Manor Lords Turns One, Promises Big Updates and a Bigger Team

It feels like just yesterday that Manor Lords quietly dropped into Early Access—and immediately exploded in popularity. One year later, it's not just surviving, it's thriving, and lead developer Grzegorz "Greg" Styczeń has given fans a detailed look at what’s next for the medieval city-builder.

In a new Steam blog, Styczeń reflected on the chaotic excitement of launch day:

"Honestly, it doesn't feel that long ago. I remember uploading the build, crossing my fingers that things wouldn't immediately fall apart – and here we are several patches and plenty of additions later."

Since its release, Manor Lords has sold over 2.5 million copies, which is insane considering it was mostly a one-person project at the start. Now, the dev team has expanded to nine people, plus professional QA support from QLOC. It’s a serious level-up for one of the most authentic and beautifully detailed city-builders we’ve seen in years.

A New Era for Medieval Management

The update teases a ton of features that are already in the works. First up: AI improvements. Opponent lords can now actually build small villages, and the team is overhauling pathfinding so your soldiers won't get hopelessly stuck trying to navigate castles. Styczeń made it clear they want to preserve medieval realism rather than simply "widening paths" for the sake of convenience.

"It's like the medieval constructors wanted to purposefully make it harder for large groups of soldiers to navigate around the castle. Curious."

More Upkeep, More Strategy

Settlement management is getting more intense, too. Upkeep costs are coming to many buildings—blacksmiths, for instance, will chew through 12 tools a year. Deep mines will start needing plank resources, and you’ll need to build a quarry and lime kiln if you want to move into advanced stone construction. These changes are a big step toward making cities feel like real, living entities rather than endless resource machines.

Art Upgrades Incoming

It’s not just mechanics that are getting love; the UI and map visuals are getting a full medieval-style makeover. Instead of simple icons floating over the map, expect beautifully painted depictions of resources that better match the game's rustic, handcrafted vibe. Even the build menu will feel more integrated and atmospheric after the update.

Manor Lords' Success

Manor Lords didn’t just succeed because it looked pretty (though it does look insanely good). It tapped into a deep craving for realistic city-building, without the cartoonishness or heavy fantasy that dominates most of the genre. It also came at a time when city-builders were really starting to diversify again, opening doors for players tired of copy-paste city simulators.

Other big city-building games, just for context:

For an indie project to sit comfortably next to heavyweights like Anno and Cities: Skylines is wild.

The new content roadmap looks ambitious: castles, sieges, more maps, and possibly new game modes down the line. Styczeń and the team seem pretty committed to keeping Manor Lords grounded in historical realism while still adding exciting new layers of gameplay. They even hinted that a new mountainous, snowy map could come with unique mechanics—or maybe even a new way to play entirely.

If you’ve been thinking about jumping into Manor Lords, now’s the time. It’s already one of the best city-building games on Steam, and based on these updates, it’s only going to get better.