Under the Heavens: Warring States Saga

This is not a story about saving the world.
This is a war story you shape, battle by battle, scar by scar.

Under the Heavens is a choice-driven war RPG set in China’s Warring States, where you rise from soldier to Great General by building a unit, assigning officers, and resolving battles through decisions and dice.

Two stretch goals are down. Next up: Companion Dialogue System.

Play the Prologue demo and add Under the Heavens to your wishlist!

SHAPE YOUR LEGACY WITH YOUR DECISIONS

Every campaign is a series of assignments, skirmishes, and battles.
Each turn of the page presents a choice:

Who do you risk?
What do you sacrifice?

Your officers live or die based on your decisions and the roll of the dice.
Decisions leave a mark, on you and those under your command.

Over time, patterns turn into traits, tactical doctrine, and a reputation that define how you fight and lead.Choices are tracked across 10+ categories throughout your campaign and your evolution is recorded in the Chronicle, a living record of the commander you’ve become.

Your campaign branches and adapts to who you are: Your role in the army changes. The assignments you receive shift. Opportunities open or close based on your reputation.

An aggressive commander leads the vanguard. A defensive one holds the key points. It’s up to you to find your place in war, one battlefield after another.What kind of commander will you become?

RISE THROUGH THE RANKS

Your journey spans an entire military career, all the way to the National High Command:

5-Man Leader → 10-Man Leader → 100-Man Captain → 300-Man Officer → 1,000-Man Commander → 3,000-Man Commander → 5,000-Man Commander  → Great GeneralWith every promotion: Your unit grows, new officers join, responsibilities expand, and political stakes deepen.

Some commanders unify the continent. Most are remembered only by the men who buried them.

BUILD AND LEAD YOUR UNIT

You do not fight alone. Every order you give puts someone else at risk.

Each campaign draws from a pool of 50+ unique officers across multiple roles and specialties.You recruit them, promote them, and assign them to positions that define your strategy. A well-built unit becomes unstoppable. A poorly managed one collapses.Officers can be assigned to specialist roles, each granting unique bonuses that shape your outcomes in battle.

Send your scout ahead, and he may save your unit. Send a cavalry specialist in his stead, and you might never see him again.

When an officer dies, they’re gone forever. Their absence changes your army, your story, and your future decisions. Every loss reshapes the war you’re fighting.

WARS DON'T HAVE SURE OUTCOMES

Victory is never certain. You can prepare, plan, and assign the right officers, and still watch everything fall apart.

Combat is resolved through a roll-based system where fate is never certain:

D20 + Traits + Officers + Preparation + more

Resolutions are influenced by a number of core systems: traits, assigned officers, doctrine, weapons, and battle day preparations.

A single roll can cost you an officer, break your formation or change the course of a campaign. Prepare your army and assign the right officers to improve your odds. 

MEET THE OFFICERS

These are just a few of the officers from a pool of 50+ unique characters ready to make their mark on the Warring States. Original artwork by Milana Fetisova.

LISTEN TO THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

An original soundtrack inspired by the Warring States era, composed to reflect the weight and scale of war by Seagullz.

FEATURES OF THE FULL GAME

PLEDGES & REWARDS

From a nameless recruit to a Supreme Commander, each tier brings you deeper into the world of Under the Heavens.UTH Game Key: You get the full game delivered as a Steam key when it ships, at a price below what it will cost at launch.

• Backer-exclusive Discord Role: Marks you as a founding backer in our community server.
• UTH Digital Artbook: A PDF compiling Anna Jasinski's UI work, Milana Fetisova's character portraits, and concept art from across development.
• Backer-exclusive Soundtrack: The full original score in lossless digital format, 15+ tracks, delivered when the game ships.

• KS-exclusive Player Card Frame and Color: A jade-coloured frame and in-game story color scheme for your commander's profile, available only to Kickstarter backers and never sold afterward.
• UTH Field Guide (Game Manual): A reference document covering the branching storylines and their requirements, every trait you can earn, and the weapons and officers you can acquire.
• Digital Wallpaper Pack: Desktop and mobile resolutions of key character art, scenes, and faction banners.
• Your Name in the Credits: Listed in the Supporters section of the final game.

• Early Access to Beta: Begins roughly two to three months before release. You'll be among the first to playtest the game with us.
• Create Your Own Recruitable Officer (Common Tier): You'll create an officer with us, deciding on name, traits, specialization, and backstory. Common rarity provides a +1 bonus to rolls when assigned to a specialist role. Your officer enters the shared recruitment pool available to all players, but you'll have them in your roster from the start without randomization. Portrait chosen from our existing officer portrait set. (One officer per tier)

• Create Your Own Recruitable Officer (Rare Tier): You'll create an officer with us, deciding on name, traits, specialization, and backstory. Rare rarity provides a +2 bonus to rolls when assigned to a specialist role. Your officer enters the shared recruitment pool available to all players, but you'll have them in your roster from the start without randomization. Portrait chosen from our existing officer portrait set. (One officer per tier)
• KS-exclusive Legendary Weapon: A unique in-game item offering +4 to your rolls during duels and personal interventions. Obtainable only through Kickstarter and never added to the standard game.

