Silica has left Early Access with a single-player campaign, but the buying decision depends on whether you already own it. The November 3 release gives existing owners the complete 1.0 update, including the Centauri campaign, at no extra cost. New buyers now pay $24.99 on the U.S. Steam store, checked November 4 UTC.
The announcement leaves returning players and newcomers with different questions: what returning players can try without another purchase, and what newcomers are being asked to buy. The campaign is the main addition for solo players. It is not a separately priced expansion.
What the campaign adds
According to the developer’s launch post, the Centauri campaign follows the war for Baltarus with voiced mission briefings and dialogue. A planetary map shows territory changing hands between missions. The campaign also introduces the Centauri Jet Bike.
The more practical detail is saving. The developer says players can save and load during a mission, with automatic checkpoints alongside manual saves. For someone interested in solo play, that is a more useful distinction than the version number: the announcement describes a structured campaign that can be interrupted and resumed, rather than just another multiplayer match setup.
Those are announced features, not findings from our own playthrough. We have not tested mission pacing, campaign length or the reliability of those saves.
Martin ‘Dram’ Melichárek / Bohemia Interactive. Official store screenshot; build and capture date unspecified, not verified campaign footage.
Multiplayer changes, without rewriting the co-op history
Silica mixes command-level strategy with direct control of soldiers, vehicles and alien creatures. Version 1.0 adds competitive 1v1 matchmaking with faction selection and map bans. Steam Workshop support lets players share sandbox scenarios, while the developer also describes expanded scenario-building tools.
Army-command changes include formations and quicker selection of units of the same type. The studio reports targeting, movement and dedicated-server fixes as well. These are changelog claims, not our confirmation that pathfinding or online stability is now solved.
Co-op Strategy is on the 1.0 mode list, but it is not a new launch feature. The official feed already announced that mode in September. Returning players should separate the new campaign, matchmaking and Workshop additions from systems that arrived earlier in Early Access.
Official general game imagery, credited to Martin ‘Dram’ Melichárek / Bohemia Interactive. Not evidence of final-build performance.
What to check before buying
The U.S. Steam listing checked on November 4 UTC shows $24.99 without a discount. The developer also announces a €24.99 price, but we have not independently verified a European checkout. Old pre-release sale notices should not be read as current offers, and neither figure establishes the price in every region.
Steam lists Windows support. Its requirements still carry an Early Access change warning despite the full release: minimum memory is 16GB, recommended memory is 32GB, and both list 48GB of storage. Treat those as the published requirements, not a benchmark or a guarantee for a particular PC.
For owners, the immediate next step is straightforward: download the free update and try the campaign without repurchasing the game. Newcomers have a broader solo feature set to consider, but a higher entry price and no GameGuideDog verdict on campaign quality or current-build performance. The 1.0 label alone does not settle either question.
Our Valheim returning-player check covers a different full-release decision. More platform coverage is in the PC gaming archive.
GameGuideDog is not affiliated with or authorized by Bohemia Interactive a.s. Game imagery belongs to its respective owners.
