- OFFICIAL GAME MERCH! - 6 October 2026
Throughout the year I have been working on Pixel Chess Idle RPG. But if it hasn't been for everyone that has played the game, it would've never made as much progress as it has. So I am happy announce Official Merch for Pixel Chess Idle RPG. It's just a hoodie for now, but more is to come soon. It's limited just up till Christmas, so be sure to get it when you can! But thank you again everyone. Pixel Chess OG Founder Hoodie | SHIFT.
- Daily Challenge Polish, Save File Auto-Recovery & Quality of Life Fixes - 12 September 2026
Hey everyone, solo dev here! Just pushed a quick update tackling some community feedback and bug reports around the Daily Challenge mode, menu navigation, piece sprites, and number formatting. Here is what has been updated: ⚔️ Pure & Fair Daily Challenge ModeClean & Fair Tooltips: Tooltips in Daily Challenge now strictly show fair base stats. Singleplayer buffs (King's Aura, Queen's Morale) and misleading `GPM: 0` / `Kill: 0 G` rows have been removed so you always see clear, accurate stats. Active shields from modifiers like Heavy Armor now display directly in the tooltip (`SHIELD: X 🛡️`).Campaign Abilities & Gold Disabled: Singleplayer special abilities (Bishop's Snipe, Rook Blast, King's Aura, Queen's Morale, King's Regen, King's Midas) no longer activate during Daily Challenge runs. Moving pieces no longer shows `+0` gold floating text, and kills cleanly award `KILL!` without any go…
- DEV BIRTHDAY DISCOUNT! - 21 August 2026
Hey everyone! Just wanted to make a post to say that for this next week the game is going on a 50% disocunt, as it is my birthday as of today on the 3rd of September. Wanted to thank everyone for the support on the game and the progress that has been made updating this game. I will continue to update this game with awesome updates in the future. We already got daily challenge included and multiplayer as well this year which has been fantastic additions. I'm hoping to get custom lobbies made before the end of this year as well for customizablity of multiplayer. Thank you all again!
- Devlog: Daily Challenge Token Economy, Theme Shop & Steam Friend Add Integration - 13 August 2026
Hey everyone, solo dev here! Just pushed a brand-new update featuring a complete overhaul of the Daily Seeded Challenge token economy, an in-game Theme Shop, strict theme unlock validation, and a highly requested Add Steam Friend feature for multiplayer! Here is the full breakdown: 🪙 Daily Token Economy & Theme Shop Daily Token Rewards: Clear rounds in Daily Challenge mode to earn Daily Tokens (🪙). The farther you push your daily run, the more tokens you accumulate! Theme Shop Modal: Open the brand-new Theme Shop from the Options menu or Daily menu to browse cosmetic themes, check your token balance, and unlock new piece and board cosmetics. 3 Unlockable Themes: 🌌 Cyberpunk: (10 🪙) Neon cyan & magenta pixel art graphics. 🏆 Royal Gold: (25 🪙) Metallic gold & dark obsidian board aesthetic. 🌿 Emerald Forest: (50 🪙) Mint & emerald botanical theme. Strict Theme Unlocking: Theme selec…
- Devlog: Steam Player Count Display & Beta Label Clean-up - 2 July 2026
Hey everyone, solo dev here! Just pushed a new update that integrates active player count metrics directly from Steam and cleans up some menu labels: Steam Active Player Counter: Added a dynamic online player counter right below the title header on the Main Menu and under your name in the Multiplayer Selection Menu. This shows you exactly how many players globally have the game open in real-time. Smart Polling Loop: The counter updates automatically every 30 seconds while you sit in the menus. To keep singleplayer and multiplayer matches fast and lag-free, all network polling immediately pauses as soon as a match starts and resumes the instant you return to the menu. Matchmaking Menu Polish: Removed the legacy (BETA) tag from the Multiplayer button on the main menu to mark the system's full, stable release.
