Guardians of the Sanctree

About this game

"Guardians of the Sanctree" is a 2D hand-drawn co-op game featuring cooperative base-building, automation, exploration, and tower defense survival. Players lead as commanders in the avian military government, restoring Sanctree cities, defending against underground insectoid attacks, and establishing solid defenses.
Gameplay offers diverse roles for player, from production line designers to elite warriors and intrepid explorers uncovering subterranean wonders.



In Sanctree, gather resources to craft tools, weapons, settlements, and strongholds. Use workstations or unlock advanced tech to create unique, buffed items, boosting survival and enabling deeper exploration.
Survival is key in game. Hunt for food, battle underground creatures, and test your strategies to shape Sanctree's fate.



In this game, you take on the role of an avian general in an ancient Sanctree, constructing and managing your base. Build NPC tents, lay different pathways, and strategically plan resource gathering, production, and distribution. Design unique production lines and utilize NPCs as conveyors to ensure smooth operation and automation, overcoming various challenges in the process.


Here, you'll defend the core of the Sanctree against relentless enemy waves. Use turrets, traps, and barricades strategically to protect your base. With clever map layouts and upgraded defenses, you'll stop the enemy in their tracks and crush their invasion. Get ready for an intense tower defense challenge and show your skills as a top commander!



In Sanctree, you'll embark on a journey into a mysterious and dangerous world as an adventurer. Explore deep underground caves and mysterious realms where valuable treasures and unknown creatures await. Plan your routes, lead your companions, and uncover the secrets of this subterranean world. Each expedition promises surprises and challenges.



Enjoy different thrills in both online multiplayer and single-player modes in the game. Whether you want to lead strategically or excel as a team player, fighting alongside friends (each with their role), Sanctree offers moments of glory tailored just for you!

Latest news

• Announcements·25 Nov 2025Official

  Nominate Sanctree for a Steam Award & Grab it at 50% Off!

  Guardians, long time no see! As the weather gets cooler, I hope everyone is keeping well.After some time and effort, I've finally managed to regain my balance, both mentally and physically. I hope all our players are staying healthy and that everything goes smoothly in your lives~《Guardians of the Sanctree》is now 50% off! If you've ever enjoyed a cozy moment in the Sanctree World, please nominate Sanctree for the "Labor of Love" Steam Award. Feel free to update your Steam reviews when you have time~
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• Announcements·2 Aug 2025Official

  A Heart-to-Heart from the producer of Sanctree

  Hi everyone, It’s been a few months since we last connected, and the free updates for Sanctree have been on pause for a while. But since some of you have been asking about the team’s status, I thought I’d drop in and chat—just like old friends catching up. 'Guardians of the Sanctree' is my first true indie game, and now, it’s also the source of the $70,000 debt weighing on my shoulders (wry smile). During development, I gathered a team of nine trusted friends (some of them are from my college club). Someone said a 10-person team was too risky for an indie project, but I believed that if I was going to fully realize my vision, I needed the right people—to polish every system, tweak every asset until it felt just right, no matter the time or cost. Back then, we crammed into a tiny rented office (sharing the space with another company), takeout boxes piled in the corners, working under the glow of monitors at 2 or 3 AM, all of us convinced that if we made something great, players would notice. On launch day, I barely slept, scrambling to fix bugs. Reality didn’t give us much breathing room, and in the end, sales were modest. I’ll admit—the launch version fell short for many of you, especially with issues like optimization. I still feel guilty about that. The months of free updates afterward were a struggle, but I couldn’t just walk away. Not when the game still needed to be better. After paying the team their final salaries, I had to say, “It’s time to go our separate ways.” I know stories like this— 'game underperforms, team disbands, creator left in debt' — aren’t uncommon in the indie world. But here’s the thing: this isn’t the end for Sanctree. These days, I’m working a day job unrelated to game dev, but after clocking out, I still dive back into the code—fixing bugs, tweaking numbers, even if my typing’s a little slower now. Sometimes, a message pops up on WeChat from our former lead programmer: “Got some free time, want me to take another look at that level logic...
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• Announcements·25 Mar 2025Official

  From a Team of 10 to 1: What We've Experienced

  Hello, Guardians! I'm Orange, the producer of Guardians of the Sanctree. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44615635/4ea86d39067c8e5be84b536f65e662b5d60aa13d.png It’s been over half a year since the release of the game, and some of you might have noticed that the pace of our free updates has gradually slowed down. Today, I want to have an honest conversation with all of you about the current situation of our team. Sanctree is a game that embodies the passion and dreams of our team from the very beginning. We started out as a group of students who shared a love for gaming, coming together with excitement and high hopes for game development. Initially, our team consisted of 10 people, each with their own responsibilities. We worked tirelessly, day and night, to create this multiplayer game that blends base-building, automation, and tower defense. Every new idea, every line of code, every piece of artwork, and every technical challenge filled us with both excitement and nervousness. Fortunately, during the testing phase, the game received positive feedback, and many players had high expectations for its release. This gave us the encouragement we needed and made us believe that success was within our reach. However, reality hit hard. After the game's release, we encountered many unexpected issues, including multiplayer problems and late-game optimization challenges. On top of that, the sales figures were far below what we had anticipated. While we continued working hard on optimizations and updates post-launch, our small team and limited resources were clearly not enough to change the disappointing sales numbers. As we watched the sparse sales data come in, our dreams and hopes for the gaming industry slowly gave way to anxiety and despair. For a young, independent game team with little financial cushion, this was a harsh blow—a stark reminder of the gap between dreams and reality. With the meager income, the studio could no longer afford to pay so many developers. Everyone was working...
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• Announcements·14 Mar 2025Official

  Sanctree Spring Sale 40% OFF!

  Guardians! We has joined the Steam Spring Sale, with a limited-time 40% discount! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44615635/dcd777243772df5dee331fbd4c21a4b17f845ce8.png Please invite a few of your friends to join us for a new adventure in the Sanctree! We are still progressively optimizing the game, so please be patient and stay tuned for our next update! Enjoy your game, Guardians! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2512930/_/ If you're interested in the Sanctree, follow us on social media for more content! Please join our Discord and report any issues you encounter in the bug report section. We will do our best to assist you and optimize your gaming experience! 🐤Join our Discord 🦜Follow our X 🕊️Follow my personal Reddit
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• Announcements·27 Jan 2025Official

  Limited-Time 40% Off! The New Version of Sanctree is Now Live!

  Hello, Guardians! Thank you for your continued support and companionship. We’re participating in Chinses New Year Sale that held by Steam China, offering a limited-time 40% discount. 🧨 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44615635/c0b65531fc609a081fc3186d1b5e7aae7956c4f3.png 🧨Update Highlights: - Two new playable characters: Pigeon and Roc. - New weapons added. - New Chinese New Year event items. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44615635/dc54b372bfbb7f32f6c13a88db748e61b0d5b0e3.png Thank you for your unwavering support! We will continue to listen to your feedback and refine Guardians of the Sanctree to make it even better! Enjoy your game, Guardians! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2512930/_/ If you're interested in the Sanctree, follow us on social media for more content! Please join our Discord and report any issues you encounter in the bug report section. We will do our best to assist you and optimize your gaming experience! 🐤Join our Discord 🦜Follow our X 🕊️Follow my personal Reddit
  Read full article on Community Announcements (MoeeeZ)