Tempest Rising Finally Unleashes the Veti, but Their Campaign Remains Paid DLC

Eleven missions to finish the conflict

The Veti’s Wrath is positioned as the final chapter of Tempest Rising. After the Global Defense Force and Tempest Dynasty campaigns, the expansion changes perspective and puts players in command of the Veti, the ancient civilization whose awakening already played an important part in the base game.

The new campaign contains 11 voiced single-player missions. Its story follows the shattered Veti after the Tempest Wars as they reunite their forces, recover stolen technology and confront corruption within their own civilization. K’uhul the Immutable, an imprisoned former Veti ruler, is among the threats hanging over that reclamation.

Dead enemies become part of the economy

Slipgate Ironworks has not built the third faction by recoloring an existing army. The Veti revolve around subjugation and sacrifice. Fallen enemy soldiers can be converted into mindless Enlightened, which can then be sacrificed during battle to fuel machinery or strengthen Veti warriors.

Ascension Anchors extend that idea into base construction. These structures advance through power tiers by consuming Enlightened, then tether themselves to surrounding buildings to enhance them. Base placement therefore becomes partly about deciding where that additional power should flow as conditions change.

Teleportation, sacrifices and one extremely large machine

The announced roster includes nine primary structures, seven vehicles, six infantry units, five air units, five specialists, five defensive structures, five support powers and one superweapon. The War Ender naturally sits at the top of that collection with its God’s Eye beam and Spike Barrage.

Other units lean more heavily on mobility and internal synergies. The Veti can employ teleportation tactics, while several units can consume sacrificial forces for bursts of additional power. The design is intended to make the third army operate differently enough from the GDF and Dynasty to alter how matches are played rather than merely expanding the selection screen.

Multiplayer does not require the campaign purchase

The commercial split is unusually straightforward. The Veti’s Wrath DLC pays for the narrative content: its 11 missions require both the expansion and Tempest Rising. The Veti faction itself, however, is being added to matchmaking, custom multiplayer and AI skirmish for every owner of the base game for free.

The developers say free multiplayer access to the faction had been planned since before the original launch. Two players who only own Tempest Rising will therefore be able to field Veti armies against each other without either purchasing the campaign.

$19.99 with a launch discount

The campaign expansion is priced at $19.99. A 10% launch discount is scheduled to run from September 29 through October 12. The base game is also due to receive a 50% discount during the same period, which the team describes as its largest reduction so far.

Steam lists ten interface and subtitle languages for The Veti’s Wrath, including French. Full voice audio is listed only in English. The DLC requires Tempest Rising on Steam and remains a PC release, matching the platform availability of the base game.

The date is confirmed; the storefront still has to unlock it

Steam and the official announcements consistently list September 29, 2026. During verification, however, the storefront still described the content as unavailable and treated September 29 as its planned release date. The launch date is therefore confirmed, while actual availability still depends on the Steam unlock.

A demo already provides the first two Veti campaign missions alongside the opening two missions for both the GDF and Tempest Dynasty. It also includes skirmish, custom multiplayer and four maps. That should be enough to decide whether turning defeated soldiers into fuel is an appalling act of ancient warfare or, more importantly for an RTS player, an efficient resource loop.