Songs of Silence goes free on Epic as Update 1.5 targets multiplayer’s biggest pain points

Why this Songs of Silence drop actually matters

Songs of Silence is doing something smart: it’s going free on the Epic Games Store from November 13-20, and it’s dropping a multiplayer-focused Update 1.5 on the same day. That combo caught my attention because this hybrid strategy game (turn-based overworld with real-time battles) lives or dies on whether people can actually find good matches. A fresh influx of players plus a reworked lobby is the right kind of one-two punch.

• Epic free week runs November 13-20; PC players can play together across storefronts, according to Chimera.
• Update 1.5 adds a rebuilt multiplayer lobby, spectator mode, faction tutorials, a map selector, and QoL fixes.
• Chimera cites community feedback and a recent player survey as the driver for these changes.
• The real test: stability, matchmaking quality, and whether the free week builds a lasting player base.

Breaking down the announcement

Chimera Entertainment says Songs of Silence will be free on Epic from November 13 to 20 to celebrate the first anniversary of its 1.0 release. The studio notes that “all the players on PC will be able to play together,” which reads like cross-storefront multiplayer between Steam and Epic (and any other PC platforms it’s on). That’s essential: splitting a niche strategy audience across stores is a concurrency killer.

Update 1.5 is squarely aimed at multiplayer friction. The new lobby system lets you browse and join any available online match; defeated players can stick around and spectate instead of immediately bailing; there are four faction tutorials to onboard new blood; and a map selector with a refreshed UI should make skirmish nights less fiddly. Chimera says many of these changes came directly from a recent player survey, which tracks with the studio’s “built with the community” pitch. They’re also thanking 120,000 players for year-one support-solid, if not gigantic, for a strategy title outside the usual heavyweights.

The real story: multiplayer needs bodies and better tools

Strategy communities live on momentum. I’ve seen too many underloved gems fire up once a week for scheduled lobbies because matchmaking is barren. By pairing a free week with a lobby rework, Chimera is acknowledging the obvious: you can’t grow competitive or co-op scenes without easy discovery, drop-in options, and a reason to hang around even after you lose. Spectator mode is bigger than it sounds-it keeps friends in the lobby, opens the door to community casts, and encourages learning-by-watching, which is vital in a game that blends turn-based gambits with real-time clashes.

The missing piece (for now) is clarity on ranked systems, MMR, and server tech. Are lobbies peer-to-peer or backed by dedicated servers? Is there skill-based matchmaking beyond manual lobby browsing? The press note doesn’t say, and that will matter once the free-week surge settles. I’ll take a smart lobby over an opaque ranked queue any day, but long-term health usually needs both.

Onboarding finally gets some love

Four faction tutorials might be the stealth MVP of this patch. Songs of Silence leans into asymmetry-different mechanics and tempo per faction—and that’s exciting until you bounce off a steep learning curve. Focused drills that teach core loops and optimal openings can turn curious newcomers into regulars. If you’ve been eyeing the campaign but felt overwhelmed in skirmish, this is your low-pressure runway to PvP or co-op.

Outside multiplayer, the game still offers a story campaign and handcrafted scenarios. That’s a good fallback if online isn’t your thing, but the 1.5 changes are clearly about shoring up the game’s social spine. The new map selector is a small but meaningful quality-of-life win; groups usually settle into a handful of favorites, and surfacing those quickly keeps sessions snappy.

What gamers need to know before jumping in

First, the free window is November 13-20 on Epic. The announcement doesn’t spell out whether it’s “free-to-keep if claimed” (Epic’s usual pattern) or a time-limited free access week. Expect the former, but wait for the store page to confirm. Second, Chimera says PC players can all play together, which should mean Epic + other PC storefronts. If you’re already on Steam, that’s great news for getting your Epic-claiming friends into matches without headaches. Third, if you tried Songs of Silence at launch and bounced off lobby hassles, 1.5 is the patch to revisit.

Questions I still have: Will spectators have useful tools (player switching, fog-of-war options, timelines), and are there anti-griefing controls for open lobbies? Also, what’s the plan after 1.5? The studio teases “additional announcements in the next weeks,” so we’ll be watching for signs of a roadmap—new maps, balance passes, or seasonal events to keep concurrency up after the Epic surge ends.

Looking ahead

This move is textbook but timely: widen the funnel, fix the bottlenecks, and keep people in matches longer. If netcode holds and the lobby tools do what they say on the tin, Songs of Silence could carve out a healthier multiplayer scene—especially among players hungry for strategy that mixes macro planning with kinetic, real-time clashes. If it stumbles on stability or matchmaking, that new audience will evaporate as quickly as it arrived. The next two weeks will tell us which way it breaks.

TL;DR

Songs of Silence is free on Epic Nov 13–20, and Update 1.5 targets the multiplayer pain points with a rebuilt lobby, spectator mode, faction tutorials, and a map selector. It’s the right play; now it needs stable servers, sensible matchmaking, and a roadmap to make the free-week bump stick.