Three new birds, two new maps and a MODKIT
To celebrate, Birds of War drops to $4.99 USD, half its launch price
“Game of the Year” – Joe Bartolozzi
“You guys might have something here, this could be the biggest thing. Rip Fortnite. This could be the next Marvel Rivals, I see it. I see it” – LIRIK
“we got Bird Game 3 before GTA 6, and its peak” – Steam User
Somewhere in Australia right now, a magpie is deciding you are the problem. Every spring they claim a tree, own the airspace and swoop anything that comes near it. Today that bird gets a video game.
Join YNG Martyr in-game from 10AM to 2PM Sydney time this Sunday!
Melbourne studio HexNest Games drops Migration 1, the first major content update for Birds of War, the 3v3v3 aerial PvP game that started life as a fake AI meme and has been on Steam since 22 July. In its first month it has sold 17,000 copies and has clocked an 88% positive rating on Steam. Three new birds touch down, two new maps open up, and the magpie arrives in perfect season.
THE NEW BIRDS
- Magpie – the Australian one. Native to HexNest’s home country, feared nationwide for six weeks a year, and now able to swoop and dart at players the way it does to cyclists
- Toucan – an AOE bruiser built around the “Toucanerang”, a boomerang-style spin that carves through anything in its path
- Bat – an assassin class that turns invisible on wall hangs, breaks apart into a swarm, and uses echolocation to track enemies through terrain. Effectively legal wallhacks
The update also brings new passive mechanics to the roster, including Bat hanging upside down off terrain to shield itself.
THE NEW MAPS
- Suburbs – HexNest’s answer to Nuketown. A cosy suburban township built around three main buildings and very short sightlines
- Madagascar – a tropical forest in colours that barely look real, built to show off the Toucan
PRESTIGE
Players who hit the level 55 cap can now Prestige, resetting their level in exchange for rewards. Three tiers are live at launch, running Prestige 1 through to Prestige 3, giving the game’s most committed players something to chase past max rank.
MODKIT AND CREATOR PROGRAM
Alongside Migration 1, HexNest has launched a MODKIT that lets players build their own maps, upload them through Steam Workshop and drop straight into custom game modes. A new creator program automatically reviews player-made videos and grants in-game rewards scaled to view count.
A full development roadmap follows in the coming weeks, covering quality-of-life changes, new game modes, more maps and more birds.
“Birds of War has been out for a month. It’s been such an intense and beautiful process, and now the world finally has a game where you can fight each other as birds. Super cool. Our community has already run esports-style bracket tournaments, and we’ve been genuinely surprised by the amount of mechanics and tech people have discovered, stuff we didn’t even know about. Moving forward, we’re excited to welcome new players and keep expanding our horizons while catering to the community we’ve built so far. We have a huge amount of updates, new maps, content and birds planned, and we can’t wait to release them. Our goal is to compete with hero shooter titles like Marvel Rivals, Overwatch and TF2. It’s ambitious, sure, but the sky is the limit. No pun intended.” say Seaton Rogers, Sam Gordon and Matt Didehvar of HexNest Games.
MIGRATION 1 AT A GLANCE:
- Three new bird classes – Magpie, Toucan and Bat, taking the roster to twelve
- Two new maps – Suburbs and Madagascar
- Prestige – reset your level at the 55 cap for rewards, across three tiers
- New passive mechanics, including Bat hanging upside down off terrain to shield itself
- MODKIT – build your own maps, upload via Steam Workshop, play them in custom modes
- Creator Program – automatic video review with in-game rewards scaled to view count
- Ongoing patches and bug fixes, with a full public roadmap landing in the coming weeks
- Half price on Steam at $4.99 USD, down from $9.99, with regional pricing globally
Any press or content creators interested in reviewing Birds of War can request a Steam key here: http://requestkey.net/BoW
For more information or to arrange an interview with Seaton Rogers or Matt Didehvar, please contact: shari@greatcompanycollective.com.au
ABOUT BIRDS OF WAR:
Birds of War is a class-based aerial PvP game where twelve bird classes battle across multiple modes, including Egg Conquest, Team Deathmatch, Free for All and Infected. Built in Unreal Engine 5, the game combines melee-first, physics-driven combat with proximity voice chat for a genuinely chaotic multiplayer experience, and everything purchasable in-game is cosmetic only.
ABOUT HEXNEST GAMES:
HexNest Games is an independent studio based in Melbourne, Australia. Founder Seaton Rogers is a working Australian rapper known as YNG Martyr. Co-founder Samuel Gordon is a videographer who has shot much of Rogers’ music content. Lead Developer Matt Didehvar is a former professional esports player who competed for Fnatic before COVID-era travel restrictions ended his competitive career. Birds of War is the studio’s debut title, self-funded, self-marketed, and built entirely by this team of three.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Bram Steenhuis
pr@gametaste.nl