9 Kings Steam Deck news to start the weekend: Sad Socket’s roguelike kingdom builder leaves Early Access and launches as 1.0 on 12 November 2026. Publisher Hooded Horse has confirmed the full release for Steam, the Epic Games Store and the Microsoft Store, and on Steam it already carries Valve’s Verified badge for both Steam Deck and Steam Machine. You can find it on the 9 Kings Steam store page.
It’s been in Early Access since 23 May 2025 and has built up a big following in that time. Steam shows more than 21,000 user reviews, and its English reviews sit at Very Positive, with 92% of 10,284 positive. Recent reviews are Very Positive too, at 89% of 344 over the last 30 days. The Early Access price is £17.99 on Steam right now.
What is 9 Kings?
You play as one of nine kings, each with their own starting deck of buildings, troops and spells. Your kingdom sits on a small grid, so space is the main limit: every year you decide what to build, which units to train and where to place them, and positioning matters, because the power comes from combining buildings, units and spells in the right places. Then the rival kings attack, and each wave is harder than the last.
The hook is what happens when you win. Beat a rival king and you can take cards from their deck, mixing their units and powers into your own. That’s where the game’s chaotic combos and overpowered buffs come from, with stacking modifiers that can grow a humble village into a massive citadel defended by a huge army. The aim is simple: survive as long as you can and become the King of Kings.
What Early Access added
A lot has changed since launch. Over the course of Early Access, Sad Socket added several more kings, new universal perks, an async multiplayer mode and Quest Mode, alongside a long list of bug fixes and balance changes. In async multiplayer you face builds from other players around the world and climb a ranked ladder. Quest Mode sends you across the nine lands to beat unique, rule-bending challenges and collect the rival kings’ crowns.
New in 9 Kings 1.0
The headline addition is Joker Mode, a much-requested custom mode. It lets you build your own deck of nine cards taken from any of the kings. Normally it unlocks once you’ve unlocked all the other kings, so it works as a reward for players who have seen everything else. There’s also a randomised Daily Quest, which asks you to beat a run with a unique set of cards and enemies each day.
On top of that, 1.0 brings nine new Rainbow Cards and more than 27 new Decrees, which should open up even more combos. Sad Socket’s own 1.0 roadmap on Steam lists four game modes in total (singleplayer, multiplayer, Quest Mode and Joker Mode), over 130 cards, more than 140 decrees, over 110 perks and more than 80 quests. The update also adds new animations and sounds, plus UI and quality-of-life improvements. The game is localised into 28 languages, including German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese.
9 Kings Steam Deck news: Verified, plus Steam Machine and Steam Frame
This is the bit that matters most for handheld players. Valve’s Steam Deck compatibility report rates 9 Kings as Verified, with all four checks passed. The default controller configuration is fully functional, the controller glyphs match the Deck’s buttons, the interface text is legible and the default configuration performs well. Steam also lists full controller support, including DualShock and DualSense pads. The requirements are light, too: a quad-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 2GB graphics card and just 500MB of storage.
Steam Machine gets the same Verified rating from Valve, with its three checks passed: controls, glyphs that match the device, and performance at default settings. A strategy game built around a single grid and clear card art looks like a natural fit for a TV setup with a controller.
Steam Frame is the gap. Valve hasn’t rated 9 Kings for Steam Frame yet, and there’s no VR support, so on the headset it would only be a flat game on a virtual screen. If you’re still deciding which of Valve’s devices suits you, I’ve compared them in my look at Steam Deck, Steam Machine and Steam Frame in 2026.
When 9 Kings 1.0 launches
9 Kings 1.0 arrives on 12 November 2026, and with Verified ratings on both Steam Deck and Steam Machine, it’s one of the bigger Deck-friendly strategy releases coming in November. It’s not the only roguelike with a strong Deck outlook either: Vena, an automation roguelike, is out on 9 November. If you want something calmer while you wait, Hexologic is another Verified puzzle-strategy game.
