At the end of June 2025, we completed an extensive Alpha testing phase for Silberheim ECG, during which we were able to thoroughly test all core features. Our testers were able to play PvP and PvE matches, build their own decks, purchase boosters in the shop, and level up selected cards. In addition, we tested all the important backend services, such as assigning promo cards, account registration and management, as well as our bug report tool. The latter served us well, as numerous bugs were naturally discovered and fixed. But what has happened since then? In this post, we want to give you a brief overview of what you can look forward to in the Beta in spring 2026.

Both the in-game menus and the battlefield itself are receiving an improved design that better captures the atmosphere of the Soul Chamber. The old battlefield was created over a year ago under different premises—at that time, battles still took place on a worldly battlefield. In the meantime, however, we have (initially) moved them to the Soul Chamber, where you compete in "dream battles" as souls of Silberheim. Accordingly, the new battlefield, as well as all elements that interact on it, will be mystical and abstract. In this context, new sound effects are also being developed to further enhance this flair.

The game menus are also getting some upgrades to intensify the feeling of the Soul Chamber even more. Additionally, the menus need to accommodate a variety of new features, which has been taken into account in the redesign. We are particularly proud of the visualization of your soul, which forms the heart of the menu and looks different for every player (and continues to evolve based on play behavior).

To make the different factions equally attractive to play, we have implemented a few dozen more playing cards (aka "memory fragments") since the Alpha. In the Beta, you will then have around 500 playing cards available, with which three of the seven Isdraia factions will be very playable. The remaining factions will follow with several hundred new playing cards in future expansions. Furthermore, based on Alpha feedback, we have already balanced some of the existing cards. However, before the Beta, there will be another major, comprehensive rebalancing. In doing so, we may initially reduce resources somewhat to make deck building for resource decks a bit more accessible.

In the Alpha, we were all friends, but since the Beta will involve a four-digit number of testers, the friends list might get a bit long. Therefore, in the future, you will only have players on your friends list who truly deserve that friendship. You can search for others, send friendship requests, or remove them from your friends list again if they always play their strongest deck against you. If you prefer to challenge strangers instead of friends, you can do so in the Beta with the new matchmaker. You know it from other games: You issue a random challenge, and the matchmaker assigns you a suitable opponent. As long as enough players are available, the matchmaker will try to pair you with an opponent of similar experience level, so you don't always lose to the power players. For this, we collect extensive statistics on your games in the background, some of which will also be visible to you in the main menu. With this matchmaker, you will be able to play PvP in the future even when no friend is online (or you've deleted them all).

We set high goals for the bot early on. We don't want the bot to only work with a small selection of decks or always follow the same pattern, as known from other games. Our bot should function with all decks and exhibit playing behavior that makes it hardly distinguishable from a human player—if at all. Among other things, the bot is intended to become a kind of sparring partner with whom you can test your own decks. To enable the bot to display plausible strategies on the battlefield with the many different cards, we have developed a complex heuristic that helps the bot evaluate the various possible moves. This heuristic already did good work in the Alpha, but for experienced players, the bot became too predictable toward the end. Therefore, we are working on improving this heuristic so that the bot can really crush you in the future. In addition, we are implementing different play styles so that the bot appears more human (sometimes playing more defensively, sometimes more risk-friendly).

Until now, you had to stay fully focused to follow the game. Checking Instagram on the side or reading the Silberheim memories wasn't possible. In the future, however, it will be, as we have implemented a move history that can be expanded on the edge of the screen as needed. This move history shows you all moves made by you and your opponent, including attack targets, row changes, and activated effects. So nothing will escape you anymore. Furthermore, there are now useful tooltips for all playing cards on the battlefield that display which effects are acting on a card or describe exactly what those effects do. This means you no longer have to look things up in the manual if you don't remember a keyword ability at the moment. You can even highlight the cards causing effects on the battlefield. So if you lose now, at least you'll know why!

In the Alpha, only the "Fluxfight" format was available. This is our beginner format, in which you can select 50 arbitrary cards (three of them for the reserve, maximum two copies per card). For the Beta, you will also be able to play our "Evolving" format, in which you must choose 85 cards from the factions of your fortress and your hero (five of them for the reserve, maximum three copies per card). This format has more depth and naturally requires that you have already collected some cards from your favorite factions. But if you have, you can fully exploit the strengths of the respective factions.

For the PvE players among you, we will provide new scenarios in which you can replay old Silberheim memories and thus learn a bit more about the lore. Additionally, decks and playing cards can be unlocked in the scenarios that significantly enhance your collection. In the future, there will be new scenarios with every expansion so that you never get bored. This makes it all the more important to thoroughly test these first scenarios in the Beta and objectively evaluate the fun factor.

Those who played the Alpha know that our playing cards can change through very active use. We are talking about "level cards." These mechanisms have been significantly expanded so that the cards become even more individual and leveling always brings a great surprise. For the Beta, however, there is also a completely new mechanic with which you can upgrade cards (this time in your collection). We don't want to reveal too much here, though, so we can get unfiltered feedback from you in the Beta. To make all this possible, the collection has therefore received some new features to support you in this. So stay tuned—there's a lot coming your way! As you can see, the Beta will offer you an essentially complete collectible card game with some innovative unique selling points that promises hours and hours of fun. We are already looking forward to collecting your feedback and bringing Silberheim into the world together with you.