What is the Slay the Spire 2 release date? Slay the Spire fans knew Mega Crit were 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 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 release date estimate
Slay the Spire 2 will be released in 2025, as confirmed during the reveal trailer at the Triple-I Initiative Showcase. Slay the Spire 2 is coming to PC, MacOS, and Linux. There’s a very high chance that the game will launch on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S, and iOS and Android devices, as its predecessor did.
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 statement mentioned that the dev’s latest game was being built in Unity over the past two years, but it would migrate from the platform entirely if the fee policy changes came into effect.
In a statement to IGN, Mega Crit confirmed 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.” Many indie games have been built using Godot, so this won’t stop Slay the Spire 2 from launching on multiple platforms. 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.
In the first official gameplay trailer, released in December 2024, a message appears to say that Slay the Spire 2 is “still” coming to early access in 2025, though that window is yet to be narrowed to a specific season or month.
Slay the Spire 2 early access
Slay the Spire 2 is set to launch on Steam Early Access in 2025. Megacrit confirmed in a recent blog post that the plan is to launch in early access on PC, MacOS, and Steam Deck (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, as the community did a great job reporting bugs and helping out with translations. This doesn’t necessarily rule out a launch on the Epic Game Store, but the devs have not confirmed anything other than Steam right now.
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 characters
According to the game’s lore, it was believed that the four characters were doomed to fight for eternity, but the Defect and Watcher are nowhere to be seen in the game’s first trailer. There’s a chance they may return at a later date, but right now, there are only four confirmed characters in Slay the Spire 2. We got a glimpse of Ironclad and Silent return in the reveal trailer, as they visit a shop merchant and walk through some new environments. Just as the duo approach the entrance of the Spire, a third mysterious character that appears to be a floating skeleton with a scythe appears next to them.
Thanks to the extra information on the Slay the Spire 2 Steam page, we know this third character is known as The Necrobinder. This character is unique in that it 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.”
On the game’s FAQ page, the developer stated that the full character lineup for the early access period has not been revealed yet. What’s interesting is that they specifically mentioned early access, not necessarily the full game, which could potentially have more characters than the ones we already know about.
There are multiple reasons to believe we’ll see the Defect and Watcher reappear, though more signs point towards the Defect returning sooner based on the clues in the trailer. There are Defect-exclusive relics from the first game that appear in the trailer, and the Merchant is seen selling Defect cards in their store.
You also need to remember that the Defect is a robot, and as we all know, robots can live forever. Therefore, there’s no reason why Neow couldn’t resurrect Defect, or at least find it some batteries to come back to life. Finally, the Slay the Spire X account has posted several times about players missing Defect, or about Defect not appearing in the reveal trailer. By acknowledging the character’s absence, the fans are hoping that means there’s a chance Defect is revealed before the game launches.
A fourth mysterious, unnamed character was shown as the end of the first official gameplay trailer. This creature has yellow, tentacled hands, and a star-like face with glowing central area. They wear blue sparkling robes with red pants and gold shoulder armor, and they wield a glowing golden star in their hand.
Slay the Spire 2 gameplay
In December 2024, the first gameplay trailer for Slay the Spire 2 was revealed. In it, we see the newly evolved spire with twisted paths, new enemies, as well as 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 Ironclad using several new cards, more information on which can be found in our dedicated new cards section below. We see the Silent facing a new enemy type with multiple fungi sprouting from its body acting as heads. 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 huge 234HP. It also has 40 stacks of a mysterious deer-like buff, though it’s unclear what effect this has.
We catch the first glimpse of the new character, 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. The Necrobinder can summon Osty to aid in battle by dealing damage, as well as providing more HP for the enemy to attempt to take down to defeat the player – a vital mechanic considering the Necrobinder has only 35 starting HP.
A new system, Doom, affects the way some existing cards play out. Scourge+ is shown to apply 17 Doom. We see the Necrobinder and Osty taking on a large, multi-segmented worm-type creature with individual HP bars for each segment.
Slay the Spire 2 new cards
In the few Slay the Spire 2 screenshots released on Steam, we’ve had a glance at some of Ironclad’s new cards. Three of the five Ironclad cards in the screenshot have returned from the original game, though we have reason to believe Cleave may have a new effect.
The original card art for Cleave showed multiple enemies being attacked at one time, and the card’s effect reflected that by attacking multiple enemies on the field. Cleave in Slay the Spire 2 shows a mushroom being cut in half with an axe, suggesting it now deals big damage to single targets, judging by the new art.
The other two returning cards are Ghostly Armor and Shrug it Off, two cards which look a lot like their original game counterparts. Molten Fist is the first new card we’ve spotted, though its effect is hidden. It costs 1 mana and is likely to deal damage, perhaps it will do damage over time. Another new card is Hellraiser, a 3 mana rare Power card. Again, the effect isn’t shown, but the card art shows the Ironclad surrounded by swords spawning from the ground.
During the gameplay trailer in December 2024 we caught a glimpse of more new cards. Dismantle, at a cost of one mana, as well as CHAAARGE and Tremble which cost zero mana. Their effects are hidden, but we see Ironclad using Dismantle to hit for three damage four times, for a total of twelve.
