Commanders,
On Thursday, September 24 at 10am PT / 7pm CEST, Space Defender leaves Early Access and becomes Space Defender: Frontier Squadron.
First, an honest word
When Early Access opened in May 2025, I wrote that it would last about six months. It lasted sixteen. Space Defender is my first game, I make it alone, alongside a full-time job and a family, and I underestimated how much work the promised features really meant. I would rather ship them properly than ship them on time and half done. Thank you to everyone who bought the game early, reported bugs and left a review: you kept this project alive.
What we promised, and what 1.0 delivers
A real ending. Early Access promised a final mission. 1.0 brings a full campaign: 13 story missions in three acts, with Admiral Voss, Ilse Marin and ARIA, leading to the battle against the Nexus.
Massive battles and more mission variety. From 4 mission types to 13: Armada and Fleet battles, Holdout, Hunt, Rescue, Salvage, Strike and more, with modifiers such as asteroid fields, elite leaders and time limits.
A refined interface. New HUD, redesigned menus, a mission journal, ranks from Recruit to Admiral, off-screen indicators for threats and wingmen.
Balancing and polish. A full balancing pass, stronger combat effects, a dynamic camera, a richer space backdrop and many bug fixes.
And a few things nobody asked for
Wingmen. Recruit pilots at stations, give them a ship from your hangar, and fly with up to three of them.
Enemies with personalities. Snipers, minelayers, carriers, missile jammers, shield-support hulls, elite ships and packs.
New weapons. Pulse cannons, railguns and flak cannons join lasers, missiles and turrets.
A redesigned research tree, three difficulty modes and a new options menu.
Why the new name?
There are hundreds of games called "Space Defender" on Steam, and ours was hard to find. Frontier Squadron says what the game has become: you no longer fight alone.
Launch details
Price: $9.99 / €9.99. As announced on the store page when Early Access began, the price went up as the game got closer to completion. If you already own the game, you get the 1.0 for free.
Your saves: 1.0 is built to read Early Access saves, and I am testing that with real saves before launch. The launch-day notes will confirm it.
Languages: English, French and now Spanish. Full controller support.
If you already own the game, the update is free, as always. If you have been waiting for 1.0: this is it.
See you on the frontier,
Guillaume