Empires of the Undergrowth (2025) — Free Download for Mac

Build your ant empire by constructing massive nests and complex hierarchies in this microscopic real-time strategy game. Lead different types of warrior ants in brutal battles while workers build a nest and gather resources to expand their base, and protect your queen at all costs amidst all the threats and opportunities of the insect world.

Hundreds of warriors clash in battle. The grinding of mandibles is accompanied by volleys of formic acid. As night falls, workers rush back underground, dodging attacks from beetles, to bring food to the nest. Supplies are running low, and unless they are replenished, new soldiers will not hatch for the ongoing war between the empires of the undergrowth.

- Under your direction, workers will build and improve the nest - starting with the queen's central chambers and moving through a vast network of storage areas, nurseries, and corridors. Explore the entire map of hexagonal tiles of earth and rock in search of food, but beware of the underground inhabitants.

-The outside world is also rich in resources: seeds, nectar, mushrooms, other insects, and even amphibians are on the menu today. The choice is large, but each food source comes with its own challenges and difficulties. Are you prepared to protect your aphid farm from ladybug raids, or are the night predators too great a threat to the fledgling colony? Every decision you make will have irreversible consequences that could lead to the death of the colony if you are unable to react quickly enough to changing circumstances.

-Use different types of ants with different attack patterns, abilities, and evolution options to adapt to the challenges of a particular biome. Nighttime forays are sometimes necessary to replenish food supplies, but careless ants face numerous dangers lurking in the dark. After sunrise, you will have to fight off other ant colonies, invade other nests to get to the queen, and protect your own queen. Be prepared to coordinate combat across multiple underground and overground maps in a constantly changing environment - there is no single path to victory.

The ants rush to the nest from the surface. Not all of them return, but those who do bring valuable food resources that will help strengthen the front with new forces of young soldiers from the nursery, following pheromone marks and performing various tasks along the way. They are the last support of the colony, born with one goal: to hold the front line!

-Plan and set up multiple nurseries, each with its own pheromone group that can be instructed using pheromone tags, rules of engagement, and other mechanisms. Knowing how to manage ant behavior and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each species are key to success.

-The specialization of each pheromone group can be easily changed, ordering a group to do only foraging, only fighting, or a combination of both - in the heat of battle, such an order can be decisive. In difficult times, when the colony is starving and new ants have stopped

Details

Platform: Mac
Size: 5.4 GB
Version: 1.0
Activation: Not required
Architecture: Native
Release Year: 2025
Mode: Singleplayer

System Requirements

OS: macOS 26 Tahoe or later
Processor: Apple Silicon M1 or better
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Apple GPU (integrated)