'Did I make too big of a game?' Lead designer of sky-high city builder Airborne Empire on wanting to build a 'Skyrim or a Breath of the Wild'-sized world

GamesCity Builder’Did I make too big of a game?' Lead designer of sky-high city builder Airborne Empire on wanting to build a ‘Skyrim or a Breath of the Wild’-sized worldWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: The Wandering Band)

A flying city

Building a city in the sky in 2020’s Airborne Kingdom was a mostly chill experience—while you were in a constant war with gravity as you attempted to expand your city while keeping it aloft and balanced, there were no traditional enemies to fight. It was also a relatively short game that could be fully completed in about 10 hours.

That’s all changing in its sequel,Airborne Empire, which is due out in early access later this year and now has a free demo as part of Steam Next Fest. The once-friendly skies are now peppered with enemy planes, cannonballs fired from forts on the ground, and other airborne enemies to contend with while you grow and manage your flying city.

Airborne Empire - Early Access 2024 - YouTubeWatch On

Airborne Empire - Early Access 2024 - YouTube

There’s also a much bigger world to explore, which means the airborne city builder will take longer to complete than its predecessor. A lot longer. Speaking to PC Gamer, lead designer Zach Mumbach of developer The Wandering Band joked that he was afraid Airborne might be a littletoobig.

“I wanted to make a Skyrim or a Breath of the Wild, this big world where there’s all these secrets to find, and if you look out on the horizon you see something interesting, and if you go there you will be rewarded with something interesting,” he said. But Mumbach is a little surprised how big his own game is turning out to be. Playtesters have already managed to spend around 50 hours in Airborne Empire… even though only about 50% of the game world has been built so far.

“So this is all like dawning on me now,” he said, laughing. “I’m kind of grappling with that. Like… did I make too big of a game?”

(Image credit: The Wandering Band)

A flying city

From my own perspective, Airborne Empire feels big, but definitely nottoobig. I’m only five hours in, not 50, but I’ve explored a lot of the starter continent and I’m itching to fly my growing city further to discover new regions, battle more enemies, and discover new technology—especially the arsenal that will eventually become available.

Mumbach describes some of the weapons I haven’t found and built yet, including freeze cannons, flame cannons, and even a tesla coil that creates an energy field around the hovering city that can zap incoming projectiles.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

“The idea is that there’s gonna be all these different types of weapons, and you’re kind of limited in the number of weapon slots you have,” he said. “So your combination [of weapons] will determine a lot about how you play the game, whether you’re gonna do the really small, fast, quick-strike city, or you’re going to be this huge fortress in the sky that’s moving slow but you have this overpowering arsenal.”

(Image credit: The Wandering Band)

A flying city

I’m most looking forward to having my own fleet of attack planes. I have defense towers that can shoot enemy pilots out of the sky, but currently my own pilots are of the peaceful variety: they can fly their little planes down to the surface world to mine for resources, gather food, and explore ruins. Soon I’ll be able to send them out to dogfight with air-pirates. My beautiful city will be like a flying aircraft carrier. Hell, yeah.

“A lot of the game is balancing out how many attack planes you have, how many enemy targets are there, how many planes do you send to each target,” Mumbach said. “And so then there’s the strategy of how you maneuver your city. Are you going to engage a bunch of these things at once [or are you] going to try to come in and kite certain enemies, and try to do it that way?”

(Image credit: The Wandering Band)

A flying city

A new trailer for Airborne Empire premiered today at the Glitch Future of Play showcase, and you can check it out above. You can try the new demoon Steam.

More about city builderI played a whopping 23 city builders in 2024, and here are my 5 favoritesBest City Builder 2024: Manor LordsLatestTikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ itSee more latest►

More about city builderI played a whopping 23 city builders in 2024, and here are my 5 favoritesBest City Builder 2024: Manor Lords

More about city builder

I played a whopping 23 city builders in 2024, and here are my 5 favoritesBest City Builder 2024: Manor Lords

A city near a waterfall

I played a whopping 23 city builders in 2024, and here are my 5 favorites

Best City Builder 2024: Manor Lords

LatestTikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ itSee more latest►

Latest

TikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ it

A phone displaying the TikTok logo in front of the US flag.

TikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ it

See more latest►

Most PopularToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funnyDeus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’It seems like Square’s finally consistently taking the PC ports of Final Fantasy seriouslyLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hopeThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era ChicagoPath of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanicsAlan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term ‘4X,’ has diedTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetOld meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skill

Most Popular

Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10

We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funny

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’

It seems like Square’s finally consistently taking the PC ports of Final Fantasy seriously

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hope

The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago

Path of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanics

Alan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term ‘4X,’ has died

Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planet

Old meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skill

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals