We Love It's Guide to…
Build a mobile sky city, balance its lift and propulsion, gather resources across an open world, and defend it from pirates.
Released 17 Apr 2026
Balance a Flying City
Scavenge the Open World
Rebuild Ground Kingdoms
Build your sky city while exploring a vast landscape in this Open World RPG City Builder. Combining the methodical construction and management of a city builder; the unique lift, balance, and propulsion needed for a flying city; and the compelling characters, dangers, and adventures of an RPG!
Developed by The Wandering Band LLC · Published by Stray Fawn Publishing, The Wandering Band LLC
Build and guide a flying city across a world of varied regions, scattered settlements, and pirate threats. Meet characters in the kingdoms below and take on quests to help towns and reconnect them.
Expand your city with homes, resource production, infrastructure, and defenses. Gather supplies as you travel, manage the needs of your population, and balance your city’s lift, weight, and propulsion to keep it aloft.
Explore, trade, and research technologies that unlock new buildings, upgrades, and weapons. Defend against pirate attacks and hunt their outposts; choose story-focused play, combat-free Pacifist Mode, escalating Survival Mode, or unrestricted building in Creative Mode.
Players who enjoy the game often praise its relaxed city-building and the distinctive challenge of designing a city that flies. Exploration, the scenery, and the charming characters and soundtrack also come up as highlights. Some reviewers find the combat repetitive, and others criticize the slow pace, repetitive quests, or shallow city-management systems.
Airborne Empire is a one-of-a-kind Open World RPG City Builder. Build and grow your own city in the skies and keep it aloft by managing its lift, balance, and propulsion.
Shape and grow your own unique flying city
Manage lift, balance, and propulsion to keep your city airborne
Organize your city’s defenses and abilities to defeat pesky pirates
Balance resources, infrastructure, and the needs of your people
Traverse a vast open world full of dangers, exotic wonders, and many hidden treasures.
Travel across 5 diverse biomes such as the lush Aeyrie, volcanic Blackspine and snowy Kingsfell
Discover distant kingdoms and forgotten settlements scattered across the lands
Meet quirky characters, uncover their stories, and trade with them
Complete quests that help liberate towns and rebuild connections between kingdoms
Sky pirates are threatening the fragile peace. Defend your people and hunt down enemy outposts across the world.
Build defensive structures to fend off pirate attacks
Use a variety of offensive weapons such as Freeze Cannons, Tesla Cannons and Aircrafts
Track down pirate outposts and destroy their bases
Protect the kingdoms below from an assortment of pirate enemies
Research, unlock and uncover all kinds of new technology to expand your flying city.
Unlock new lift, propulsion, and morale buildings
Develop new abilities and weapons tools to defend your city against pirate threats
Research upgrades that improve your city and enrich the lives of its citizens
Discover relics and hidden technologies across the world
Airborne Empire offers multiple ways to experience life in the skies depending on the challenge you seek.
Survival Mode challenges players to survive 20 escalating stages of pirate attacks
Pacifist Mode allows players to focus on exploration and city building without combat
Hard Mode offers a more difficult challenge with custom difficulty sliders
Creative Mode offers unrestricted building for players who want to experiment freely
| Platforms | Windows, macOS |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 25 |
| Age ratings |
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| Controller required | No |
| Website | Official website |
