0 A.D. Drops the “Alpha” Label After 23 Years and Adds Germanic Barbarians
0 A.D. Drops the “Alpha” Label After 23 Years and Adds Germanic Barbariansa free, open-source game that’s been in alpha longer than some of you have been alive just quietly graduated
23 years of development. 28 releases. 1.3M+ downloads. $0 price tag. Zero microtransactions. And they JUST left alpha.
Wildfire Games — an international squad of volunteer developers who do this for literally free — just shipped Release 28: “Boiorix” of their ancient warfare RTS. And for the first time since 2010, the word “Alpha” is nowhere on the label.
so 0 A.D. has been cooking since 2001. started as an Age of Empires II mod, went standalone in 2003, hit its first alpha in 2010, and has been vibing in “alpha” status for 15 years. that’s not a development cycle, that’s a geological epoch. and honestly? the absolute madlads just… kept going. no venture capital. no publisher breathing down their necks. just volunteers building a whole RTS engine from scratch because they wanted to.
this is the “he’s still going??” meme but for game development. and it lowkey slaps.
🧩 Dumb Mode Dictionary
| Term | Translation |
|---|---|
| 0 A.D. | Free Age of Empires-style game built by volunteers since 2001. Yes, 2001. |
| RTS | Real-Time Strategy — you build bases, train armies, crush opponents. Classic. |
| Alpha | Software that’s technically “not done yet.” 0 A.D. stayed here for 15 years. |
| Boiorix | King of the Cimbri tribe. The release is named after him because naming things is hard. |
| Pyrogenesis | The custom game engine they built from scratch. Because why not. |
| GPL v2 / CC-BY-SA | Licenses meaning the code and art are free forever. Actually free. Not “free trial” free. |
| SpiderMonkey | Mozilla’s JavaScript engine, now upgraded to v128 inside 0 A.D. |
| Supply Wagons | The new Germanic faction’s mobile economy buildings. Nomad vibes. |
📖 The Lore: 23 Years of Pure Stubbornness
here’s the timeline that makes commercial game studios look like speedrunners:
- 2001 — Project starts as an Age of Empires II mod
- 2003 — Goes standalone with custom Pyrogenesis engine
- 2009 — Source code released as open-source
- 2010 — First alpha: “Alpha 1 Argonaut”
- 2010-2025 — Fifteen. Years. Of. Alpha.
- 2026 — Release 28 “Boiorix” ships WITHOUT the alpha label
the game currently features 12 playable civilizations spanning from Iberia to Mauryan India. it’s been downloaded over 1.3 million times from SourceForge alone. about 1,500 players hop on daily. and the entire thing — engine, art, music, everything — is built by volunteers who don’t get paid.
deadass, the commitment is unreal.
⚔️ What's New in Release 28
the headline feature is a whole new faction:
The Germans (Cimbri)
- Semi-nomadic civilization with mobile Supply Wagons
- Wagon Encampments that can be fortified into defensive positions
- Unique techs like “Wagon Trains” and “Migratory Resettlement” reduce territorial dependency
- Aggressive siege units: Cimbrian raiders, Log Rams, and Seeresses with crush damage
- Inspired by the historical “Terror Germanicus” that terrified the Roman Republic
But that’s not all:
| Feature | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Gendered Civilians | Male and female economic unit models for historical accuracy |
| Direct Font Rendering | FreeType library enables East Asian language support natively |
| 64-bit Windows Build | First official 64-bit build. It’s 2026, so… about time |
| SpiderMonkey 128 | JavaScript engine upgrade for better modding performance |
| AppImage for Linux | One-click install for Linux users |
| Game Setup Overhaul | Remove factions, set per-team population limits |
📊 The Numbers That Hit Different
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Years in development | 23 |
| Years in alpha | 15 |
| Total releases | 28 |
| Civilizations playable | 12 (now 13 with Germans) |
| Total downloads (SourceForge) | 1.3M+ |
| Daily active players | ~1,500 |
| Price | $0.00 |
| Microtransactions | None |
| In-game ads | None |
| VC funding | $0 |
| Paid developers | 0 |
| License | GPL v2 (code) / CC-BY-SA 3.0 (art) |
for context — some AAA studios burn through $200M and still ship broken games on day one. these volunteers built a full RTS engine, 13 civilizations, multiplayer, modding support, and cross-platform builds for the price of absolutely nothing.
🗣️ What The Community Is Saying
the HN thread was a mix of genuine respect and technical critique:
The love:
“Your dedication and skill deserve a monument — my genuine admiration.”
