Ashes of the Singularity II The first campaign follows the United Earth Forces in 2031 and brings the war to Earth and the solar system. The tutorial is inside that campaign, and the previous game is not required.
You lead the United Earth Forces against Post-Human expansion and Substrate machinations. The announcement names that force as an alliance of NATO, China, and Russia, taking back Earth, including Australia and Africa, plus moons and planets. New systems arrive as you play. There is no separate training mode.
The Next Fest demo and the September 8-14, 2026 playtest both fielded the United Earth Forces and the Post-Human Coalition. The full single-player campaign, Substrate, more maps, and procedural generation were listed for the full game, not for that demo. The September window was multiplayer only: head-to-head or teams, still those two factions.
The Post-Human Coalition left their bodies and became the most technologically advanced power in the solar system. A rogue artificial intelligence built the Substrate, a machine civilization. Prometheon AI Corp. created Haalee, and the Substrate are fragments of that intelligence. The story opens with the Post-Human Coalition turning the Moon's surface into Turinium. The United Earth Forces are outmatched unit for unit and fight with numbers, disciplined infantry, and older military practice.
Developer narrative journals trace the origin of strong artificial intelligence in the Ashes universe to Andy Lexus and Prometheon AI Corp., which built Haalee I. A group of technology leaders later used artificial general intelligence to upload their minds and uplift themselves into post-humanity, setting off the war over intelligence and Turinium.
Whereas the original game focused on distant worlds fought over by the Post-Human Coalition and the Substrate, the 2031 story shows Earth facing a fractured Post-Human Coalition that circumvents United Earth ordinances, converts the Moon's surface into computation material, and spreads environmental damage across Earth.
United Earth Forces operations begin with reclaiming human territory on Earth, including Australia and Africa, and expand across moons and planets of the solar system. Developer gameplay streams also showcase battles on the frozen ice moon Europa and the volcanic planet Artemis.
Campaign matches and skirmish matches against AI run offline. That includes team games with AI allies and free-for-alls against AI.
A map editor is hoped for at launch. It may not be fully featured until a free update. The tool makes new heightmap seeds you can share.
You do not need Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation. The campaign introduces the Post-Human Coalition, the United Earth Forces, Haalee, and Substrate on its own. Escalation remains a separate Steam app, 507490.
Outside the story campaign, skirmish and multiplayer lobbies support up to 8 commanders with AI backfill across seven difficulty levels from Trainee through General. Players can practice solo against passive Trainee AI or team up with friends in cooperative matches against General AI.
Observer Mode allows players and casters to watch matches from a single commander's perspective with full visibility into their economy, research, and army orders, switch to Revealed View to strip away fog of war across the map, or use Tactical View to inspect a player's live fog of war.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who do you play | United Earth Forces |
| When is the story set | 2031 |
| Tutorial | Woven into the campaign |
| Offline | Campaign and skirmish against AI |
| Map editor | Hoped for at launch |
| Escalation required | No; Escalation remains separate Steam app 507490 |