Sparrow Warfare Announced — Bird-Filled Deckbuilder Takes Flight in 2026

Public playtest launches next week, with a special developer livestream on September 12

• Sparrow Warfare revealed: A mahjong-inspired roguelite deckbuilder from Copenhagen's NEON AURELIUS .

• Public playtest begins next week on Steam, with early access for press and streamers.

• Developer livestream on Sept. 12 at 5PM CEST to showcase the playtest build.

A New Kind of Deckbuilder

Copenhagen-based indie studio NEON AURELIUS has unveiled Sparrow Warfare , a bird-filled, mahjong-inspired roguelite deckbuilder that blends tile-matching strategy with deckbuilding depth. Players can wishlist the game now on Steam, ahead of its full release on PC and Mac in Q2 2026.

Designer Charlene Putney describes the game as "Wingspan meeting Slay The Spire in a teahouse for a tense game of mahjong. And the teahouse? It's on fire." Co-designer Martin Pichlmair calls it "the best game I've ever worked on."

Playtest and Developer Livestream

A public playtest will launch on Steamnext week, giving players a first chance to experience the game and provide feedback. To kick things off, NEON AURELIUS will host a developer livestream on September 12 at 5PM CEST directly on the Sparrow Warfare Steam page.

Key Gameplay Features

• Mahjong-Inspired Deckbuilding– Combine sets of three tiles under mahjong-style rules to free over 100 different birds.

• Wildtile Synergies– Freed birds grant powerful "wildtiles," enabling over 150 unique combos that reshape each run.

• Modes and Progression– Take on a structured progression system or test your skills in Daily Flight mode with modifiers and global leaderboards.

In Sparrow Warfare , players step into the role of a tiny sparrow resisting The Storyteller , a mysterious foe who has trapped birds inside mahjong tiles. Freeing birds rewards players with wildtiles, the "secret sauce" that fuels the game's metagame of strategy and synergy.

About NEON AURELIUS

NEON AURELIUS is a Copenhagen-based studio founded by industry veterans Martin Pichlmair and Charlene Putney. Between them, the duo have more than 25 years of experience and 20+ released titles, including acclaimed games like Divinity: Original Sin 2 , Baldur's Gate 3 , NUTS , Secrets of Rætikon , and Saltsea Chronicles .

This story was originally reported by GameDaily on Sep 14, 2025, where it first appeared in the Games section. Add GameDaily as a Preferred Source by clicking here.