- Gilded Destiny Game Update - 30 September 2026
Salutations Industrialists, We’ve made the difficult decision to move Gilded Destiny’s release date to 2027.Before we get further into today’s update, we want to thank you for your continued support. We love your excitement for Gilded Destiny; all of us at Aquila really enjoy reading, considering, and getting to implement your comments, questions, and feedback. You can watch today’s update here: Release Date UpdateWe wanted to take the time to address Gilded Destiny’s release date. Today, we’ll be moving Gilded Destiny’s release date to 2027. Changing the date wasn’t an easy decision, but we want to make sure Gilded Destiny's core features and systems are completed ahead of an Early Access release in 2027. To do that, we need a few additional months to ensure everything meets the high quality bar you’d expect from us.With this in mind, we want to be as transparent as possible about what…
- [Dev Diary #36] Taking A Deep Dive Into Gilded Destiny's Navy - 29 July 2026
Salutations, Industrialists! Today’s dev diary is going to be focused on the navies of Gilded Destiny. We’ll take a look at how they’re built, how you can customize and give orders to fleets, and why they’re crucial in your quest to conquer the world. We also have a video version of this Dev Diary, which walks you through how the navy works here: If you haven’t already, please wishlist Gilded Destiny on Steam and subscribe on YouTube. You can additionally join our Discord or Reddit community to stay up to date.Before we go on, regulars will notice that the voice of today’s dev diary isn’t Marc. Today’s dev diary is voiced by Ronan, part of the Gilded Destiny Publishing team; don’t fret though, Marc will be returning soon!Firstly, as we go through today’s topic, you may notice that some things look a little bit different. We’ve been carefully reworking Gilded Destiny’s map, the result of…
- [Dev Diary #35] Behind the Curtain: Our Design Process and the Event Editor - 5 May 2026
Salutations, Industrialists!I’m Marc, a Producer on Gilded Destiny. Today’s Dev Diary is a little different. Rather than pulling back the curtain on a new game system, we’re pulling back the curtain on how we make the game, specifically, the tools and workflows our team uses to build the event content you’ll eventually be playing.We’ll be covering our Design Docs process, and then diving deep into our Event Editor, which has seen some significant additions since we last showed it off. One thing that matters a great deal to us is that Gilded Destiny is a game modders can easily understand and enjoy. A lot of what we’re showing today reflects that commitment, showing functionality that veterans of the genre will recognise, wrapped in a visual editor that we hope makes it more approachable than ever. We also have a video version of this Dev Diary, which walks through the Event Editor in ac…
- Gilded Destiny has crossed 100K Wishlists! - 6 March 2026
Salutations Industrialists!We are incredibly proud to announce that Gilded Destiny has crossed over 100,000 wishlists here on Steam. So, first of all: thank you to the 100,000 of you who have clicked that wishlist button. This is for the 100,000 players who want to develop nations, build societies, industrialize economies, and reshape the 19th century world in their very own way. This number represents something real to us: not a number or metric, but a community of players around the world who believe in what we're making, and who share our passion for this project. There's a lot coming soon, and every one of those 100,000 wishlists makes us want to deliver something worthy of the wait.Once again, thank you for being part of this and here to the next 100,000 wishlists!— The Aquila Interactive Team
- [Dev Diary #34] How our Artists Bring Gilded Destiny to Life - 30 January 2026
Salutations, industrialists!For this Dev Diary, we are happy to introduce you to three of our talented artists!In this Dev Diary, three of our talented artists behind Gilded Destiny take center stage to discuss how visual identity, historical inspiration, and technical constraints shape the game’s world. From early concepts to in-game assets, we explore how art supports design, strategy, politics, and immersion in a grand strategy experience.If you're interested in being an artist in the creative industries, or a fan of Bob Ross, then pick up your easel, wash your brushes, and take some notes in this one of a kind snap shot into the life of a gaming artist.So, without further delay, we're pleased to introduce 2D/UI Artist, Elena.2D/UI Artist - Elena"Hey everyone! I'm Elena, a digital artist working on Gilded Destiny. I want to take you behind the scenes of my work as I dive into the pro…
- [Dev Diary #33] A Year in Review: Gilded Destiny in 2025 - 22 December 2025
