Press kit

Fact sheet

Descriptions

One line

Kestrion is a real-time strategy game where you design every ship you command.

Short

Build warships block by block on a grid, from hulls and reactors to railguns, drones and lightning. Put them into fleets, then lead those fleets into real-time battles against an AI that never cheats, or against your friends.

Long

In Kestrion, the ship you fly is the ship you built. About 80 parts (hulls, armour, engines, reactors, shields, sensors and weapons from autoguns to railguns, torpedoes, drones and the Arc Thrower) go onto a grid, and the builder shows every number as it changes. Fleets of your designs then fight on 30+ maps, from duels to ten-player battles, with capture points, stations, nebulae and gravity wells.

The computer opponents only see and do what a player could; harder levels simply think better. Multiplayer is peer to peer on a deterministic simulation, so every player sees exactly what happened, with Hide my IP to keep each player's address private. Kestrion is made by Lockstep Interactive, the one-person studio of EdenOrchardian, with Anthropic's Claude as a working partner, openly: the vision and every decision are the developer's, and the art and the music are made by code, not generated.

Questions from press

Who is making Kestrion?

Lockstep Interactive, the one-person studio of EdenOrchardian. One developer designs, directs and decides everything, with Anthropic's Claude as a working partner.

How is AI used, and what is not AI?

Openly, as a tool. The developer decides what the game is, how it plays and how it looks; Claude writes code under that direction, and nothing ships without the developer's say. The art is drawn by code, not generated as images, and the music is written as code, not generated as audio. Every release is tested and security-reviewed. The developer's own words are on the home page.

When is it out, and on what?

A free beta has been out since 1 November 2026 for Windows 10 and 11, as a direct download from this site. Linux builds are tested on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE and Arch and come next. A Mac version is planned, and so is a Steam release, with no date yet.

What will it cost?

Nothing during the beta. The full game is planned at 10 €. A campaign expansion is planned at about 5 €, and only the host needs to own it: friends join the host's campaign without buying it.

Are there microtransactions?

No. Nothing gives a paid advantage, and nothing is sold piece by piece inside the game. Patterns for ship parts, such as camo, hex and carbon, are unlocked through achievements. The campaign expansion comes with skins for each faction, chosen before you start; friends can still join a host's campaign without buying it, but the skins belong to owners of the expansion.

Later there may be an optional supporter pack for those who want to support the developer, with the soundtrack and high-resolution art of your own ships. It would never include anything for use in play.

What can players do?

Design ships part by part, build fleets from them, and fight on more than 30 maps: alone against computer opponents at four levels (Easy, Normal, Hard, Brutal), or with friends, from duels to ten-player battles. The computer opponents never cheat: they only see and do what a player could.

How does multiplayer work?

Peer to peer, on a deterministic simulation (lockstep): every player's computer runs the same battle and sees exactly what happened. No account is needed. Hide my IP sends the connection through a relay so other players never see a player's address.

Can I get a review copy?

The beta is free for everyone: download it here. For a key once Kestrion is on Steam, or for anything else, email lockstepinteractive@gmail.com.

Can I interview the developer?

Yes. Email lockstepinteractive@gmail.com, or find the developer on the Discord.

Videos and streams

Yes, go ahead. You may stream Kestrion and publish videos of it, monetised too, without asking first. That includes the game's music. A link to the game in your description is appreciated, never required.

Tell us about your video on the Discord: we would love to see it.

Logo and screenshots

Click a picture to open the full-size file.

Icon, 512 x 512 PNG Battle Ship builder Skirmish lobby Battle Main menu

A zip of everything, a Kestrion logo with the name, and a trailer: to come

Studio logo

Lockstep Interactive: the L and the S lock together. The studio name is pending a trademark check.

Logo for dark backgrounds (SVG, official) Logo for light backgrounds (SVG) Mark, 512 x 512 PNG One colour: white (SVG) One colour: black (SVG) Display version (SVG, 300 px wide or more)

Use the flat logo by default, and the display version only large. Keep space around the logo at least as wide as the L's upright. Please don't recolour, stretch or outline it.

Type: Orbitron Bold (LOCKSTEP) and Orbitron Regular (INTERACTIVE), under the SIL Open Font License.