Celebrating 10 years of adventure in Gems of War
Gems of War has come such a long way since its humble beginnings when it first launched globally on iOS and Steam in November 2014.
If you were with us back in the early days you might remember just how small the world of Krystara was, with only 15 Kingdoms and 3 game modes: Kingdom Quests, PvP and Challenges. Troops could only reach level 15, the highest rarity was Legendary and they had no Traits! We scrolled through our Troops in a horizontal line in the Troop menu and there were no Kingdom Levels, Kingdom Power or Guilds!
10 years of memories and updates could never fit into one blog, but a couple of major milestones and updates are worth mentioning.
Update 3.0 – March 2017
Update 3.0 was the Guild Wars update! The first Guild event was a wild success and we can’t wait to bring it back in early 2025.This was just the start of things to come for Guilds, as the community grew larger and everyone started making friendships through the game chat.
Update 3.3 – February 2018
We cannot talk about milestone updates without mentioning update 3.3 – it was HUGE. There was no bigger single update before or since – It’s still amazing what was able to be achieved in this one update. This is when all the following features were released:
- Raid Boss
- Invasion
- Bounty
- The Vault
- Treasure Gnomes
- Orbs
- Troop menu rework
Thanks to Gems of War’s popularity exploding with how much everyone had enjoyed being part of Guilds, participating together and against each other in Guild Wars, we were able to develop this massive update which added so many more ways everyone could play together.
Also, who knew killing Gnomes would be so much fun? Rest in Pieces fiends, thanks for the loot!
2018 was a fantastic year of new features for Gems of War, which really helped bring the world of Krystara to life. It included the Underworld update and the community update – which included added and improved features for the Guild experience and in-game chat, including team sharing.
2023 and 2024: 7.0 + PvP Rework, Alliances, Citadel Wars, Monoliths, PvP Seasons and Immortals
A massive rework of the original PvP game mode spanning a year of development, to reinvent and reinvigorate one of the very first game modes from Gems of War 1.0 – PvP. There’s been so much engagement in the huge PvP rework and so much discussion in the community, it’s been great to hear everyone’s feedback and we still have more work to do here!
Gems of War then and now – Select image to view full size
What’s next?
We look forward to continuing on this adventure, and battling alongside you for the years to come! There are plenty more exciting things to come, on the road ahead.
In 2025, Guild Wars will return and a new endgame feature called Bastions will be introduced! We will also continue to improve the early game content for new players, so we can continue growing our community!
The Community
Speaking of community, while we all love Gems of War, what really makes the game special is the community and there’s so many great memories over the past 10 years we’ve had with you all.
Salty’s weekly Gems of War stream, and when Sirrian and Nimhain joined to answer serious questions about game features and development wearing different funny hats each time. The Halloween dress up streams.
The time global chat told Kafka to sacrifice 2 War Goats for a guaranteed Mythic drop, so she disenchanted 2 War Goats, spun in a circle 3 times AND PULLED A MYTHIC.
In game chat we had players who organized a weekly book club and weekly trivia.
Sirrian, Nimhain and Andrew still talk about how great it was to meet some adventurers at PAX!
The community has evolved beyond a group of players interacting in a game, there have been thousands of real friendships formed outside of the game, even marriages! We’ve loved seeing your pets named after your favourite troops, the fan art created and even the art you have loved enough to have tattooed on your skin!
Sirrian – Creative Director & Nimhain Lead Designer & Producer, answer player questions live on Twitch
Thank you for being a part of the adventure
A message from Sirrian
We’re only able to reminisce on these great memories because of you – all the players who have logged in to match some Skulls and pulverize some Goblins over the last 10 years. So a heartfelt thank you from the Gems of War team to each and every one of you.
That said, there are a few special thanks I would like to give.
To our community translators who keep the game running in our 6 other languages – thank you. Having actual players translate the game into their native tongue adds a level of authenticity it’s otherwise difficult to achieve.
To Lyya, who fiercely moderated our forums for so many years – thank you.
To everyone who created tools and guides to help others – we are honored that you took the time to do so – in particular Lyya, Taran, Gary, Eric and El Duderino, it’s been so cool to see what you’ve come up with. You’ve truly made the game a more enjoyable experience – thank you.
To the streamers and content creators – we wish there were enough time in the day to see everything you make, but your work is important and we want to continue to support it – hopefully in new and interesting ways. A special callout to Tacet here – by far our most reliable and prolific streamer – thank you, all of you.
To our Beta Testers, past, present and future – your sharp eyes help us find the things that only actual players can find – thank you.
And naturally, to the Gems of War development team. I won’t name you all individually, but you’re all immortalized in the credits. Like all Teams, there have been changes over time – new projects and new opportunities take colleagues we have enjoyed working with, but open the doors for us to meet new colleagues and enjoy working with them. There is not a single one of you that I would not work with again in future – you’re the best of the best in my eyes. Thank you.
Now – looking to the future – our mission is to make the next 10 years better than the first 10! So we’re going to get our heads back down and do that, starting with the long-awaited return of Guild Wars!