- Devlog: Rebirth Target Display & Save Game Button UI Fixes - 30 June 2026
Hey everyone, solo dev here! Just pushed a quick follow-up patch to address two UI bugs: Rebirth Target Level Display: Corrected the target level display calculation for the next base token. Previously, it incorrectly displayed targets 15 levels too high. Now, a Level 52 player will correctly see their next unlock target at Level 55. Persistent Save Game Button Text: Fixed a bug where the Save Game button in the upgrades menu would get stuck always showing "SAVED!" once clicked. It now properly reverts to "SAVE GAME" whenever the upgrades screen is reopened.
- Devlog: Tutorial Flow Polish & Campaign Mode Transition - 29 June 2026
Hey everyone, solo dev here! Just pushed a quick update to clean up and polish the tutorial flow: Upgrade Tutorial Step: Increased post-defeat tutorial gold to 50 gold (up from 20) and updated step requirements to force players to buy King HP Level 2 and Damage Level 1 before progressing. Transition Modal: Defeating the enemy King now displays a congratulatory modal instead of kicking you straight to the main menu. Save State Merger: Clicking "Continue to Campaign" from the completion modal transitions you directly into Normal Mode (starting Level 2) while safely merging your upgraded King stats using Math.max (so your stats are never downgraded if you replay the tutorial). Banner Clean-up: Fixed a persistent UI bug where the tutorial banner card would carry over on the screen when returning to the menu or starting normal matches.
- Devlog: In-Game Devlog, Brute Enemies & Passive Income Rebalance - 27 June 2026
Hey everyone, solo dev here! Just pushed a brand-new update focused on improving singleplayer campaign diversity with a menacing new enemy type, implementing a clean in-game Patch Notes menu, and rebalancing the passive income system to keep the game's economy healthy. Here is what is new: 📜 In-Game Patch Notes & Devlog You can now read all past updates, changes, and future patch notes directly inside the game! Added a PATCH NOTES / DEVLOG button to the Main Menu. Clicking it opens a beautifully formatted, scrollable in-game reader detailing the repository logs and updates. 👹 Empowered "Brute" Enemy Variations Singleplayer rounds just got more diverse and unpredictable: Every time a non-King enemy (Black) piece spawns, there is a 15% chance it will spawn as an empowered Brute! Doubled Stats: Brute enemies spawn with double their standard HP and damage for that level. Vibrant Red Styli…
- Devlog: Rebirth Shop Upgrades, Anti-Shuffling & Navigation QOL - 26 June 2026
Hey everyone, solo dev here! Just pushed a brand-new update featuring a couple of highly requested Rebirth shop upgrades to boost your campaign progress, a new anti-shuffling gold penalty to keep singleplayer gameplay engaging, and some long-overdue menu navigation QOL fixes. Here’s the rundown: 💎 New Rebirth Shop Upgrades Royal Treasury (Gold Carry-over): Keep a portion of your hard-earned gold when rebirthing! Each upgrade level lets you carry over 5% of your current gold (up to 25% max at level 5) to kickstart your next run. King's Guard (Starting Shield): Protect your White King in campaign mode! The King now starts each round with a temporary shield equal to 10% of its max HP per level (up to 50% max at level 5). The shield absorbs incoming attack damage first and displays as a sleek cyan bar overlay on top of the health bar. 🚫 Anti-Shuffling Repetition Gold Penalty To encourage…
- Devlog: Impossible Achievements & A Hidden Secret! 🪩 - 12 June 2026
Hey everyone, solo dev here! Just pushed a quick update to the game featuring some extreme endgame goals and a fun little secret. Here is the direct info: 🏆 Two new "IMPOSSIBLE" achievements! Think you’ve mastered the custom Chess RPG engine? Prove it. We’ve added two new achievements specifically for the local Practice vs AI training mode: Grandmaster's Dawn: Defeat the AI playing as White. Grandmaster's Eclipse: Defeat the AI playing as Black. These are tagged as IMPOSSIBLE in the menu and styled with a glowing neon-magenta theme. Standard campaign stats and abilities are fully disabled in practice mode, so this is a pure test of tactical chess skill. 🤫 Can you find the secret party? I’ve hidden a secret easter egg in the game that completely changes the vibes of the board. I won't spoil the exact inputs, but here are some hints: 1. On Keyboard: It's a 5-letter word associated with…
