From Press Release:
November 12, 2026 – Hooded Horse and Sad Socket are excited to share that their best-selling auto-battling deckbuilder, 9 Kings, has left early access! The game is available in 1.0 on PC via Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store. It is also playable via PC Game Pass.
Pick a ruler and battle through decades of war and strife against endless waves of enemies who vie to become the King of Kings. Harness everything from sentient mushrooms and blaster wizards to kamikaze bombers and undead hordes to repel the onslaught and protect the kingdom. Expand and upgrade a small-but-mighty fortress using a curated deck of cards to adapt tactics quickly and build a strategy across successive engagements.
For the full release, the game comes with four distinct modes, including the all-new Joker mode that lets players set the rules of play and build a custom nine-card starting deck drawn from all Kings. The 1.0 update also introduces random daily quests, over 30 new decrees that add wild buffs and modifiers to combo strategies, more powerful rainbow cards, and new perks to explore exciting meta mechanics!
The game is localized from English into German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Slovak, Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Latin American Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Malay, Filipino, and Japanese.
9 Kings is available on PC via Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store for $19.99 / £17.99 / €19.99 / ¥1,980. A 50% launch discount is running for the next two weeks. It is also playable via PC Game Pass. The game is also available on mobile via iOS and Android, published by Playdigious.
Sidekick Publishing is assisting Hooded Horse in the GAS region, covering Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
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About Hooded Horse™
Hooded Horse is a publisher of deep strategic and tactical games, including Manor Lords, Against the Storm, MENACE, Old World, Norland, Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, and 9 Kings. With people and partners around the world, our goal is to empower and support developers in doing what they do best: creating world-class experiences for their audiences.You can find out more about us on our Steam publisher page or website, as well as our social channels: Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, YouTube, and Discord.
About Sad Socket™
Founded by two childhood friends who tried (and failed) to make a AAA game when they were 11, Sad Socket is one of Brazil’s leading game companies, bringing ideas they are passionate about to life. They are a collaborative group that both develops their own games and helps publish other titles from the region by sharing expertise in game design and the creative industry.You can find out more by visiting the official website, as well as Twitter and YouTube channels.
About Sidekick Publishing™
Sidekick Publishing is an indie game publisher from Germany, born out of creative agency INSTINCT3. Drawing on deep roots in gaming culture, community building, and influencer marketing, Sidekick blends traditional publishing expertise with a creator- & community-first approach. The team focuses on bringing unique indie titles to market with tailored strategies that integrate influencer collaborations, community engagement, and bold creative campaigns from day one.You can find out more about Sidekick Publishing on the Steam publisher page and the official website.
