The Balancing Monkey Games team has grown! Introducing our new Community Manager - @blubre.bsky.social 🥳 We're so excited to have her tagging along on our journey of developing Beyond These Stars. You'll mostly find her maintaining our friendly community in our Discord - go say hello! 🧡

NZGDC 2025 may be over for another year, but you can still catch the talks online! We were so excited to see that all the talks from NZGDC are now available to watch online! Including three presentations from four of us here at Balancing Monkey Games 👀 Check out the thread below! 👇

Thanks for the feature of Beyond These Stars, Rock Paper Shotgun! ❤️ www.rockpapershotgun.com/batman-good-...

That's a wrap on #NZGDC 2025! 🥳 We had such a wonderful time reconnecting with our industry community and soaking up as much wisdom as we could from the talks we attended. Lastly, we want to extend a huge thank you to the @nzgda.bsky.social and volunteer team for making this event happen! 👏

We're coming to NZGDC in Wellington! 🎉 We're so excited to catch up with our wonderful NZ game industry community and absorb all the knowledge from the speakers - and on that note! A few of us will be presenting this year! 👀 Want the details? Read below 👇

The Made in New Zealand Steam Sale is back for 2025! 🤩 We're so excited to have 'Before We Leave' and our upcoming 'Beyond These Stars' featured alongside so many wonderful NZ-made titles 🧡 Check it out! store.steampowered.com/sale/nzgames...

Interested? Apply here! 👉 www.balancingmonkeygames.com/articles/wer...

It's Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week! ❤️🖤 This week isn't just a celebration, it's an important reminder of the great taonga Te Reo is to all of us. We're all on our journeys to learn more. Some of us are beginning, some are reconnecting; but every step counts! #tewikiotereomāori

"Beyond These Stars represents evolution in city-building design. Instead of treating the environment as an obstacle to overcome, it makes the environment a character to befriend." We got all choked up reading this article! Thank you for your kind words! 🧡 totalapexgaming.com/simulation/b...

"As this genre continues to evolve and iterate on itself, it's fascinating to see how a whole new entity can make its mark via a game that's as much a galaxy-wide supply chain simulator as it is a traditional city management game." Thanks Games Radar! 🧡 www.gamesradar.com/games/city-b...

BMG attended Gamescom! 😱 Sam and Anna presented in the B2B area, where they were able to show the lucky few a never-before-seen section of Beyond These Stars Check out our latest Dev Diary for more snapshots of their time, and our latest trailer! 🤩 www.balancingmonkeygames.com/articles/new...

✨ New Game Trailer Discovered ✨ The latest look at Beyond These Stars just premiered during the Awesome Indies showcase at Gamescom! Check out our updated trailer to see what we’ve been busy working on 🚀⭐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=CduZ...

Scrolling break for a cosy view of our game! 🧡 Pause for a while and enjoy watching the Peeps care for their charming vegetable patches beneath a cosmic sky

A new BMG Dev Blog is here! 👀 We've been pretty busy around these parts, and somehow we're about to be even busier! The calendars are booking up with so many exciting things & you can read about them all right here! 👇 www.balancingmonkeygames.com/articles/the...

TactiCon is almost back for 2025! 🎉 From July 17-21st, you'll be able to tune into a digital showcase of fascinating strategy games and hear from the creative developers behind them - including our very own Sam Barham! 👀

Time for another BMG Character Profile: It's Sarah! Our Producer & Social Media Manager 🤩 Here's your chance to read a hint of her journey into the game industry & even her 'special abilities' like maintaining her sanity as she manages our roadmaps 👀 www.balancingmonkeygames.com/articles/cha...

We tried out 'Peak' by @aggrocrabgames.bsky.social and @landfall.se this week! It was such a great opportunity to spend time together as a team. Of course, many giggles were had...promptly followed by many yells due to falling into the great abyss ⛰️

Tomorrow, here in Aotearoa, we'll be celebrating Matariki! 🌃 We'll be stepping away from the office and using this time to remember the past, celebrate the present and look ahead to the exciting future ✨ Wishing everyone a restful Matariki! Mānawatia a Matariki!

This Pride Month, we not only want to celebrate the vibrant LGBTQIA+ community here in Aotearoa, we also want to shine a spotlight on two incredible organizations doing the māhi to support, empower and uplift ❤️ They are 'Rainbow Youth' & 'OutLine' 🌈 Read more below!

Look here! It's another BMG Character Profile! 🤩 It's Anna, our Managing Director! Somehow she manages to wrangle our stress levels in late stage game production, AND keep up with Xero, AND make groovy presentations! How does she do it all?! 😱 www.balancingmonkeygames.com/articles/cha...

The Peeps found some....glow...sticks...today 👀 (for legal reasons, this is a joke)

Terrible? Never. Whimsy? Always. Balancing Monkey Games reporting for duty 🫡

It's Global Accessibility Awareness Day! 🤩 Today is an important reminder for us that games can (and should) be made for everyone to enjoy! We're proud to be developing a game with accessibility in mind from the start 🧡 See how these studios are stepping up too: ian-hamilton.com/games-indust...