- Devlog: Visual Theme Customizations & Quick Fixes - 11 June 2026
Hey everyone, solo dev here again! Just pushed a quick batch of visual upgrades and stability fixes to make the game look and run cleaner. Here's what's new: 🎨 Full Theme Customizations (Pieces & Board) Theme Settings Rename: Renamed the settings option from "BOARD THEME" to "THEME" in the Options menu. Theme-Aware Pieces: Chess pieces now dynamically adapt to the active theme! Classic: Pieces keep their traditional cream and dark grey colors. Valentine: Pieces are styled in romantic palettes: White pieces use soft pink mains with deep magenta outlines, and Black pieces use dark plum/purple mains with hot pink outlines. Dragged pieces retain these custom colors. 🔧 Critical Quick Fixes Hover Tooltip Crash: Fixed a ReferenceError where hovering over any piece on the board threw a JavaScript crash due to a missing campaign variables definition. Strict Multiplayer Isolation: Hover tooltip…
- 🏆 Ranked Mode is LIVE! | Pixel Chess Idle RPG - 7 June 2026
The wait is over. Proven strategies and clever tactics are required for our biggest update yet:Ranked Mode: Compete against the best and climb the divisions.Upgraded AI: Test your skills against a much smarter, harder AI opponent.Global Leaderboard: Fight for your spot on the prestigious Top 10 worldwide leaderboard.Are you ready to claim your crown? 👑
- Devlog: Multiplayer HUD Overhaul, Connection Safety & Self-Play Analysis - 31 May 2026
Hey everyone, solo dev here! I've been polishing the multiplayer experience to make matches more strategic, visual, and stable. Here is a quick, to-the-point list of what is now live: ⏱️ Clocks & Turn HUD Right HUD Thematic Clocks: Moved timers to custom, board-themed clock cards on the right side of the board. Features dynamic Steam name displays and a centerpiece turn banner ("YOUR MOVE" / "OPPONENT'S MOVE") that pulses colors using sine-wave animations. Desync-free Timers: Changed to client clock authority. Your client ticks down your clock, and your opponent's ticks down theirs, syncing the remaining time and +5s increment on every move. No more false timeouts due to packet latency. Clean UI: Hidden campaign passive displays ("+10/s") in multiplayer. 🔌 Reconnections & Game Flow Inactivity Warning: Added a "RECONNECTING..." overlay if no packets are received from the opponent for 60…
- General Bug Fixes - 31 May 2026
UI patches and Controller Issues Fixed Multiplayer Mode Fixes 1. Fixed An issue on controller controls being reverted same as UI tooltips (still a bug of the tooltip going off screen at the top (will be fixed) 2. Fixed a UI issue when playing as black in multiplayer mode it would say Enemy Pawn On black pieces 3. Allowed the ability to play in a private lobby with friends General UI Fix Fixed an issue of gold gain going off screen at the top of the board
- MULTIPLAYER MODE! - 29 May 2026
Devlog: Steam Peer-to-Peer Multiplayer Beta UpdateI am excited to release the Online Multiplayer (Beta) directly to the default branch! Challenge other players online using secure Steam Peer-to-Peer lobbies and matchmaking.🛠️ What's New & FixedSteam P2P Multiplayer (Beta): Find and play matches against other players using your base chess piece stats (campaign upgrades and abilities are disabled for a balanced matchup).Resign Confirmation: Pause during multiplayer matches to resign; includes a confirmation popup to avoid accidental resignations.Opponent Names: Identify who you are playing against with the new "VS \" HUD indicator.Black Perspective Flip: Playing as Black now flips the board visually, including all particle effects, floating damage numbers, and gamepad selectors.Pawn Rule Correction: Fixed a chess rules bug so Pawns can now attack pieces directly in front of them even if…
