The AI Rework is getting closer to release and is finally ready for an extensive multi-week testing phase.
If you’d like to help us test and refine the AI ahead of the final release, please follow these steps:
Here are the standard steps to join a beta branch on Steam:
Open Steam and go to your Library.
Find ICBM: Escalation and right-click it.
Select Properties from the context menu.
In the Properties window, open the Game Versions & Betas tab.
Under “Selected Game Version”, you will see a list of available versions.
Select the Open Beta AI rework.
Close the Properties window.
Steam will automatically download the selected version.
To leave the beta, repeat the steps and select “Default Public Version”.
(PLEASE NOTE: If you can't see the AI Rework branch, close and re-start Steam)
Previous Diaries
When we reviewed the AI in ICBM: Escalation, it became clear that the issue wasn’t balance or tuning, but intent. The AI was optimized for short-term gains and score efficiency, which led to erratic decisions, rapid escalation, and wars that ended far too quickly in nuclear exchanges.
The reworked AI is built around long-term strategy. It now plans ahead, values territorial control, and considers logistics and sustainability when making decisions. Rather than constantly trading blows, it focuses on holding regions, expanding deliberately, and protecting its position over time.
Escalation has been fundamentally reworked. Nuclear weapons are no longer treated as an early or default option. The AI now evaluates the overall state of the conflict, pollution, readiness, and whether conventional forces can still achieve its goals. This should result in longer conventional phases and more meaningful escalation when nuclear weapons are finally used.
On the battlefield, the AI is more situationally aware. It recognizes strong defenses, air denial, and naval control, and adjusts its actions instead of blindly committing forces. It will look for ways to weaken positions first or delay action when conditions are unfavorable.
Expansion and invasions are now more deliberate. The AI can identify weak or valuable regions, assemble appropriate forces, and decide when to push forward or disengage. Attacks should feel more coherent and purposeful rather than reactive.
Diplomacy also plays a larger role. The AI will seek de-escalation when a conflict no longer serves its interests and commit more decisively when it sees a viable path to victory.
Overall, this rework is about pacing and credibility. We want wars to develop over time, with clearer strategic intent and fewer abrupt endings, resulting in an AI that better reflects the depth of ICBM: Escalation.
In case you missed the previous diaries, you can read them here: Dev Diary #1, Dev Diary #2, Dev Diary #3, Dev Diary #4.
Dev Diary #5: New Diplomacy AI and Open Beta Limitations
With the new AI ready for open beta testing, I’d like to talk about one more major change.
When I started play-testing the new AI, I quickly ran into an interesting problem: it never stopped. The original AI was designed around total nuclear war, where peaceful resolution was never really an option, you simply destroyed your opponent into radioactive ashes.
The new AI, at least its “conventional” part, is built to dominate and conquer rather than annihilate. That means setting smaller goals, adapting to changing situations, and looking for diplomatic solutions when things don’t go according to plan.
New Diplomacy AI and Diplomacy Screen Features
The updated AI can now offer peace treaties and ceasefires, request or grant regions, and generally approach diplomacy in a much more calculated way than before. It uses the same information that helps it detect weak points in defense or invasion opportunities to evaluate its own position — and then reacts through diplomacy accordingly.
Another important change is how wars begin. With the updated AI and diplomacy system, diplomacy now gets a chance to work first. Instead of an immediate war when an army crosses into another faction’s territory, a diplomatic request to withdraw forces is issued. War will only start if the request is declined or ignored, or if hostile intentions are too obvious — for example, when army divisions move in to occupy a city.
Occupation mechanics have also changed slightly. A city is no longer occupied if no war has been declared. Enemy units inside your territory are not always fully visible, but they leave “ghosts” that are updated regularly. Once they begin occupying a city, they become permanently visible.
These changes also required an update to diplomacy itself — the new “Declare War” button has been added. This is especially important for multiplayer, since simply entering another faction’s territory no longer automatically triggers a war.
What’s Included in the Open Beta
So, what’s already implemented, what should you expect, and what’s still missing?
Because these changes to the game engine are too extensive for a regular update — even a major one — we’ve decided to run an Open Beta. Anyone who owns the game can participate by selecting the Beta build in the Steam game settings.
Since the new AI is still in beta, we’re introducing changes gradually to keep each build focused on specific features. This beta build includes all new AI mechanics related to conventional warfare, invasions, and diplomacy.
However, the variety of nuclear war strategies has been temporarily removed. In this build, all AI players follow the same nuclear strategy to avoid unnecessary randomness during testing. Additional strategies will be reintroduced gradually in future beta updates.
The current focus is on early and mid-technology eras. The AI does not yet use advanced end-game technologies, so we recommend avoiding late-era starts for now. Support for late-game tech will be added in upcoming beta builds.
In Campaign scenarios and DLCs, the AI may behave unpredictably. While many events are scripted, not all of them are. For example, in the first campaign mission (Korean War), the Chinese AI may decide to invade Japan instead of Korea, or Russia may go to war with China. These cases will be addressed later.
For the best beta-testing experience, we recommend starting a Conquest game in the first tech era, without mods, and playing normally while observing how the AI responds. If you notice strange behavior, feel free to make a save and share it with us so we can analyze it.
Suggestions and ideas are always welcome on the Open Beta Discord channel.
Thank you for helping us make the game better!