Our team recently visited Tuhura Otago Museum to explore the LEGO exhibition 'Relics: A New World Rises'. Naturally, we couldn't resist some free building! 👀 So behold! Our LEGO interpretation of our Space Whale, Kewa! Thoughts on our 'masterpiece'? 🤔

We're launching a new Dev Blog series! The BMG Character Profiles! 🤩 First up is the newest addition to our team - Laura. She's our new writer for Beyond These Stars, and we're so excited to see where her passion for storytelling takes our story next! 👀 www.balancingmonkeygames.com/articles/cha...

Last week we had the opportunity to all get together as a team, and we certainly used our time together wisely 😉 So did we fill our time in meetings, documentation and code? Not this time! We built the Lego Millennium Falcon! ⭐

To no one's surprise, it turns out that our in-game soundtrack (made by @benedictnichols.bsky.social) is so good that even the trees seem to be 'dancing' now! 🕺

Important Question: If the Peeps were able to wear pants...how would they wear them? 🤔

Happy (belated) International Women’s Day! 🎉 We're so proud to celebrate the incredible women shaping our game industry & inspiring future generations of developers & storytellers! There's also a new blog post to share just for the occasion! 👇 www.balancingmonkeygames.com/articles/for...

Is Kewa “like a ship”?🐋 …well, kind of. Ships typically do not have their own wants, needs, or complex feelings! But we do give players the sensation of passing through space while on Kewa: whizzing around at lightspeed, seeing the planets you're "parked" next to - and so on!

Uh oh, busted 💀

We're hiring a writer for Beyond These Stars! ✨ Are you a thoughtful soul who is passionate about breathing life into video game worlds (and indulges in the odd sci-fi trope)? You could be the one for us! Full info here: www.balancingmonkeygames.com/articles/wer...

You can find our little Trawler boat bobbing out in the ocean, always looking for shells to gather. Its design is a homage to another video game boat. Any guesses to which one that might be? 😊

For those of you heading to #GDC, don't forget the pre-conference Gender Diversity Brunch (the GDC GDB, if you will) organised by the lovely Jenn Sandercock! We won't be there in person, but we are a proud Bronze Sponsor of the event. ❤️🌈 Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/pre-gdc-ge...

This utter finisher on #gamedevfashion week ✨ Proof that we're capable of more than just blue & pink overalls!

Everyone knows there are only two *real* speeds when you're playing a city builder: chill and laid back, and AHHHHGOTTAGOFAST

Our reigning queen of #gamedevfashion week! ❤️

Hello, #gamedevfashion week! Here we are sporting some of our favourite handmade items. Knitting appears to be a theme. ✨

Planets in BTS give access to lots of unique resources - and two different ways of getting these to and from Kewa. 💪 Manual: for shipping precise quantities in ad hoc situations. 🚚 Automated: set it and forget it! Better suited to maintaining an ongoing supply chain.

👯 Our latest developer blog is here! So far we’ve looked at things of a galactic scope; but today we’re going back to our local roots and checking out our quirky little denizens, the Peeps. Out over on our Steam community hub. Enjoy! 💖

Built a spooky house as far away from civilisation as possible, for our more reclusive Peeps. They say they're descended from Romanian nobility. Very exotic! 🦇

Scientists say the humble potato may comprise up to 95% of the average Peep’s diet.

Let's see how it works in reverse! 💓 Left is the original work by our senior artist Tom. Right is after it's gone through the keen eyes & hands of our QA analyst, Nina.

always check your LODs, folks

Cannot wait to see the fits this year! ❤️ Game devs, we encourage you all to participate! And keep and eye out for our own little fashion show 💃

How well do you know your crops? 🌾 In Beyond These Stars, we model Companion Planting! Certain plants are naturally grown best alongside others, and these strategic pairings provide a bonus to output - with the opposite effect for bad companions.

As the focus of BTS, Kewa has to be visually compelling as both a character and a major gameplay element. Our art wizard Tom went deep into the archives to revisit our beloved Space Whale’s visual evolution. It's a great read - check it out! 👉 bit.ly/4aaUQKe

We're kicking off the new year with some fresh playtester recruitment! You play fun game. We learn how to make it more fun. Profit?? 🤝 To sign up: 🔸 Join our Discord (link in bio) 🔸 OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: Select the 'Test Riders' role 🔸 Check the announcement in #bts-updates! 🐋

🎉 12 Days of #DEVMAS 🎉 Day 12: Dev Team Snap Meri Kirihimete! 💖 On that note: we’re taking a short break over the holidays until 14/01 Meanwhile, Before We Leave is 75% off! Get it as a last minute Christmas gift, or if you haven’t yet played it. (we forgive you) ✨ https://buff.ly/49T2Saw ✨

🔭 12 Days of #DEVMAS 🔭 Day 11: Looking Forward (2025 plans or resolutions) Basically only one thing on our mind right now -