- Dev Log: New Tutorial Mode, Global Settings & RPG AI Fixes! - 20 May 2026
Hi everyone! I’ve got a fresh update ready for you today focusing on onboarding new players, saving your settings globally, and optimizing the backend RPG AI logic. Here is a breakdown of what's new: 📖 Guided Tutorial Mode I’ve added a guided Tutorial Mode to help new players get their bearings with the chess RPG mechanics. Learn by Doing: The tutorial walks you through your first battle, guides you through upgrading your King, and shows you how to secure your first victory. Isolated Saves: Tutorial progression uses its own separate save state, meaning you can play through it at any time without worrying about overwriting your main or Hard mode runs! ⚙️ Global Settings Persistence No more resetting your volume every time you reload the game! I've decoupled settings from your gameplay save files: True Persistence: Board themes, music/SFX toggles, and master volume settings are now store…
- Update: New Tunes & Audio Control! - 8 May 2026
Hello everyone! I've just pushed a small update to improve the audio experience in Pixel Chess Idle RPG based on your feedback. Patch Notes: New Background Music: We've replaced the synthesized 8-bit melody with a dedicated, custom background music track (bgmusic.mp3). This new track is perfectly paced for idle progression and endlessly looping without getting repetitive while you grind for gold and rebirths! Volume Slider Added: You can now fine-tune the game's volume! We've added a Master Volume slider to the Options menu (right below the Sound FX toggle). You can adjust it on the fly to find the perfect balance between the game and your own music or podcasts. Thank you all for playing and continuing to support the game! Let me know what you think of the new track in the discussions. The loop continues...
- Minor Update - 16 April 2026
Removed the aura from the king based on rebirths. Personally, it felt off-putting from the feel of the art style of the game. Felt like a cool idea, but in the long run, may cause unwanted bugs. But having it there felt distracting from the art style of the game.
- "Juicy" Combat Animations - 16 April 2026
I have successfully added a full particle and animation overlay to the game rendering logic to make the combat feel much heavier and more satisfying! What was implemented 1. Death Shatter Particles When any piece gets killed, they now physically shatter into dozens of little flying pixel squares. The squares inherit the base color of the piece (white pieces shatter light bits, black pieces shatter into dark bits) and have gravity and friction applied, scattering across the board and fading out dynamically. 2. Screen Shake and Weakness Hits The main canvas now implements a context translation based on a global this.screenShake variable. If a piece hits an enemy and triggers the WEAKNESS multiplier (damage > 1.5x), the following happens: The screen violently shakes in a 10px radius, scaling down. A "WEAKNESS" floating text pops up in bright yellow font. A large burst of bright yellow spar…
- Big Performance Boosts, Valentine's Theme & Juicy QOL Features! - 21 February 2026
Hey everyone!I’ve been hard at work behind the scenes listening to your feedback. As a solo dev, I'm always looking for ways to make the late-game experience smoother and the UI less tedious to navigate. Today's update brings some massive performance optimizations specifically targeted at the chaotic late-game rounds, alongside a handful of highly-requested Quality of Life (QOL) features and full Native Controller support!Here is everything included in today's patch:🚀 Performance Optimizations & Engine UpgradesWhen you reach the deep late-game and have dozens of units clashing at once, the browser was struggling to keep up with the math. No longer!AI Fallback Web Worker: If the main chess engine (Stockfish) ever hangs or disconnects, the game's custom fallback AI used to freeze the screen while it calculated the next move. I've completely rewritten this to run asynchronously in a backg…
