Manor Lords has received its first big update in nine months, and honestly, it’s huge. The experimental beta is out on Steam now, and it adds a raft of new systems, buildings and gameplay options that change how you plan your medieval town. Lead developer Greg Styczeń apologizes for the prolonged silence, explaining that he focused on expanding the team while attempting to tackle too many problems simultaneously.
The update introduces some noticeable changes immediately, such as new maps and the ability to preselect your starting location in the setup screen. You can also pick new modes from there, including Duel against the improved AI and a four-Lord free-for-all called Fractured Realm.
Once you start a game, you’ll see new jobs and buildings, including the quarry, lime kiln, and stonemason, which tie into rough stone, mortar, and dressed stone resources. There are also new fortification options, including stone castles. You can climb ladders, hover over buildings to see the soldiers inside, and open and close gates individually rather than all at once. Unit positioning on walls has also been reworked.
Regions have been carved up into distinct environments that lend themselves to certain buildings. Styczeń uses pig pens as an example, saying they work better in the woodland-heavy areas. There’s also a new maintenance requirement for structures, a reworked approval system, and lots of balance adjustments across the board.
Food has been split into more granular types, with vegetables now separated into cabbage, carrots, and beets. Meat is split into mutton, chevon, pork, beef, chicken, and small game. Dozens of smaller changes were also implemented, including enhancements for river fishing and the addition of missing wall snapping points, which should make building towers easier.
Heads up, and this is a big one: older saves will no longer work with this experimental beta. That’s a sizeable caveat given the nine-month gap between updates.
The update is available through the experimental beta branch on Steam. Read the full patch notes here, and you can buy the game on Steam here. The store listing shows a price of $25.99 / A322.75 until Monday, October 6.
This update reshapes a lot of core systems, and that’s going to affect players who care about long-term saves and those who like to experiment with new mechanics. Tell us what you think in the comments, and follow us on X and Bluesky.
