Highlights
- Slay the Spire 2 hits Steam Early Access on March 5, 2026 with four-player co-op.
- Five playable characters at launch: Ironclad, The Silent, the Defect, the Necrobinder, and the Regent.
- Delayed from late 2025; Early Access expected to last one to two years.
The Slay the Spire 2 release date is locked in. Mega Crit confirmed the roguelike deckbuilder sequel enters Steam Early Access on March 5, 2026, alongside a feature nobody expected: four-player online co-op available from day one.
The original Slay the Spire was a solo affair. The sequel adds a dedicated Slay the Spire 2 multiplayer mode where up to four players can climb the tower together. According to the game's updated Steam page, co-op runs include collaborative route sketching on the map, the ability to splash potions on allies, shared relic choices from treasure chests, and multiplayer-specific cards built around team synergies. Mega Crit plans to spend the Early Access period, estimated at one to two years, balancing these new systems using community feedback.
Five characters will be playable at launch. The Early Access trailer, released on February 19, showed The Silent dying and being resurrected to join a full squad. Returning from the first game are the Ironclad, The Silent, and the Defect, who now has a larger body and a mysterious fourth orb type. The Watcher is the only original character not yet confirmed. Two newcomers round out the roster: the Necrobinder and the Regent.
Meet the Necrobinder and the Regent
Mega Crit describes the Necrobinder as a "sassy lich" who fights alongside Osty, a reanimated skeletal hand. Osty operates as a separate entity with his own health pool. He attacks enemies independently, absorbs damage meant for the Necrobinder, and ignores debuffs applied to her. Players can build up Osty's HP for sustained protection or sacrifice and resummon him repeatedly for burst plays. The Necrobinder's other core mechanic is Doom. Unlike Poison, Doom doesn't deal damage or tick down over time. It stacks on enemies, and once the Doom count equals or exceeds a target's current HP, that enemy dies instantly. It's a threshold-based kill that bypasses healing entirely.
The Regent is an alien being, self-described as heir to the Throne of Stars. His kit revolves around a unique Stars resource that carries over between turns, letting players stockpile for high-impact plays. He can transform cards into minions that fight on his behalf and forge a signature weapon mid-combat that scales in power each time a Forge card is played.
When does Slay the Spire 2 come out?
Slay the Spire 2 enters Steam Early Access on March 5, 2026 for PC, macOS, and Linux. No console release date has been announced. The sequel is set 1,000 years after the events of the first game. The tower has reopened with new enemies, environments, cards, relics, potions, events, and alternate acts that randomise each run's structure. Each act now has two variants with different enemies and bosses, selected at random when you enter.
Mega Crit delayed the Slay the Spire 2 release date from its original late 2025 window, citing personal reasons within the team, scope creep, and a need for more polish. The game has been rebuilt from scratch in the Godot engine after the studio migrated away from Unity in 2023. The Early Access build will not be the final product. Mega Crit expects one to two years before version 1.0, with the full release expected to cost more than the Early Access price.
The first game quietly consumed thousands of hours from people who thought they were too smart for card games. The sequel adds co-op, which means four people can now waste time at the rate of one, since every decision requires a committee meeting. Efficiency has never looked this inefficient.
Slay the Spire 2 enters Early Access on March 5. Clear your calendar. Then clear your friends list when they take the wrong relic. Slay the Spire 2 is one of several major launches hitting next month. For the full list, check out our Upcoming Games of March 2026: PS5, PC, Xbox Release Dates.