Season's Greetings, industrialists!I'm Marc, a Producer on Gilded Destiny. Yet another year has come and gone. As we wrap up 2025, I hope this year has been as gilded, merry, and industrious for you as it has been for us at Aquila Interactive. In this Dev Diary, we will reflect on what has been accomplished this year on Gilded Destiny.In 2025, both Gilded Destiny and Aquila have had several significant developments. First, as you may be aware, Gilded Destiny partnered with the publisher, Hooded Horse. We also released the Closed Alpha of Gilded Destiny to our backers on Kickstarter and Modian! We have received great feedback and suggestions on Gilded Destiny from them, and look forward to sharing the game with a wider audience soon.And before we begin some of the updates to Gilded Destiny, I want to express my gratitude, on behalf of everyone at Aquila, to all of you for being part of o…
- [Dev Diary #32] Rebellion Systems in Gilded Destiny - 28 November 2025
Salutations, Industrialists!I'm Marc, a Producer on Gilded Destiny. In today's dev diary, we'll discuss how rebellions have been modeled in Gilded Destiny, including how government support and POP happiness affect public unrest, how different kinds of government can deal with growing unrest, and what happens when the populace breaks out in open rebellion.If you haven’t already, please wishlist Gilded Destiny on Steam, subscribe to YouTube. You can additionally join our Discord or Reddit community to stay up to date. Head here for the full video. Without further ado, let's dive in.Revolution, n. In politics, an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment. By 1822, the 'Great Democratic Experiment' of the United States was well underway, busily setting about establishing the conditions that would lead to a rebellion of its own. In South America, the Iberian colonies followed suit, throwing…
- Aquila Interactive - Moderator Program, Apply Now! - 10 November 2025
Do you, yes YOU 🫵 have what it takes to be a moderator?As a moderator, you’ll play a vital role in shaping a welcoming, positive, and engaging environment for our players. You’ll help bridge the gap between the community and proudly represent Aquila’s values to a global audience.We’re looking for trusted community members who will volunteer to help maintain our channels. We hope that’s you!Apply now: https://aquila.now/modapplicationThere is no time limit to apply, but we'll start picking moderators in the coming weeks.
- Update on Gilded Destiny - 23 October 2025
Salutations Industrialists,Our Steam page currently displays that the release date for Gilded Destiny is this year. We wanted to address this.Gilded Destiny's release has been moved to 2026.We understand that this is disappointing news. We feel it too; there is nothing we'd like more than to bring you, Gilded Destiny, as soon as possible. However, we wouldn't be able to provide the most gilded version of the game if we published it now.This decision hasn't been easy, but it allows us the time needed to enhance the game's performance, implement visual improvements, and provides us with a better foundation to support further expansion of features and content after the game is released.Let's take a look at what this means for Gilded Destiny.Current StatusCurrent MilestoneCurrently, we're working on refactoring the game's codebase and visuals. The refactoring will make the overall system mo…
- [Dev Diary #31] Political Parties, Coalitions, and Elections in Gilded Destiny - 15 October 2025
Salutations industrialists! I'm Marc, a Producer on Gilded Destiny. In today's dev diary, we will discuss Political Parties, including enacting Policies, leading Political Parties, holding Elections, maximizing Party Attractiveness, forming Coalition governments, adopting Policy Stances, and making compromises to stay in power.We also have a video version of this Dev Diary, which includes detailed examples of how Political Parties work in the game.If you haven’t already, please wishlist Gilded Destiny on Steam, subscribe on YouTube. You can additionally join our Discord, or Reddit community to stay up to date.Without further ado, let's dive in.Setting the Political StageThe time period during which Gilded Destiny unfolds is a tumultuous time where the ways of the elite, backroom politics of the old gave way to the dawn of mass participation. Informal factions of wealthy landowners and b…
- [Dev Diary #30] The Faces of History: Leaders in Gilded Destiny - 4 September 2025
Salutations industrialists! I'm Marc, a Producer on Gilded Destiny. In today's dev diary, we're going to update you on the progress we've been making with Leaders, focusing on art style, animations, modding, and the importance of Leaders in the game. We also have a video version of this Dev Diary, which includes detailed examples of our portraits, animations, and implementation workflow.If you haven’t already, please wishlist Gilded Destiny on Steam, subscribe on YouTube. You can additionally join our Discord, or Reddit community to stay up to date.For more information about the Leader System itself, be sure to check out our previous Dev Diary on Leaders from last year, where we discussed the Leader UI, Leader traits, positions, and skills, and general mechanics of the Leader system.In Gilded Destiny, Leaders represent the famous men and women of the nineteenth century who feature in ou…