We also see a detailed look at three new cards. Bully, which costs zero mana, deals four damage plus two additional damage for each Vulnerable on the enemy. Aggression, a power card, which places a random attack from your discard pile into your hand and upgrades at the start of your turn, costs one mana. Finally Cinder, which costs two mana, deals 15 damage and exhausts the top two cards in your draw pile.
During the Silent’s gameplay section we spotted a few more new cards. The skill card Anticipate, which costs zero mana, and Flick-Flack, an attack which costs one mana to play. Unfortunately, their effects aren’t shown.
During the Necrobinder’s gameplay section we see that it can hold the new card Cleanse, though its effects are unclear.
It appears that players will have the option to choose card packs, rather than just individual cards as in the original game. These packs are made up of three cards that complement the effects of each other, and have varying mana costs. Thanks to several glances at the shop and card selection screens we have quite the array of new cards shown now. Their names, type, mana cost, and effects if known are shown in the table below:
| Card | Type | Mana | Effect |
| Molten Fist | Attack | 1 | Unknown. |
| Hellraiser | Power | 3 | Unknown. |
| Dismantle | Attack | 1 | Unknown. |
| CHAARGE | Attack | 0 | Deal damage equal to your Block to all enemies. |
| Tremble | Skill | 0 | Apply 2 Vulnerable. Exhaust. |
| Bully | Attack | 0 | Deal 4 damage. Deal 2 additional damage for each Vulnerable on the enemy. |
| Aggression | Power | 1 | At the start of your turn, put a random Attack from your discard pile into your hand and upgrade it. |
| Cinder | Attack | 2 | Deal 15 damage. Exhaust the top 2 cards in your draw pile. |
| Mangle | Attack | 3 | Deal 15 damage. Enemy loses 10 Strength this turn. |
| Grapple | Skill | 1 | Apply 2 Vulnerable. Enemy loses 1 Strength this turn for each Vulnerable it has. |
| Taunt | Skill | 1 | Gain 7 Block. Apply 1 Vulnerable to all enemies. |
| Anticipate | Skill | 0 | Unknown. |
| Flick-Flack | Attack | 1 | Unknown. |
| Cleanse | Skill | 1 | Unknown. |
| Scourge | Skill | 1 | Apply X Doom. |
| Tag Team | Skill | 0 | Unknown. |
| Swipe | Attack | 1 | Deal 5 damage to all enemies. If they have Doom, deal another 5 damage. |
| Breakthrough | Attack | 1 | Lose 1 HP. Deal 10 damage to all enemies. |
| Stone Armor | Power | 1 | Gain 5 Plating. Lose 1 Dexterity. |
| Blood Wall | Skill | 2 | Lose 2 HP. Gain 15 Block. |
| Unrelenting | Attack | 2 | Deal 12 damage. Your next Attack you play costs 0. |
| Carve Ghost | Attack | 1 | Deal 11 damage. Add 2 Souls into your Hand. |
| Putrefy | Skill | 1 | Apply 2 Weak. Apply 2 Vulnerable. Exhaust. |
| Friendship | Power | 1 | Whenever you play a Soul, Summon 3. |
| Negative Pulse | Skill | 1 | Gain 7 Block. Apply 4 Doom to all enemies. |
| Plague Carrier | Power | 1 | Whenever Osty attacks, apply 5 Doom to the enemy. |
| Fearmonger | Skill | 0 | Whenever you apply Doom this turn, gain 4 Block. |
| Time’s Up! | Attack | 1 | Deal damage equal to the enemy’s Doom. Exhaust. |
| Grave Warden | Skill | 1 | Gain 6 Block. Add 1 Soul into your hand. |
| Drain Power | Attack | 1 | Deal 6 damage. Upgrade a card in your hand for the rest of combat. |
| Pull Aggro | Skill | 2 | Summon 10. Gain 5 Block. |
| Oblivion | Skill | 1 | Double the enemy’s Doom. Exhaust. |
| Death’s Visage | Attack | 1 | Deal 7 damage. Apply 1 Vulnerable. |
| Fan of Knives | Power | 2 | Shivs now hit all enemies. Add 3 Shivs into your hand. |
| Pounce | Attack | 2 | Unknown. |
| Blade of Ink | Power | 2 | Unknown. |
| Hellraiser | Power | 3 | Whenever you draw a card containing “Strike,” it is played against a random enemy. |
| Pact’s End | Attack | 1 | Unknown. |
| Forgotten Ritual | Skill | 0 | Unknown. |
| Setup Strike | ? | 1 | Unknown. |
| Blight Strike | Attack | 1 | Deal 7 damage. Apply Doom equal to unblocked damage dealt. |
| Twist | Skill | 1 | Unknown. |
Slay the Spire 2 news
In the October edition of the ‘Neowsletter‘, Megacrit’s monthly Slay the Spire 2 newsletter, the developer discussed the first game’s art and the limitations that occurred due to budget and talent constraints. With the sequel, Megacrit 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, Megacrit’s goal is to make Slay the Spire 2 feel bigger than the first game by introducing new characters, enemies, and sets.
The November 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 give you more information about your current run.
That’s all we know about Slay the Spire 2 release date right now, but stay tuned as we’re going to be updating this page with the latest information as soon as it’s revealed. Meanwhile, we have a list of the best upcoming games to see what else is coming in 2025. 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.
