Core Defense

Core Defense launched on Steam on July 30, 2020 and received steady post-launch updates through early 2022. The developer shipped one paid expansion — the Mastery Expansion on March 19, 2021 — which added a permanent progression system, new difficulty modifiers, a daily challenge mode, new towers, new mobs, and additional achievements. This is the only DLC ever listed for the game, and it has been fully released. Between launch and mid-2022, the developer also shipped several feature-rich patches adding content like Endless Mode (August 2020), a large content update with wall stacking and new zones (November 2020), performance improvements (January 2021), new towers and reworked abilities (June 2021), and new difficulty modifiers (October 2021). However, by October 2021, the developer noted they had been "busy working on the spiritual successor of Core Defense — Blacken Slash," signaling that focus had shifted away from Core Defense. In July 2022, the developer announced that Blacken Slash had launched, effectively confirming the transition to a new project was complete. The last developer communication of any kind for Core Defense was the July 22, 2022 post announcing the launch of Blacken Slash. There have been no patches, news posts, or announcements for Core Defense since that date — now nearly four years of silence as of June 2026. The developer explicitly communicated as early as June 2021 that their next game was in development, and the pattern of updates wound down progressively as that project neared completion. With all DLC shipped, no unreleased content listed, no roadmap or future content announcements, and nearly four years without any developer communication, Core Defense is a complete, finished product. The most reasonable completion date is the release of the Mastery Expansion on March 19, 2021 — the final substantive content addition to the game.