- [Dev Diary #29] Resource Points: The Backbone of Industrialization - 7 August 2025
Salutations, Industrialists! I'm Marc, a Producer working on Gilded Destiny. Today, I’ll explain how resource points act as the backbone of raw-material production. If you haven’t already, please wishlist Gilded Destiny on Steam, subscribe on YouTube. You can additionally join our Discord or Reddit community to stay up to date. Note: Alongside the video below, we’ve prepared a full written dev diary that walks through each topic in detail so you can follow along even if you can’t watch right now. Goods Production OverviewThe most common way to produce goods is through buildings. These buildings utilize recipes, that is, production formulas with inputs and outputs. When it comes to Resource Points, it's the same concept, but you're directly constructing the building on the map itself, on top of a deposit of resources. The second way goods are produced is through small holders and artisan…
- Alpha Roadmap Update #15 - 15 July 2025
Salutations Industrialists,We're excited to share the progress we've made in June and update you on our Alpha Roadmap. Closed Alpha Release We're excited to announce that the Gilded Destiny Closed Alpha has been released! The Closed Alpha is now available to all of our supporters who backed us on Kickstarter! How to Access the Closed Alpha Everyone who backed us on Kickstarter should head over to the previous update we shared about accessing the Closed Alpha for further instructions. You will be able to access a link to agree to the non-disclosure agreement and then claim your key! Incorporating Your Feedback With the release of the Closed Alpha, our development team is actively incorporating feedback from players into the development process. That being said, incorporating feedback requires an active and devoted player base to continuously play, enjoy, and test Gilded Destiny. We are i…
- Dev Diary 28 - [VLOG] Population Dynamics: People, Professions, Power, Needs - 2 July 2025
Greetings, Industrialists!In this Dev Diary we're going to update you on Population system! We’ll discuss how population groups (or POPs) are structured in Gilded Destiny, including how they’re defined by culture, religion, and profession, and how they evolve over time. We’ll also explore how POPs interact with the economy, meet their needs, and shape your nation’s development through education, labor, and political influence. You may remember we shared a Dev Diary on Population a while back. However, much has changed since then—some things may be very familiar to you, while others will be entirely new. You can find the full script for the Dev Diary below.Also, check out our fourteenth Alpha Roadmap Update: See how far we've come compared to Dev Diary #1 on Population, Technology Dev Diary, and Culture and Religion Dev Diary.Let us know if you have any questions or feedback over on Disc…
- Gilded Destiny - Hooded Horse Announcement FAQ - 25 June 2025
Salutations Industrialists!Along with our exciting news about joining forces with publisher Hooded Horse, we wanted to take the time to answer any burning questions that you may have on what this means for Aquila Interactive and Gilded Destiny.FAQWho is Aquila Interactive?Aquila Interactive is a studio headquartered in London and Hong Kong, focused on creating immersive and complex strategy games. The growing team is made up of talented and experienced developers and publishers from around the world, each united by a passion for innovation and a drive to elevate PC gaming.Who is Hooded Horse?Hooded Horse is an independent publisher focused on strategy, simulation, and tactical games. Since their founding, their portfolio has grown to over 40 titles, including big hits such as Manor Lords, Against the Storm, and 9 Kings.What is a Publisher?Publishers support game developers in many ways,…
- Manor Lords publisher signs Gilded Destiny, a new Victoria 3 rival - 24 June 2025
If you're looking for a new grand strategy game to while away the hours, Gilded Destiny is for you. An upcoming rival to Paradox's Victoria 3, everything about this industrial spin on the genre sounds impressive. With a colossal map and a focus on giving you complete control, developer Aquila Interactive has a huge experience on its hands. Now, I'm hoping Gilded Destiny can get even bigger, as Manor Lords and Against the Storm publisher Hooded Horse signs the game to its portfolio. Read the rest of the story...
