Developer TLR Games and publisher Joystick Ventures has announced that Runeomicon, a dark fantasy tower-defense game where players draw ancient runes to defend and complete an unholy ritual, will launch on PC via Steam on September 16, 2026.
In Runeomicon, players are the villain of the story. After villagers destroy their family, the wizard turns to the Runeomicon, an ancient spellbook, and begins a dark ritual to summon Ilur, the Goddess of Death, and exact their revenge, according to a press release.
The ritual must be performed by hand. Players draw increasingly complex runes in real time to generate arcane energy while waves of peasants, priests, knights, and other meddlesome enemies storm the sanctuary. Complete a rune and claim its power. Fail it and gain nothing. Every second spent drawing is another second the enemy gets closer. It’s a frantic race to generate enough arcane energy to complete the ritual.
As players get further into the ritual, increasing waves of peasants, priests, and knights fight to stop it. To hold them back, players must turn to the Runeomicon to deploy towers, cast spells, summon eldritch creatures, and strengthen their defenses. Reaching Ilur means surviving seven worlds, mastering five levels of runes, and awakening six ancient gods, each with a unique challenge to overcome and three distinct magical abilities to wield during the ritual.
Each successfully summoned god also brings new defenses, upgrades, and tactical possibilities, changing the way the players approach each new world. Back at the dark wizard’s lair, players can also train without a furious mob at the gates, invest in permanent upgrades, uncover the lore behind the ancient gods, and introduce new ways to use the game’s central rune-drawing mechanic.
“Every time someone plays for the first time, they start yelling at the villagers and panicking while drawing the runes. That is exactly what we wanted,” said Arturo Monedero, executive producer at TLR Games, in the same press release. “You are not the hero of this story, and by the time the runes feel like muscle memory, you stop wanting to be.”
Runeomicon will also be exhibiting at the Spain Booth in Gamescom’s Entertainment Area, and the developers will be there throughout the event.