Horn of the Abyss v1.8 with Bulwark town and Runes skill was released

Author: Liso1 January 1, 2026 5 Comments

The HotA team has prepared a brand-new update for the community: Horn of the Abyss 1.8.0, released as a New Year’s gift. This version introduces two major innovations at the same time.

The most prominent addition is, of course, the new town — Bulwark, the third faction introduced in Horn of the Abyss. Its long and winding journey from initial concept to final release spanned nearly two decades. Now completed, Bulwark allows players to finally experience a faction that has been part of the project’s vision throughout its entire history as well as the Runes faction-specific skill.

Bulwark represents the inhabitants of the frozen island of Vori: Snow Elves, Jotunns, Yeti, and Kobolds, joined by their steadfast allies — Argali and Mammoths. Their bravery and unique abilities, bestowed by mysterious forces hidden within the eternal snows, have become the subject of legends and songs.

Work on the campaign, which will tell the story of Vori from ancient times to the present era of Enroth, is still ongoing. However, the HotA team decided not to delay the town’s release solely for this reason.

The second major feature of the update is the extended event system, designed to give map creators far greater freedom when crafting scenarios. Events and quests can now be created in Seer Huts, featuring complex conditions and a wide variety of effects. By using variables, events can influence one another, allowing player decisions to shape the future behavior of the entire map. A user-friendly graphical interface was developed to create and manage these events. This feature took over two years to complete, and the team is proud to present the results.