From Press Release:
April 17, 2026 – Indie developer The Wandering Band and Stray Fawn Publishing today announce the full 1.0 release of Airborne Empire on Steam, as the role-playing aerial RPG-citybuilder leaves Early Access.
In Airborne Empire, players guide a flying city across the skies while uniting distant kingdoms. Over the past year, Airborne Empire has expanded significantly through Early Access updates, introducing a massive biome expansion, Hard Mode, Pacifist Mode, Creative Mode, and a 20-stage Survival Mode.
The 1.0 release adds a brand-new snow-covered biome featuring fresh quests, a formidable boss fight, and powerful new upgrades including a jet engine that propels the city into high-speed flight.
This aerial RPG-citybuilder combines role-playing, construction, and open-world exploration high above the clouds. Players guide a flying city across ever-changing biomes, recruit a cast of avian allies, and unlock upgrades to keep their civilization aloft. But danger is always close—sky pirates threaten to bring everything crashing down.
Airborne Empire is the follow-up to The Wandering Band’s BAFTA-nominated Airborne Kingdom. This new, standalone experience brings expanded world exploration, deeper role-playing mechanics, and colorful characters, as well as all-new combat.
Airborne Empire is available on Steam for $29.99, with a 50 percent launch discount bringing the price down to $14.99. Visit airborneempire.com for more information, and follow The Wandering Band on X and Instagram for the latest updates.
About The Wandering Band
The Wandering Band is an indie games studio focused on creating unique, high-quality interactive experiences that challenge genre boundaries and explore new topics through game mechanics. It was founded by industry veterans Frederik Gareau and Zachary Mumbach in 2018. The founders have decades of combined AAA experience, with work spanning multiple hit franchises like Dead Space, Battlefield, and Star Wars. In 2020, they released their first title Airborne Kingdom, which received a BAFTA nomination for “Best Debut Game.”
About Stray Fawn Studio
Stray Fawn Studio is a ten-person indie game studio based in Zurich, Switzerland and the publisher of Airborne Empire. The studio gained recognition with several strategy and simulation games, especially The Wandering Village, a unique city-builder set on a giant creature. Following its success, Stray Fawn expanded into indie game publishing and is now supporting other developers on their journey.
