There’s been a lot happening with Bannerlands over the last few months!  New art, big design changes, and a new demo just in time for Steam Deckbuilders Fest 2026!

I am in the process of working with a new artist to replace all the art in the game.  Thank you to https://www.workwithindies.com/, which helped me find several great candidates.  

I commissioned several test pieces from various arists and sent out a survey to players and got great feedback on the test pieces.  (If you want to be involved in future surveys, sign up for the mailing list[darkinertia.com] or join our Discord[discord.gg]!). I eventually ended up selecting one artist to take on the entire project.

We’ve been collaborating for a couple of months now, and it’s been great.  He is not only a fantastic artist, he’s also a fan of the genre and has been a fun partner to work with.  

It will take some time to swap out everything, but every new demo build will have more and more of the new art.

In parallel, I also decided to drastically simplify the way campaigns work.  Previously, there was a lot going on in a campaign that I ultimately concluded wasn’t fun enough.  I cut all of that out and am much happier with what’s left.  

Now a campaign run is solely about crafting interesting decks and engaging in high stakes battles.  This will hopefully show in the new demo.  

The new demo is coming out this weekend and will show off everything described above plus many bugfixes and UX improvements.  There is still so much I want to add to the game, but I wanted to release something sooner in time for Deckbuilding Fest and to get early feedback.  

Remember:

• The new art is not all done yet, so there’s still some old card art.  But all the UI art, 5 characters, all backgrounds, and about 40 cards are new art.  

• Please leave feedback in Steam Discussions or Discord[discord.gg] or by emailing me.  

And please wishlist the game and spread the word to friends who like strategy games!

Thank you!

Work in progress exploration of colors

New Art

I am happy to announce that entirely new art is currently being produced for the full game release.

Work in progress explorations of Theophilus

Design Changes

I am also working on several improvements to the game. The entire meta-game is getting an overhaul and will be simplified and streamlined. There's also bug-fixing, quality of life improvements, polish, etc...

I have temporarily taken down the demo since the game is changing enough that I don't feel it's an accurate reflection of what the final game will be. If you already have the demo and still want to play it, you should be able to.

Work in progress explorations of archers

Join the mailing list (https://darkinertia.com/follow-us/) or Discord (https://discord.gg/Kfk8GqZcgw) to continue to get updates.

Thanks!