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Your Ultimate Roguelite Kingdom-Builder Experience
Jump into the kingdom at your very first click. This interactive demo lets you experience the king is watching's signature gameplay mechanic—nothing works unless you're actively watching. Pause, manage, strategize, and thrive in this unique roguelite adventure.
The King Is Watching is a roguelite kingdom-builder crafted by Hypnohead and published by tinyBuild, released on July 21, 2025 for Windows PC. In this deceptively simple game, your royal gaze gives life to industry—without it, peasants stop harvesting and forges go dark. Your decisions, your vision: these are the lifeblood of your reign.
Experience the power of the king is watching mechanic firsthand. Only buildings inside your view work, making strategic gaze management the heart of the gameplay. With each run randomized, learn to optimize your gaze, resource flow, and building placement in this innovative take on kingdom management.
Play the embedded demo immediately—no install required. The demo is the same that was featured in Steam Next Fest and early previews.
Test how your gaze determines every action in the king is watching—expand it, allocate resources, raise armies, and place spells.
With each run randomized, the king is watching rewards strategic thinking and adaptation with fresh challenges every time.
Only buildings inside your view work. Early runs start with just 3 tiles of gaze; upgrades extend it to 6. Balancing gaze, production, and defense is the heart of the king is watching gameplay experience.
Choose whether to focus on farms, mines, workshops, barracks or magic guilds. Train units like archers, mages, and swordsmen. Be mindful—the king is watching rewards strategic layering of resources and build orders.
Random events, boss encounters, unlockable kings and advisors, artifact rewards, and permanent meta‑progression keep each run of the king is watching fresh and engaging.
While the king is watching doesn't support controllers natively, it runs solid at 60 FPS on Steam Deck. With optimized settings, you can extend power efficiency and gameplay time without sacrificing clarity.
The bigger your gaze, the more buildings you can manage simultaneously in the king is watching. Upgrade early whenever resources allow.
Keep critical production buildings within gaze zones. Use SHIFT+drag to move buildings for optimal efficiency—movement downtime is minimal and worthwhile.
Economic stagnation means no gold to upgrade unit limits or spells in the king is watching. Build farms and water wells early.
After each run, use Denarii to unlock advisors, repeatable upgrades, or new kings. Different kings bring distinct powers—choose ones that match your playstyle.
Steam Reviews (~83-84%) with over 1,400 reviews
Peak concurrent players reached
"One of the most unique real‑time strategy games recently"
Players call the king is watching "addictive, strategic, and endlessly replayable" with praise for its fluid performance and innovative mechanics.
As of 26 July 2025, the king is watching continues to grow with average trending upwards and strong community engagement.
Experience the king is watching firsthand with our embedded demo above. Once you feel the royal power of your gaze, head over to the Steam store to buy the full version and expand your reign across multiple kingdoms.
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Join our Discord to discuss builds, share screen captures, and swap strategies with fellow kings.
Remember: in this kingdom, if the king is watching, your domain thrives. If not—well, chaos looms.