- Gilded Destiny Joins Forces with Hooded Horse - 24 June 2025
Salutations Industrialists, We are pleased to announce that Gilded Destiny will be published globally by Hooded Horse, a publisher recognized for their strong lineup of strategy titles. This marks an important milestone for the project. First and foremost, we appreciate the continued support from our community. Whether you have been following the game from the beginning or just recently joined our channels, your enthusiasm, feedback, and encouragement have helped bring this project to where it is now. So, before anything else: thank you. What This Means for Gilded DestinyPartnering with Hooded Horse will gild the road ahead for Gilded Destiny, helping our development team realize the game we set out to create. Their support will elevate the overall quality of the game and ensure that our creative vision is conveyed clearly to a wider audience. This partnership will allow Aquila Interact…
- Alpha Roadmap Update #14 - 18 June 2025
Salutations Industrialists,We're excited to share the progress we've made in May and early June and update you on our Alpha Roadmap.We are happy to announce that we are getting close to the release of the Closed Alpha! As you may have heard in the latest Dev Diary on Map Modes, we have sent out Non-Disclosure agreements to our Kickstarter backers. In addition to having early access to the game, our backers will be an integral part of the development of Gilded Destiny. One of the main purposes of the closed Alpha will be to gather focused, high-quality feedback from devoted and passionate players while key systems are still in development. Again, we are thrilled to be bringing the closed Alpha to our supporters who backed us on Kickstarter!If you are one of our backers on Kickstarter, please head over to Kickstarter for more information in the previous update about accessing the NDA.We’d…
- Dev Diary 27 - [VLOG] Map Modes: Display, Implementation, and Vision - 6 June 2025
Greetings, Industrialists!In this Dev Diary we're going to update you on the progress we've been making with Map Modes! We'll discuss the approach to the UI and its main features, and the design approach to displaying data. We'll also give an overview of the current Map Modes, and features that we plan to implement.Also, Check out our thirteenth Alpha Roadmap Update:You can find the full script for the Dev Diary below.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Let us know if you have any questions or feedback over on Discord. And be sure to wishlist us to stay up to date!Join our Discord community today!https://discord.com/invite/m22Ek8jxJfSpeaking of Discord, we have started rolling the Discord roles to our Kickstarter backers! If you have not yet completed the Kickstarter survey we sent out, please do…
- Alpha Roadmap Update #13 - 15 May 2025
Salutations Industrialists, We're excited to share the progress we've made in April and update you on our Alpha Roadmap. Work on the economy continues, but is nearly resolved. Meanwhile, work continues on many other features, as you'll see below. Our team also completed several tasks than we had not listed for May in the last roadmap, so please see those below too! Also, we'd like to thank you for your patience on this roadmap. We’re steadily advancing on several key features of Gilded Destiny as we prepare for the Alpha release to our Kickstarter and Modian backers. Right now, a major focus for the dev team is fine-tuning the in-game economy and population systems. The core challenge lies in ensuring that Pop behavior—how they consume, produce, and trade—remains balanced and consistent within the broader economy. Once these systems are functioning as intended and have passed thorough t…
