About this game

Digital Deluxe Edition

About the Game

Conquer enemy nests and lead your colony through the perils of the forest in this groundbreaking RTS. Empire of the Ants is a photorealistic, third-person real-time strategy game where you command your insect legions in epic battles.

SWARM TOGETHER UPDATE – AVAILABLE NOW!

A massive update for Empire of the Ants, focused on replayability, strategy, and co-op multiplayer!

GAME MODES

• Horde Mode (Solo or Co-op)

Survive endless waves of ever-changing enemies. How long can you last?

• Story Challenge Mode

Replay 6 story missions with a scoring system. Optimize your strategies to reach the top!

• 2 Players vs 2 AIs Mode

Team up in co-op against two AI colonies on a brand-new map designed for large-scale battles.

NEW UNITS & POWERS

• New Support Unit: The Paussus

A stealthy unit that can infiltrate enemy nests and steal resources undetected.

• New Power: Pheromone Storm

Creates a fog that blocks vision and information in a targeted area—perfect for surprise attacks.

Knights in chitin armor: fight for your Queen, the Federation... our Empire

Experience an immersive journey and defend your lands through tactical and strategic battles in an epic, microscopic world.

Play as 103,683rd, an ant of the warrior caste with an inquisitive mind: explore the Federation and fight for it, conquering new territories.

Exploring, strategizing, and forging alliances with the local wildlife will be crucial to emerge victorious from the many challenges lying ahead.


Unconventional legions with which to wage war

• Shape your strategy by choosing your roster wisely: starting, support, and super-predator legions.
  
• Upgrade your nest’s tier to access new and stronger legions. Will you opt for the defensive Snail or the mobility of the Rhino Beetles?

Special abilities for victory

• Scare the enemy away, reinforce your units, or spy on your opponents: your chosen pheromones forge your offensive—or defensive—strategy.

Conquer and upgrade outposts

• Adapt your strategy by building the right chambers: build your economy, manage your legions, gather Information on the battlefield, gain new Powers, or strengthen your Defense.
  
• Not enough space? Conquer other nests to expand your territory and get stronger.

Dominate the online cross-platform ranked multiplayer

• Challenge your friends in thrilling skirmishes or prove your strategy skills in player-versus-player mode: ranked 1-vs.-1 matchmaking and three free-for-all matches. Custom Private Lobby available to train your skills against a friend or AI.

An immersive solo campaign

• Play through a 20-hour-long campaign inspired by Bernard Werber’s bestselling saga, where the fate of your colony rests upon your antennae.
  
• Choose your way to play, whether you’re looking for strategic combat and challenges or you prefer exploring the environment and fast-paced tactical missions.

Skirmish

• Hone your strategic skills and practice against 1 or 2 AI in offline mode.

Master AI player setting

• Reacts swiftly and strategically, using pheromone powers. The advanced AI processes situations faster than usual, adapting seamlessly to real-time changes and employing powers for a challenging gameplay experience.

Latest news

• Patch Notes·6 Jul 2026Official

  🛠️ Achievement fixes

  The previous bug affecting achievements, in which some achievements didn’t unlock despite fulfilling all requirements, has been fixed. The following achievements are now fixed: Achievement “Accept victory: none can withstand you” should be unlocked once all strategic missions are completed Achievement “Against a stronger enemy, defy his logic” should be unlocked once all tactical missions are completed Achievement “The greatest ant to ever live” should be unlocked once all other trophies are unlocked Please note that you might need to succeed in a tactical AND a strategic mission in Story Mode to unlock the missing achievements.
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• Patch Notes·23 Jul 2025Official

  🛠️ Balancing Fixes

  Reverted back some balancing changes to their pre-Swarm Together Update state in Multiplayer modes (Versus & Co-op): Dor Beetles now receive 5-10% more damage across the board Hornets now receive 10-15% less damage from Gunners
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• Patch Notes·16 Jul 2025Official

