Independent developer Nice Ride and publisher Playsaurus have announced that Orc Incremental, an incremental auto-battler with RPG elements, is now available on Steam. The game launched on September 8, 2026, priced at $7.99/€7.99, with a 15% launch discount.
Orc Incremental focuses on building and expanding an orc warband through automated battles, strategic formations, card drafting, spells, and permanent progression. Players begin with a small force and gradually develop it into a larger army capable of taking on increasingly difficult enemies.
The game combines incremental progression with auto-battler mechanics. While battles take place automatically, players are responsible for deciding which units and totems to draft, how the army is arranged, and when to use abilities and spells. These decisions become increasingly important as enemies scale and progression slows.
Use code TRYHARD33 at checkout to redeem this offer before code expires again.
Get 33% Off GAMES+ Subscription
Build an Orc Warband
Orc Incremental allows players to build an army from a single grunt into a larger warband made up of different units, roles, rarities, and synergies. New units and totems are acquired through card drafting, with each selection influencing the direction of a run.
Formations can be adjusted to make better use of individual unit abilities, while spells such as Blizzard and Fireball provide additional options during battles. The goal is to develop a composition capable of overcoming progression walls and defeating milestone bosses.
When a run reaches its limits, players can activate Dark Rebirth. This resets the current run in exchange for permanent bonuses and additional unlocks, allowing future armies to progress further. The rebirth system forms the foundation of the game's long-term progression loop.
Orc Incremental also includes offline progression, allowing resources to accumulate while players are away from the game.
New Content in the 1.0 Release
The full 1.0 release introduces several new units, enemies, bosses, progression systems, and quality-of-life improvements.
Four new allied units have been added: the Assassin, Troll, Warg Raider, and Juggernaut. The Assassin focuses on stealth and critical damage, while the Troll serves as a durable tank capable of reflecting damage. The Warg Raider specializes in area damage and can pull vulnerable enemies from safer positions, while the Juggernaut functions as an explosive siege unit.
Chieftains have also been reworked. They now participate directly in battles as battlefield units and feature nine different bloodlines, each with its own signature abilities. These abilities can be activated with the right mouse button. Chieftains also have a Martyrdom passive that activates when the chieftain is sacrificed.
The Blight Tree has been expanded and redesigned into a branching progression system containing 250 upgrade nodes. This gives players additional ways to specialize and improve their armies between runs.
The enemy roster has also been expanded with Cryomancers, Paladins, and Griffons. Three new legendary bosses have been added as further tests of army composition and progression.
Five new totems expand the available card and totem builds, introducing additional unit synergies and strategies.
The 1.0 update also includes improvements to Trials, balance, progression, usability, and general game polish.
A Faux-Retro Pixel Art Style
According to Nice Ride's Art and Programming developer Velasco, one of the more difficult aspects of development was creating the game's visual style.
The team drew inspiration from games of the 1990s, many of which used traditionally drawn sprites that were later scanned and retouched. For Orc Incremental, Nice Ride instead created its artwork entirely in pixel art at a relatively high resolution of 960×540.
The developers described the result as a faux-retro aesthetic that would not have been technically typical of the era that inspired it. The additional art requirements contributed to development taking longer than originally planned, with Playsaurus providing artists to help the team complete the game's assets.
Orc Incremental Features
The game's main features include:
- Building and scaling an orc army from a single grunt into a full warband
- Drafting units and totems with different rarities, roles, and synergies
- Creating formations and optimizing army compositions
- Using active spells including Blizzard and Fireball
- Resetting runs through Dark Rebirth for permanent progression bonuses
- Unlocking new units, challenges, and Chieftain options
- Progressing through offline resource accumulation
- Fighting milestone bosses and legendary enemies
- Experimenting with different card, unit, and totem combinations
Orc Incremental is Nice Ride's debut title. The studio is a remote collective of three developers from different European countries, with a focus on single-player games featuring 2D artwork.
The game is published by Playsaurus, a California-based developer and publisher known for its work in the incremental and idle-games space, including Clicker Heroes, Mr.Mine, Sixty Four, and the PC and console versions of Cookie Clicker.
Orc Incremental is now available on Steam for $7.99/€7.99, with a 15% launch discount.
