Thronefall has launched on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, expanding the minimalist kingdom-defence strategy game’s console footprint. It is also available through Xbox Game Pass from launch on Xbox platforms. At the same time, its first expansion, Craaghelm, has arrived for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, taking the game’s build-by-day, defend-by-night structure beneath the mountains for a dwarven stand against a mechanical force.
The base game is already available across Steam, Epic Games Store, Nintendo Switch, mobile, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Craaghelm is priced at £8.99 in the UK, $9.99 in the US, and €9.99 in Europe. A Nintendo Switch edition of the DLC is planned for a later date, though no release date has been specified.
For a game built around keeping strategic decisions readable rather than burying them beneath a mountain of menus, Craaghelm’s new setting is fittingly direct: a dwarven kingdom needs defending from an enemy faction called the Constructs. The expansion supplies eight maps, additional units, summonable heroes, perks and mutators, creating a substantial new set of variables for players who have already learned to make the most of Thronefall’s central loop.
A compact strategy game, now on current consoles
Thronefall’s core premise combines several familiar strategy-game components: construction, economy management, research and direct combat. What makes its approach distinctive is the stated minimalist framing. Rather than positioning itself as a sprawling kingdom simulator, it asks players to grow a modest settlement during the day and survive attacks at night.
That day-and-night division is an immediately understandable strategic rhythm. Daytime is the preparation phase: a player weighs how to develop the kingdom, where to place its resources, and what to research. Nighttime puts those choices under pressure, turning the settlement’s layout and investment priorities into a defence against incoming enemies.
In practical terms, the format means choices are not merely cosmetic city-building decisions. Spending on growth, defence, research or a particular unit can shape how prepared a kingdom is when the attack begins. Direct combat adds another layer, because the player is not positioned only as an all-seeing planner; they also take an active role in the battle.
The new PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions bring that loop to players who prefer to manage their kingdoms from the sofa—or, more realistically, from the exact spot where they will insist they absolutely had enough defences before the entire plan acquired teeth and started walking toward the gates.
Xbox Game Pass availability is especially notable for people already subscribed to the service. It gives those players a route into the base game without a separate purchase. The announced information does not state that Craaghelm is included with Game Pass, so the expansion should be treated as a separate paid release unless platform storefront details say otherwise.
Related coverage includes Thronefall Reaches PS5 and Xbox Series X|S as Craaghelm Expansion Arrives.
What Craaghelm adds
Craaghelm moves Thronefall into a mountainous dwarven setting and introduces the Constructs, a new mechanical enemy faction. The DLC’s headline additions are eight maps, along with new units, heroes, perks and mutators.
- Eight new maps: New battlefields expand the places and conditions in which players build and defend their kingdoms.
- New units: Axe Throwers, Airships and Automatons join the available forces.
- New summonable heroes: The Technician, Siege Engineer and Dwarven Spirit Warriors can be called into the fight.
- The Constructs: A new mechanical enemy faction serves as the expansion’s opposing force.
- Perks and mutators: Additional modifiers and build-shaping options broaden the ways a player can approach a map.
Several of those additions suggest different strategic roles, though exact abilities and statistics have not been detailed. Axe Throwers clearly evoke ranged dwarven troops, while Airships point to a force that may operate differently from ground-bound units. Automatons also reinforce the expansion’s machinery-focused identity. Their precise tactics will depend on how they function within Thronefall’s systems, so prospective players should avoid assuming specific ranges, movement rules or combat interactions that have not been outlined.
Terms to know: perks, mutators and summonable heroes
Perks generally refer to special advantages that alter a player’s options or strengthen a particular style of play. In a strategy game, that could mean a benefit connected to economy, building, research, combat or units—but Craaghelm’s exact perk effects have not been specified.
Mutators are modifiers that change a scenario’s rules, conditions or balance. They can make a familiar map play differently by altering the problems a player needs to solve. The announcement confirms their inclusion but does not enumerate individual mutators or explain whether they are chosen by players, tied to maps, or unlocked in a particular way.
Summonable heroes are named allied figures a player can bring into battle. The three newly named additions are The Technician, Siege Engineer and Dwarven Spirit Warriors. They should not be confused with ordinary units: the wording identifies them as heroes and indicates that their arrival is summoned, but provides no further details on costs, timing, limits or powers.
That distinction matters because each category affects planning in a different way. Units establish the forces available to a kingdom, heroes may provide more distinctive battlefield options, and perks or mutators can change the strategic frame around them. Together, those tools could make Craaghelm more than simply an eight-map pack; it appears designed to add fresh choices to the decisions players make before and during each defence.
Why the mechanical theme matters
The base game’s broad premise is a humble kingdom facing nightly danger across changing maps and conditions. Craaghelm gives that structure a more focused thematic identity: dwarven defenders versus the Constructs. A mountain environment, engineering-flavoured heroes and a mechanical enemy faction all point in the same direction without changing what Thronefall fundamentally is.
The Technician and Siege Engineer are particularly notable names because they align with a strategy game about building, improving and defending. That does not establish what either hero does in play, but it does make Craaghelm feel oriented around tools, construction and siegecraft rather than simply placing a dwarven coat of paint over existing encounters. Dwarven Spirit Warriors add a contrasting supernatural element to that industrial setup.
Meanwhile, the Constructs provide a clear new opponent identity. Enemy factions matter in defence-focused games because the attacking side defines the threat a player prepares for. However, no specific Construct enemies, attack patterns, weaknesses or boss encounters have been detailed. The useful takeaway is that Craaghelm has a newly identified adversary faction, not that it necessarily rewrites every system in the original game.
Who the release is for
For newcomers on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S, the base game is the starting point. Its mixture of construction, resource-minded management, research and active combat offers a strategy experience that is intentionally more streamlined in presentation than a large-scale kingdom-management game. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can access the base game as part of that service from day one.
For existing players on PC and the newly supported console platforms, Craaghelm is the expansion to consider. Its eight maps and new strategic components are aimed at extending the game’s map-by-map defensive challenges. Since it has been positioned as the first DLC expansion, it is also the first paid add-on to carry Thronefall beyond its original set of choices.
Nintendo Switch players can currently play the base game, but will need to wait for Craaghelm. No Switch DLC date has been announced. Mobile players are likewise included among the platforms for the base game, while Craaghelm has only been confirmed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S at launch, with Switch coming later.
PC players looking for more compact and unusual projects can also keep an eye on our coverage of FLESHBAG, a PC physics sandbox built around a sentient voxel test subject.
A growing audience for a deliberately focused format
Thronefall has sold more than 2 million units, a significant milestone for a game whose pitch rests on reducing a broad strategy fantasy to a concentrated daily cycle of building and defending. That figure provides context for why the game is now reaching PS5 and Xbox Series X|S and why its first DLC arrives alongside those versions.
The launch creates a simple set of options. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S players can now pick up the base game; Xbox players can access it through Game Pass; and PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S owners can purchase Craaghelm for £8.99 / $9.99 / €9.99. Switch players have the base game now and a confirmed, if undated, Craaghelm release to anticipate.
Most importantly, Craaghelm does not appear to abandon the approachable structure that helped define Thronefall. It expands that structure with more maps, another faction and additional tools, then lets a dwarven kingdom try to withstand a mechanical army. For a game about making lean plans under nightly pressure, that sounds like an appropriately sturdy new problem to solve.
