Today, we step before the court with news of what lies ahead.

Your response to The King Is Watching has been nothing short of overwhelming. The feedback, the screenshots, the strategy discussions, the creative builds - the sheer attention the game has received continues to astonish us. And recently, we crossed a milestone fit for a coronation: 500,000 copies sold.

Half a million Kings and Queens ruling with their gaze.

For that, we bow in gratitude.

We want The King Is Watching not only to endure, but to grow - to improve, expand and offer new experiences worthy of your continued attention. In this article, we’d like to share what you can expect from 2026.

Please note that what follows is a preliminary roadmap. Plans may shift as development progresses. Yet this is the direction in which the Crown is currently gazing.

Let us begin with the DLCs.

In 2026, both Crowns of History and Crowns of Fiction will expand the royal roster. These DLCs introduce new Rulers inspired by real historical figures and their legendary or fantasy counterparts. As always, they are creative interpretations rather than direct portrayals - designed first and foremost to serve gameplay.

Each King will feature a distinct set of abilities and quests, and our goal is to ensure that they feel different from existing rulers. We want you to approach them as entirely fresh strategic experiences - rulers that change how you play the game.

These DLCs will also help support continued development of the game. Expanding the kingdom takes time and resources, and your support allows us to keep building what we love.

Alongside the DLCs, we will continue delivering free content updates. We believe everyone who owns the game should have something new to explore, whether or not they choose to expand their crown collection.

The first of these updates will center around the Dark Realm - a new map that deliberately shifts the established formula. It introduces a different pace, new enemies, and a distinct atmosphere designed to challenge expectations. Rather than simply adding more of the same, this map aims to offer a new flavor of chaos.

We’ll be sharing more detailed information about both Crowns of History and the Dark Realm in the coming weeks. The first King reveal arrives next week.

You may have also noticed UI/UX improvements in the roadmap.

While many of you are comfortable with the current interface, we see clear room for refinement. In particular, we want to focus on improving gamepad support and ensuring that the experience feels natural on handheld devices like the Steam Deck.

We also play the game on Steam Deck ourselves, and we know first-hand that certain elements - especially text readability - could be improved. This is something we are actively addressing. The goal is simple: smoother interaction, clearer information, and better usability across devices.

Beyond these major pillars, we have additional ideas planned for 2026. However, we’re intentionally holding back on specifics for now.

We want to experiment. We want room to test bold ideas, refine them, and decide what truly improves the game before making firm promises. Creative freedom is essential, and we’d rather surprise you with something great than commit prematurely to something uncertain.

That is the road ahead - at least as it stands today.

Thank you again for the astonishing support of our small game. You’ve helped it grow far beyond what we imagined possible.

And next week we will introduce you to the first of our planned Kings.

~ The Hypnohead Team