full controller support! 🎮 This update focuses mainly on making the game feel smoother, more responsive, and more alive during battles. ✨ Wha
Hello everyone!
We’ve just updated the demo for Order Automatica with a bunch of improvements, polish, and one highly requested feature - full controller support! 🎮
This update focuses mainly on making the game feel smoother, more responsive, and more alive during battles.
✨ What’s New?
🎮 Full Controller Support
You can now play the entire demo using a controller. Menus, combat preparation, navigation, and gameplay systems were updated to work properly with gamepads.
And yes — the game now works great on Steam Deck as well 👀
We’re still polishing some smaller UX details, so feel free to share your feedback after trying it out!
⚔️ Unit Animations
Our ritual participants finally started moving 👀
We added new unit animations to make battles feel more dynamic and readable. It’s a relatively small change on paper, but honestly, it changes the atmosphere of combat quite a lot.
🛠️ Various Tweaks & Improvements
We also introduced a number of smaller gameplay and quality-of-life improvements across the demo, including balancing adjustments, interface polish, and overall gameplay flow updates.
As always, thank you for all the feedback, screenshots, bug reports, and wishlist support. Seeing people compare the game to “chess with demons” still makes our day.
If you enjoy the demo, don’t forget to leave feedback and wishlist the game - it genuinely helps us a lot ❤️
We’re excited to be part of the Steam Deck Builder Fest — and we brought something… a little different. Order Automatica is our take on a deckbuilder — but without cards. Instead, everything happens on a 3×3 ritual grid , where every decision matters and every mistake can spiral
We’re excited to be part of the Steam Deck Builder Fest — and we brought something… a little different.
Order Automatica is our take on a deckbuilder — but without cards.
Instead, everything happens on a 3×3 ritual grid, where every decision matters and every mistake can spiral out of control.
