Dinolords is playable at Tokyo Game Show 2026 in a Japanese build, with development updating from a closed alpha test before it enters early access on Steam. The studio is reworking the tutorial after the alpha test showed early dropout.
Dinolords is a Viking-dinosaur action strategy game from Northplay and Ghost Ship Games. A closed alpha test with 5,000 participants ran before early access, and it showed high engagement after the opening but a 50 percent early dropout rate that the studio traced to tutorial issues. The team said it was improving the tutorial before early access on Steam begins.
By Tokyo Game Show 2026, players could try the Japanese build at the venue. The studio calls the game "hack-and-strategy": real-time strategy, base building, and action combat in one. Players control only the lord, not whole armies. Human and dinosaur units run on separate resources. A captive Tyrannosaurus can be freed and ridden. Northplay CEO Michael Flarup, CTO Ulrik Damm, and programmer Kasra Tahmasebi spoke with 4Gamer about the build and the design.
The combat role of the lord and the split resource lines separate Dinolords from the army-wide control standard for RTS games, according to the hands-on report. The alpha test and the Tokyo Game Show build together frame the current picture: the core loop and unit design are set, the tutorial is still being fixed, and the early access build has not yet launched.
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Sep 20
Northplay's Dinolords mixes real-time strategy, base building, and action combat; the studio calls it "hack-and-strategy." The Japanese build was playable for the first time at Tokyo Game Show 2026. Players control only the lord, not whole armies, produce human and dinosaur units with separate resources, and can free a captive Tyrannosaurus and ride it. Northplay CEO Michael Flarup, CTO Ulrik Damm, and programmer Kasra Tahmasebi spoke with 4Gamer at the venue.
Jul 13
Ghost Ship Games and Northplay released a making-of video for Dinolords, a Viking-dinosaur action strategy game. A closed alpha test with 5,000 participants saw high engagement but a 50% early dropout rate due to tutorial issues. The team is improving the tutorial before early access on Steam begins soon.