Ancient Beast

Ancient Beast
A 2vs2 match in Frozen Skull combat location, v0.3
Developer	Dread Knight / Freezing Moon
Release	12 December 2012; 13 years ago (2012-12-12)
Stable release	v0.6 / 6 June 2026; 5 months ago (2026-06-06)
Written in	JavaScript, TypeScript
Engine	Phaser 4
Platform	Web, Android, iOS
Type	Single-player, multiplayer turn-based strategy
License	AGPL-3.0-only (code) CC BY-SA 4.0 (content)
Website	AncientBeast.com
Repository	github.com/FreezingMoon/AncientBeast

Ancient Beast is a free and open-source turn-based strategy video game developed by Freezing Moon. Players build squads of creatures with unique stats and abilities and battle them in 1vs1 or 2vs2 matches on a hexagonal grid, either online against other players or against AI opponents.

Gameplay

Matches are played on a hexagonal board rendered in an oblique pseudo-isometric projection. Each unit has its own vitals (health, energy, endurance, initiative, offense, defense, and movement), as well as 9 masteries (pierce, slash, crush, shock, burn, frost, poison, sonic and mental) and a set of 4 unique abilities that can also be upgraded. Units range from 7 levels and come in various sizes (small, medium and large). Combat is deterministic and rewards positioning and ability sequencing over random chance.

The game world is split into seven factions based on the seven deadly sins — Avarice, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth, and Wrath — each with a distinct strategic identity. Game modes include standard ranked duels, team battles, and alternate rulesets.

Development

Development on Ancient Beast began around year 2000, shifting quite a lot in genre, with the formula that caused the creator that Eureka moment and finally figuring out the base formula was in 2007 after some interesting events happening, with the project's copyright notices dating from that year. The public source repository on GitHub was created in 2011, and the first public release (v0.1) launched on 12 December 2012. It is written in TypeScript and built on the Phaser game framework, with a custom engine layer for the board, creature rendering, and ability effects. The codebase is released under the AGPL-3.0-only, while the artwork and audio are under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Version 0.5, released on 6 June 2026, added playable AI bots, mobile (Android and iOS) input support, and three new creatures: Cycloper, Bounty Hunter, and Horn Head.

Reception

Ancient Beast received coverage from open-source and 3D modeling publications during its development. In October 2015, the project was featured on the cover and in a dedicated article of BlenderArt Magazine's 10th-anniversary issue (Issue #47), which was highlighted by BlenderNation. Open-source gaming blog Free Gamer also covered the game's milestones multiple times, including its transition to an open-source license, its shift from the Blender Game Engine to an HTML5 prototype, and subsequent updates.

The game entered the Mozilla Game On 2012/2013 competition, receiving an Honorable Mention in the Best Multi-Device Game category. The browser game framework Phaser featured Ancient Beast in April 2017 upon its version 0.3 release, and again in September 2025 as a long-running open-source strategy project.

References

External links

• Official website
• AncientBeast on GitHub
• IndieDB
• Funje