What is the Slay the Spire 2 release date? Slay the Spire fans knew Mega Crit was in the kitchen cooking up something fierce after ending development on its debut game back in 2020. While there have been some small updates to fix some bugs and ensure compatibility on the Steam Deck, the original game has been complete for years.
First revealed at the Triple-I Initiative Showcase in April 2024, Slay the Spire 2 was announced to the world with a stylish animated trailer. The developers have confirmed there's a new set of slayers joining the cast, including returning favorites Ironclad, Defect, and The Silent. It's been over 1,000 years since the Spire was last open, so expect the creatures and monsters in this roguelike game to be completely different this time.
Slay the Spire 2 early access release date
The Slay the Spire 2 early access release date is set for Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm GMT. The game will cost $24.99 during the early access period and is coming to PC, MacOS, and Linux.
The original game was scheduled to be in early access for one year, and it ended up spending 1.5 years instead. The feedback from the community means certain features could take a while to implement, so it's difficult to nail down exactly how long this process could take. The team attributes the card game's success to early access, citing the community's work reporting bugs and helping out with translations.
The full Slay the Spire 2 release date will most likely arrive in 2027 after spending time gathering feedback during the early access launch. There's a very high chance that the game will launch on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS, and Android devices, as its predecessor did.
In February 2026, Mega Crit said it's aiming to have "some form of cross-platform saving". A price for the game has not been announced right now, and the developer has revealed on the Steam discussion boards that Slay the Spire 2 doesn't feature microtransactions.
After the Unity fee policy changes fiasco back in 2023, Mega Crit released its first company statement to denounce the new policies set by the engine creator. The developer confirmed in a statement to IGN that it won't be using Unity: "A Mega Crit representative confirmed that Slay the Spire 2 has since fully migrated off Unity and will instead use Godot - a free and open-source cross-platform engine."
Slay the Spire 2 co-op
The biggest surprise from the early access trailer, released on February 19, 2026, was the reveal of the brand-new co-op mode. As highlighted by the Steam page, this mode will be playable with up to four people and features multiplayer-specific cards. We currently don't know whether players choosing to ascend the spire can select multiple characters or if that's restricted to co-op mode.
Slay the Spire 2 characters
There are five playable characters in the early access build of Slay the Spire 2: Ironclad, Silent, Defect, Necrobinder, and Regent. At the end of the early access trailer, there's a potential character reveal as we see someone watching over a town. This new character has brown skin, which suggests it isn't The Watcher from the first game, though after the glow-up Defect received, perhaps the deadly monk also went through some design changes.
The Necrobinder starts with just 35 health, a surprisingly low amount given that the Silent, who used to have the lowest starting health, begins with 70. The description for the character reads, "A wandering lich who seeks to bind the forgotten corpse. Calls upon her trusty left hand, Osty in combat."
A fourth mysterious, unnamed character was shown at the end of the first official gameplay trailer. This creature has yellow, tentacled hands and a star-like face with a glowing central area. They wear blue sparkling robes with red pants and gold shoulder armor, and they wield a glowing golden star. After almost two years, Mega Crit finally revealed the fourth character in the December 2025 newsletter, giving us a detailed look at the Regent.
The Regent is an alien from a distant planet who has traveled the galaxy looking for an adventure. As the heir to the Throne of Stars, he's extremely arrogant, sitting back on a chair while he lets the cosmos do his bidding.
Using the new Stars mechanic, the Regent must build up Stars to play its strongest cards, consuming both Stars and mana. The Stars can be earned by playing specific cards, and this resource doesn't drain throughout combat, so you can stockpile it to save for a big swing turn.
The Regent can also transform cards into his own minions, using them to attack and defend. Finally, the Regent can create his signature weapon using his Forge mechanic during fights, powering up the weapon every time a card with the Forge keyword is played.
After countless teases from the Slay the Spire X account which posted several times about players missing Defect and about Defect not appearing in the reveal trailer. In the early access trailer, we finally received confirmation that Defect is in fact in the game, sporting a larger body than before and an unknown fourth orb.
Slay the Spire 2 story
The Spire was closed after the events of the first game, where the Ironclad, Silent, Defect, and Watcher helped shut the door on the tower filled with evil beings. After 1,000 years, the Spire has reopened its doors, awakening the giant alien whale known as Neow. This creature appears to you at the beginning of each run in the original game, blessing you with items before you set off to scale the tower once again.
Slay the Spire 2 trailers
The first gameplay trailer revealed an evolved spire with twisted paths, new enemies, and returning favorite characters. The trailer begins with a slow zooming shot of a mysterious, blood-soaked tome titled 'Top Ways to Conquer the Spire' as its pages turn. "You find this manuscript highly suspicious because it's covered in blood," the trailer's narrator states.
