OpenFront on Steam

Steam Early Access starts 17 September 2026. That is the client date. It is not a new combat ruleset and it does not replace the free browser game at openfront.io. Wishlist the store page, pick an edition if you want cosmetics and a verified name, and keep playing in the browser until you install.

This page covers benefits, editions, platforms, and how Steam relates to the web. Store URLs and a shorter community blurb also live on Steam store links. Patch rules from 31 July 2026 live on v33. Both sit under the Updates Hub.

Developer / publisher: OpenFront Inc, with Evan Pellegrini listed. App ID 3560670. License for the open-source project remains AGPL-3.0 on GitHub.

What the Steam client is for

The web version already draws on the order of 200,000 daily and 1 million monthly players. Steam Early Access is the same core match — hundreds on a shared map, alliances, gold, nukes — with a boxed install:

• Windows, macOS, Linux, and Steam Deck
• Offline play (the install runs without a connection for offline modes)
• Preloaded assets for faster startups and less jitter far from servers or on older hardware
• Cross-play with the browser on the same account
• Steam achievements, overlay, and a storefront wishlist

Combat math does not fork. Cities still add 250k cap. Port and Factory still share a cost counter. Win is still ~80% non-fallout land. If a number changed, it changed in a patch such as v33, not because you bought a SKU.

OpenFront – Official Early Access Trailer | Steam 17 Sept

Editions

Edition	Price	Included
OpenFront	$4.99	One month of Warlord, unique cosmetics, verified name, custom patterns, offline play, trusted account status
OpenFront Masters	$9.99	One month of Sovereign, cosmetics you do not get on the base edition, plus everything the $4.99 edition includes

Neither edition is pay-to-win. Cosmetics are visual (territory patterns, flags, trails). Verified name is an account badge, not a troop multiplier. After the included month, subscriptions are optional store perks, not a wall in front of public FFA.

If you only want to play, the browser stays free. Permanently. The team has been explicit: the web client is not a demo, is not feature-gated into a teaser, and is not being shut off because Steam exists.

Wishlist and platforms

Use the Steam store page to wishlist and to follow news. Steam Deck is in the platform list; Early Access also funds further Deck optimisation, mobile apps, clan leaderboards, extra maps and modes, and performance work. That is a funding list, not a promise that those items ship on 17 September 2026.

Minimum-class PC numbers from the store: 64-bit Windows 10, dual-core 2.0 GHz, 4 GB RAM, DirectX 11 class GPU, about 1 GB disk. macOS 10.14+ and Ubuntu 18.04+ / SteamOS with OpenGL 3.3 class graphics sit on the same memory and disk ballpark. Treat those as store minimums, not as a ranked-ladder spec. Big maps still reward the v33 performance pass (memory and frame-time cuts described on v33).

Cross-play and accounts

Start a match on Steam, fight someone in a browser tab, use the same account. Clan tags, Ranked 1v1, Ranked 2v2, and public FFA are one pool. Do not buy Masters expecting a private ranked bracket. Do not skip hotkeys because the Steam overlay exists — keys 1–0 still place City through MIRV.

Google login and account usernames from v33 carry over. Steam is another way to sit in the same identity, not a second Elo island.

How to talk about the date without mixing stories

Say Steam Early Access starts 17 September 2026 or Steam Early Access date is 17 September 2026. Do not describe the browser as a wait. The browser is the live game. Do not describe Steam as a different OpenFront with unique troop formulas. If you need community store chatter, use Steam store links and Discord. If you need the July rules patch, stay on v33.

Wishlist if you want the install. Play for free at openfront.io either way. Come back to this page for SKU math; come back to the Updates Hub when you cannot remember whether a change was a patch or a store edition.