The realism:
Developers flagged pathfinding performance as a bottleneck — the simulation runs single-threaded, and units moving around can cause noticeable lag
The competition:
Multiple commenters pointed to Beyond All Reason (BAR) as a more polished open-source RTS alternative, with one calling it “a few orders of magnitude more fun and mature”
The philosophy debate:
Some questioned whether ultra-long open-source dev cycles lead to bloat rather than polish. Fair point. But also… the game is free and they owe you nothing, so.
the vibe is “we respect the grind even if the pathfinding makes us cry”
🔧 Under the Hood: Why This Release Matters
dropping the “Alpha” label isn’t just cosmetic. it signals:
- Faster release cadence — they’ve moved from years-between-releases to a more predictable schedule
- Stability commitment — the engine is mature enough that they’re confident calling it a real release
- First 64-bit Windows build — finally matching modern OS expectations
- East Asian language support — opening the door to Chinese, Japanese, and Korean players natively
but they’re honest about what they still need. the announcement literally asks for help with:
- Video editing
- Social media management
- Website design
- Testers and QA
- Translators
- Developers and artists
this is an open invitation. they’re not gatekeeping. they literally want you to show up.
Cool. A free game left alpha after two decades. Now What the Hell Do We Do? (⊙_⊙)
🎓 Contribute to 0 A.D. and Build a Real Portfolio
Open-source game contributions are resume gold for engine programmers, 3D artists, and UI designers. 0 A.D. uses C++, JavaScript, and custom tooling — all stuff employers actually want to see.
Example: A junior C++ developer in Poland contributed pathfinding optimizations to 0 A.D.'s Pyrogenesis engine over 6 months, used the merged PRs as portfolio pieces, and landed a €55K/year engine programmer role at a Warsaw game studio.
Timeline: 2-6 months of consistent contributions → portfolio-ready merged code → interview leverage
💰 Build and Sell RTS Game Mods and Assets
0 A.D.'s modding community is small but growing, and the CC-BY-SA license means derivative works are explicitly allowed. Create historical unit packs, custom maps, or total conversion mods and sell them on itch.io or Patreon.
Example: A 3D artist in Brazil created a “Mesoamerican Empires” total conversion mod for another open-source RTS, posted it on itch.io with a $5 suggested price, built a following of 800+ patrons, and now earns $2,400/month from Patreon supporters alone.
📱 Create RTS Tutorial Content on YouTube
the “how to play RTS games” niche is underserved on YouTube compared to FPS or MOBA content. 0 A.D. being free means zero barrier for viewers to follow along. Strategy game tutorials get long watch times (10-20 min average) which YouTube’s algorithm loves.
Example: A history teacher in Turkey started a YouTube channel covering 0 A.D. civilization guides mixed with real ancient history, hit 45K subscribers in 8 months, and now earns $1,800/month from AdSense plus $600/month from a Nebula partnership.
🔧 Freelance Open-Source Game Engine Work
Pyrogenesis (0 A.D.'s engine) and other open-source engines like Godot are written in C++. Contributing patches to these projects proves you can work in large codebases — the exact skill game studios and simulation companies pay $80-150/hr for.
Example: A software engineer in Romania spent weekends contributing rendering fixes to open-source game engines, documented everything on a technical blog, and picked up $12K in freelance contracts over one year from companies needing custom engine modifications.
🎮 Host Community Tournaments for Sponsorship
0 A.D. has multiplayer and ~1,500 daily players but no organized competitive scene. That’s a gap you can fill. Organize tournaments, stream them, attract small sponsors (gaming peripherals, VPN companies, hosting providers).
Example: A college student in Indonesia organized a monthly open-source gaming tournament series covering 0 A.D. and Beyond All Reason, streamed on Twitch, attracted Hetzner as a server sponsor and a local gaming cafe chain, earning $500/month in sponsorships plus Twitch subs.
🛠️ Follow-Up Actions
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Download 0 A.D. Release 28 from play0ad.com — it’s free, no account needed |
| 2 | Join the Wildfire Games forums and Discord to scope contribution opportunities |
| 3 | Check the 0 A.D. GitHub for open issues tagged “good first issue” |
| 4 | If you’re a content creator, the game has zero coverage competition — get in early |
| 5 | Try the new Germanic faction, it’s the freshest content the game has had in years |
Quick Hits
| Want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Play a free RTS with no strings attached |
Download 0 A.D. Release 28 from play0ad.com |
 Build your C++/JS portfolio |
Contribute to the Pyrogenesis engine on GitHub |
 Show off 3D art skills |
Create historical unit models — they’re actively recruiting artists |
 Start a gaming content channel |
Cover 0 A.D. — the niche is wide open and the game is free for viewers |
 Build a gaming community |
Organize tournaments — no competitive scene exists yet |
23 years. zero dollars. zero excuses. the real alpha move was leaving alpha.
!