1,000 Reviews: You Said, We Did

OpenFront has passed 1,000 reviews on Steam, less than a month after launch. Every one of them has been read, the good and the bad, and the community has been really clear about what it loves and what it wants fixed. A lot has changed since launch day because of that feedback, so here's a full rundown of what players told us and what we've done about it.

Players said the Steam version didn't offer enough over the free browser game

This was the biggest piece of feedback by far, and it was fair. Every Steam owner now gets a Verified name and the ability to create custom lobbies, permanently , with no subscription needed. Steam owners also get Discord ranks: just use /link-steam in the Discord.

On top of that, every Steam owner will get a new skin every month for six months. These will never be sold, and Steam is the only way to get them. A commissioned art studio is also working on custom trading cards, profile banners and more, so you can make your Steam profile your own.

The Steam version still shares the same servers and players as the browser version, and that won't change. Nobody gets locked out of gameplay. Buying on Steam is about supporting development, and now it comes with a lot more to show for it.

Players asked for achievements

29 achievements are now live , all with art commissioned specifically for them. Some you'll pick up just by playing, some will take serious time, and a handful are hidden for you to find yourselves.

• First Blood: be the first to knock a human player out of a match
• The Iron Dome: shoot down incoming nukes with SAMs
• Davy Jones: sink warships
• Master of the World: win a public game on every single map (good luck)

Most track in public games, so just play as normal. If one doesn't unlock when it should, let us know through the feedback form and we'll sort it. More achievements are on the way.

Players said the subscription was too much on top of buying the game

Steam Plus is coming at $4.99 a month , half the price of the website subscription, with the same Plutonium payouts: 250 Plutonium every time it renews, plus 10 Plutonium every day you're subscribed. It's entirely optional and isn't needed to play OpenFront. There are NO gameplay features behind this and all it does is provide plutonium to purchase cosmetics. It's there if you want to support us further.

Website subscriptions aren't changing, except that monthly subscribers now also get the Plutonium bonus on every renewal.

Players asked for transparency about AI

We've gone further than Steam requires here, because players deserve to know what they're buying. Our cosmetic patterns are designed by artists, and if an artist used generative AI at any point in making a pattern, it's clearly labelled in the store before you buy it . All of our major external art was commissioned from artists working in the industry. Our music and sound effects were commissioned from a very talented artist, Aiden, and our art, logo and promotional material come from a small group of external partners.

We do use AI as a tool in development, and we're not hiding that. Our core development team has over 20 years of coding experience between them, most of it from before AI tools existed, and OpenFront has been built by more than 300 contributors. Our code is completely public on GitHub, so anyone can see exactly how the game is made. A full write-up is in the Discord if you want all the details.

Players reported cheaters and teaming in solo games

Over 2,200 players have been banned so far , and more than 1,700 of those bans are currently active, most of them permanent. That includes:

• 445 players banned for teaming
• 188 for multi-accounting
• 110 for cheating
• 37 for exploiting

Our custom anti-cheat has already cut some types of cheating sharply, and we'll keep working on detection behind the scenes. If you see someone breaking the rules, report them. Reports get looked at, and they make a real difference.

Players reported performance issues and an ad on replays

Steam sign-in is now about 1.5 seconds faster on launch, F12 screenshots capture the game properly instead of a blank frame, and the display ad that was showing on older replays on Steam is gone. Performance work is ongoing, especially for our Linux players.

Players asked for custom maps, Workshop support and more to play

• Map and scenario creation: Josh is working out the best way to bring this to Steam, whether that's for small groups of friends or open to everyone.
• Workshop support: in early planning.
• Ranked FFA: coming to both Steam and the website, aimed at around Christmas.
• New game modes: we're looking at modes that fit OpenFront, like King of the Hill or holding points around the map.
• Profile levelling: very close to finished.
• Clan Maps and Warchest: clans will be able to spend caps on troops to conquer land that earns them even more caps.

Players asked for more communication

We now go live every other Friday at 4pm UK time to talk about the game, show what's coming and answer your questions. The VODs go up on the OpenFront YouTube channel, along with a short weekly round-up video.

Players also told us what they love: the depth, the diplomacy, and how quickly a game can turn on its head. None of that is going anywhere. Thank you for every review, every report and every bit of feedback. Keep it coming, because it's shaping the game.

Lewis