• UTH Officer Playing Card Deck: A standard 52-card poker deck, each card featuring artwork of an officer from the game.
• KS-exclusive UTH T-shirt: A backer-exclusive design, not available in any future store.
• Create Your Own Recruitable Officer (Elite Tier): You'll create an officer with us, deciding on name, traits, specialization, and backstory. Elite rarity provides a +3 bonus to rolls when assigned to a specialist role. A commander capable of turning the tide of battle. Your officer enters the shared recruitment pool available to all players, but you'll have them in your roster from the start without randomization. Portrait chosen from our existing officer portrait set. (One officer per tier)
• Exclusive Member of Design Discussion Discord Channel: A private space on Discord where backers at this tier and above see early systems posts, vote on game-design questions, and help shape the game.
• Softcover UTH Field Guide (Physical Game Manual): A reference document covering the branching storylines and their requirements, every trait you can earn, and the weapons and officers you can acquire.
• 3x UTH Game Key

• The Collector's Edition: A physical boxed release with a signed and numbered slipcover, produced in a limited run for this tier only. 
• Create a Legendary Officer With A Custom Portrait: You'll create a Legendary-tier officer with us, deciding on name, traits, specialization, and backstory. When recruited and promoted, your officer provides a +4 bonus to related rolls. The portrait is commissioned through Milana Fetisova as a fully professional character illustration, rendered in the game's visual style. Your officer enters the shared recruitment pool available to all players, but you'll have them in your roster from the start without randomization. (One officer per tier)
• Great General Updates: Monthly emails written for this tier specifically, covering development decisions, sneak peeks, and progress not shared in public updates.
• Producer credit: Your name placed near the top of the credits, in a section reserved for the backers who carried this campaign.
• 3x UTH Game Key

• Create Your Own Military Unit: Only a handful of units carry their own name and banner across the Warring States. You'll create one of them, ally or enemy, appearing in various parts of the story. Decide on its name, banner, and identity. You'll also receive a printed 3x5 fabric banner of your unit.
• Collaborate on a Side Story: The Side Story Arc is a self-contained narrative sequence we build together over 2 to 3 design calls. You shape the premise, the conflict, and the officers involved; we handle the writing and integration. 
• Executive Producer Credit: The highest placement in the game's credits, reserved for the people who made it possible.
• Lifetime Premium Access:Free access to all future story DLC, expansions, and major content updates, guaranteed for a minimum of 5 years post-release.

• Design a Legendary General: A central recurring figure across 8-9 arcs. Shape their personality, backstory, appearance, and command style. Their journey becomes part of the game's spine, and the player walks in their shadow before stepping into their legacy.
• Design the General's Signature Military Unit: Every great commander has the unit that defined them. You'll design the one tied to your General's name, featured in the game as a renowned force across the campaign.
• Design the Legendary Officer Who Leads This Unit: Design The General’s Legendary First Lieutenant who leads the named unit.
• Design the General's Signature Weapon: Name it, shape its history within the world of Under the Heavens.
• Collaborate on the Final Arc: Help shape the closing chapter of Under the Heavens. Narrative direction and final implementation decisions remain with the developer.
• Two Professional Character Portraits: Custom illustrated portraits of your General and your Legendary officer, rendered in the visual style of the game.
• Primary Producer Credit: The very top of the credits, reserved for the single backer who shaped the game's spine and ending.

• Extra Copy of the Game: An extra Steam key for a friend.
• UTH T-Shirt: KS-exclusive Under the Heavens T-shirt. 
• Commander Seal: Your name rendered in Chinese calligraphy, printed as a physical commander's seal and delivered to your home.
• Warring States Style Your Player Portrait: A professionally illustrated portrait of your commander (replacing the default silhouette), rendered in the visual style of the game. Digital delivery.

BUILT BY VETERANS

MY MOTIVATION

Two years ago, I discovered Yasuhisa Hara’s Kingdom. I binged the anime, then devoured the manga. What struck me wasn’t just the battles, but the weight. Promotions feel earned. Losses hurt. Bonds between soldiers matter as much as the war itself.

I wanted to play a game where I could live that experience. Not a scripted hero’s journey, but a military career shaped by choices that scar you and define who you become. That game didn’t exist.

So I’m making it.

Under the Heavens is for players who understand why weight matters in storytelling, and who want their choices to mean more than dialogue options.

I’m not building it alone. Anna Jasinski leads UI and art direction, bringing her experience from Total War: Three Kingdoms and Ori and the Blind Forest. Sandro Gakhokidze leads programming. We’re working with professional composers and illustrators to complete the team.

This is a focused production by people who know how to ship quality work.

WHY KICKSTARTER?

Under the Heavens has been self-funded through prototyping and pre-production. The core systems are built, the narrative is written, the UI is in development, and the demo is playable.

Kickstarter funds the final production push and lets us build a community around the project. Backer feedback during development will help shape the game and capture the weight and authenticity that makes stories like Kingdom resonate.

WHAT BACKERS MAKE POSSIBLE

The $20K base goal funds a complete, playable game from beginning to end: full branching narrative, Unity development, officer management, combat doctrine, weapons systems, reputation mechanics, illustrated key moments, and final polish across the entire experience.

Every dollar beyond that expands the visual presentation and mechanical depth of the game: more illustrated scenes, character portraits, new gameplay systems, narration, animation, and interactive environments.

Most of the funding goes directly into production: artwork, Unity development, and the original soundtrack.