  🤝 Time to Unite 🤝 The Swarm Together Update is Now Available

  Greetings fellow ants, The time to unite has finally come! The Swarm Together Update is Now Available in Empire of the Ants This free content update brings a lot of new things to the game: 🎮 New Game Modes Co-Op Mode Available in Mutiplayer hub Play with a friend against 2 AIs Each player starts with 2 nests, and cooperation will be key to defeat the enemy team Horde Mode Available for 1 player in Skirmish hub and 2 players in Multiplayer hub Defend your nests against unending waves of enemies Waves grow stronger and stronger Waves are always composed differently Story Challenge Mode Available in Skirmish hub Replay 6 missions from the main campaign in a more challenging format Some actions, from the attacks to the movements, will cost points Some other, such as defeating an enemy nest, will grant you additional points Finish the mission with the highest score possible {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43519985/f401c1b97dfcea0ff8f1d9fef3801b1259ba9ae8.png 🐜 New In-Game Content New Map: The Riverside Designed specifically for large scale battles, this strip of land is the ideal place for 2 v 2 combats New Support Unit: The Paussus A stealthy unit which cannot be detected by units without a certain range, nor enemy nests Steals the economic and information upgrades of enemy nests Weak during fights, using the Paussus will require some strategy to be used at its full potential New Power: Pheromone Storm Create a huge smoke-filled area where information is not displayed Upgrading it will extend its duration Some upgrades and power can counter its effect {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43519985/eaa44e8a2266fd5f5495eaaacc517b79bb65909c.png 🛠️ Misc. Changes Loadout Setup Dedicated loadouts for the Skirmish and Multiplayer hubs Set up to 5 loadouts which include units and powers When the map is set, choose which loadout you want to play with New AI Difficulties ”Imba”, “Unfair” and “Darwin” Balancing Information upgrades now cost less resources to build Aphids now grant a movement boost while moving S...
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• Patch Notes·16 Jul 2025Official

  ☀️ Upcoming Swarm Together Update 5/5 - New Unit & Power 🌪️

  Greetings fellow ants, The Swarm Together update will bring new options to fight in all the different modes, except for the Story Mode. These options are: a new support unit and a new power. (Yes, we know support units might not be your favourite to play with, but this one brings something very unique to the table) 🐜 Introducing the Paussus The Paussus is a stealthy unit. You will only be able to detect it if one of your units is close to it. Your nest will NOT detect it. So, unless you see the Paussus unit coming for your nest, you will get no other warning that something is happening. But what does this Paussus unit do? Why should you be worried? Because it is good at pretending to be a friendly ant, it takes that opportunity to steal a nest’s eggs and food. To be more precise, it copies and sends over some of your Nest upgrades benefits while also disabling some functions of the nest it is “sitting” on. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43519985/8fb050353da78b7ccddd34a0c7f089669b1b7696.jpg In terms of gameplay, how does that affect your upgrades in the infested nest? The economy upgrades are fully copied over to the enemy. (Yes, even the chemical laboratory and library) This nest will stop giving you any income The information upgrades are fully copied over, but you don’t lose anything The defense upgrades are unaffected The legion upgrades are unaffected, but the unit will not regenerate if it is dead The power upgrades are unaffected This is a powerful effect! But, the downside is that the Paussus is not a combat unit, and it is the most expensive support unit. 🌪️ Unleash the Pheromone Storm To help the Paussus reach the enemy base undetected, a new power comes into play: the Pheromone Storm. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43519985/40cb4d2f3a15063bbe4c7a56fe1c3e5f8eca7f1d.gif This power creates a huge smoke-filled area where information is not displayed. To see anything in it you will need to be close to it. This disables visual and UI elements from that zone, preventing you from knowing...
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• Patch Notes·15 Jul 2025Official

  ☀️ Upcoming Swarm Together Update 4/5 - Challenge Mode ⏲️

  Greetings fellow ants, Whether you're a hardcore gamer or someone who just doesn’t want to go into PvP but would like a bigger challenge, we have designed the new Challenge Mode for you! This mode will enable you to perfect your game style against a slightly enhanced AI player. The goal here is not to beat the AI player: this is a given. The goal is to defeat it and get the highest score possible. You will be able to replay 6 specific story missions: Cut the Head Before the Storm Pinecone Battle Battle of the Arch Close Quarters Killing to Unite {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43519985/a3f353c471a50ffb1c96f7cd2cb30bc43dc4d164.jpg The goal is to be fast, to upgrade to a higher tier at the perfect moment, and to defeat your opponent with minimal losses and maximum kills. The more time passes, the more points you lose. This resets when upgrading to a higher tier, making upgrading an essential skill in this specific mode to reduce the amount of points lost, and gathering resources will also bring you points. But don’t take too long, this last source of points income is not incremental. And you can only upgrade twice… These challenges are designed to make you play the game and think about your strategies differently. They are not meant to train you for PvP, but to enjoy a new and fun way to play strategy missions. As you may have noticed in the title, we have one piece of news left to share with you tomorrow before the Swarm Together update releases. Although, you’re probably wondering when it is coming out… We’ll let you in on something: it’s sooner than you might think 👀 For the glory of the colony 🌿🐜 🐜 Play Empire of the Ants now https://store.steampowered.com/app/2287330/Empire_of_the_Ants/ 📬 Stay connected! Empire of the Ants Discord Empire of the Ants Twitter Empire of the Ants Reddit Tower Five Studio
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