We see the Silent facing a new enemy type with fungi sprouting from its body. The Silent also faces off against what we're assuming is a new boss, with large jewel-adorned antlers, an icy white appearance, and a large amount of health. It also has 40 stacks of a mysterious deer-like buff, though it's unclear what effect this has.
We also got to see the Necrobinder in action. It has four cards in its hand, including some new ones, but most notably also has an additional character aiding it in the form of a disembodied skeletal hand, known as Osty. A new system, Doom, affects the way some existing cards play out. Scourge+ is shown to apply 17 Doom. The Necrobinder is seen taking on a large, worm-type creature with individual HP bars for each segment.
Slay the Spire 2 news
In the October 2024 edition of the 'Neowsletter', the developer discussed the first game's art and the limitations that occurred due to budget and talent constraints. With the sequel, Mega Crit is making significant changes to the art direction by hiring a full-time art director and animator. By hiring people to improve the game's art, Mega Crit's goal is to make Slay the Spire 2 feel bigger than the first game by introducing new characters, enemies, and sets.
The October 2024 issue detailed some changes coming to the game, including new visual effects when picking cards, colored icons on the map screen, and a taller top bar to make it easier to press each icon. We also got a glimpse at a new enemy and a pop-up in the main menu to provide you with additional information about your current run.
The February newsletter gave us a look at the new Enchantments mechanic, giving you a way to upgrade a card, albeit with a slight penalty. The newsletter states there are "meaningful and potentially run-defining Enchantments", so we're excited to see how that will impact the game.
In March, we learned about the new Quest mechanic being added to the game. The only quest card we've seen so far is Byrdonis Egg, which gives you access to a bird companion who fights alongside you. The issue in April highlighted the affliction system, which sees enemies take some of your cards and apply a negative effect to them. For example, an enemy can afflict a card like Defend with an additional effect that causes you to lose health when you play it.
Mega Crit is introducing major changes to existing cards, as revealed in the May issue to give the returning classes a bit of a makeover. One example they've given is Blade Dance, a staple card in the Silent's shiv arsenal. It now has the keyword Exhaust, making this card considerably weaker on paper, though there may be a new mechanic down the line that could negate this weakness. Speaking of new mechanics, the Silent now has a new keyword called 'Sly' which automatically plays a card when you discard it.
Events are receiving an overhaul, forcing players to carefully consider their options when they land on a question mark on the map. With over 50 events in Slay the Spire 2, the developers have decided to remove options that allow you to leave the event without any consequences. There were some rooms like this in the first game, but the chances of landing on one were slim, making the question mark options a relatively safe option when running low on health.
We got our first look at the colorless cards in the July issue, including Scrawl, a powerful Watcher card that has been transformed into a playable card for every class. In August, we got a glimpse at some of the new and returning relics and potions in the game. The most striking thing about the new items is the sheer amount of detail in these relatively small icons-it's clear the devs have the time and budget to dedicate more time to the art this time around.
In addition to the news about the delay in September, the devs also teased alternative acts, splitting each of the three acts into two separate zones. The first act features the Overgrowth and Underdocks, with both zones containing different enemies, rooms, and bosses to explore. This has resulted in the game doubling in size, though only the first act will contain alternate paths when the game launches into early access next year.
October's issue put The Necrobinder in the spotlight, showing off some cards for the Necromancer and her reanimated hand, Osty. Using cards like Bone Shards, Otsy can be sacrificed to both deal damage and add Block, then be brought back to life using Bodyguard while also dealing damage. There's also the Necrobinder's exclusive mechanic, Doom, a debuff similar to Poison, except this effect applies at the end of a turn. They also show off the Souls mechanic, allowing her to draw more cards.
In November's issue, we learned about the Ancients that can appear throughout Acts 2 and 3. In addition to Neow, 'Mother of Resurrection', we got our first look at Tezcatara, 'It Which Feeds The Fire.' These powerful beings replace the boss relic rewards that appeared at the end of each act. Like Neow, Tezcatara's blessings can change each run, though it seems these new blessings can have dangerous tradeoffs that could spoil your run if you choose poorly.
Starting the year off quietly, the January 2026 issue featured some balance changes to some cards, a look at an event, and the reveal of a new monster, a large, two-tailed rat. The February 2026 issue followed suit, stating that there aren't any major content teases right now, but there should be something soon that will make up for this - we now know that Mega Crit was referring to the early access trailer.
That's all we know about the Slay the Spire 2 release date right now. Meanwhile, we have a list of the best upcoming games to see what else is coming in 2026 and beyond. We also recommend taking a look at our best PC games list to see if you've missed out on incredible titles like the original Slay the Spire.