Roadmap

Last updated: August 25, 2026

Quantum Chess hit 1.0. It's live at chess.quantumnative.io and on Steam, with sandbox, VS AI, ranked online play, correspondence games, spectator mode, puzzles, an interactive tutorial, post-game analysis, and badges. The Alchemy League, a seasonal ladder with experimental rules, opens its first season October 1; the practice queue is open now. Install it to your home screen on desktop or mobile, no download required. Premium subscriptions are live with a 7-day free trial. The fastest way to follow along and get early access to new features is the Quantum Chess Discord. Here's what's shipped and what's coming next.

Accounts & Infrastructure

Accounts, persistent stats, and the foundation everything else builds on.

  • Done
    Accounts & sign-in

    Sign in with Google, Discord, Github. One account across web, desktop, and mobile.

  • Done
    Game history & cloud saves

    Your games are saved. Review past matches, track your progress over time.

  • Done
    Steam account linking

    Link your existing Steam account to your Quantum Chess account. Owners of the paid Steam version can redeem 6 months of Premium from the account screen.

  • Done
    In-app messages

    An inbox at the bell icon in the top-right. Real-time notifications about premium grants, account changes, and other important updates land here instead of email.

Competitive Play

Ranked matches, ratings, and real matchmaking.

  • Done
    Ratings & leaderboard

    Glicko-2 rating system. Separate ratings for different time controls. Global leaderboard.

  • Done
    Matchmaking

    Queue up and get matched against players near your skill level. Ranked and casual queues.

  • Done
    Player profiles & stats

    Win rate, rating history, quantum move usage, game history. See your own and others'.

  • Done
    Correspondence games

    Take-your-time games. Play a move, come back later. Notifications when it's your turn.

  • Done
    Premium subscription

    $6.99/month or $59.99/year with a 7-day free trial. Unlocks the full puzzle library, hard AI, custom AI uploads, unlimited correspondence, analysis with deeper engine evaluation, premium badges, and PGN export. Ranked play is free for everyone.

  • Done
    Alchemy League

    A seasonal ladder that experiments with the rules of quantum chess, on its own rating that resets each season. Season 1 removes merges and adds a phase dial, and runs October 1 to January 1. The practice queue is open now, live or by correspondence.

  • Done
    Badges & achievements

    Earn badges across league, online, AI, and leaderboard tracks, plus hidden quantum feats. Wear them beside your name in matches, on the leaderboards, and on your profile. The full set mirrors into Steam achievements.

Learn & Practice

Tutorials to get started and puzzles to sharpen your quantum intuition.

  • Done
    Interactive tutorial

    Step-by-step lessons covering superposition, measurement, entanglement, merging, and winning. Learn by doing.

  • Done
    Puzzles with hints

    Solve quantum chess positions. Progressive hints if you get stuck. Puzzle rating tracks your improvement.

  • Done
    Puzzle packs

    Themed collections: quantum basics, entanglement tactics, endgame superpositions. Submit your own community puzzles and track their status, score, and replays in My Submissions.

  • Done
    Game analysis

    Step into analysis from any unranked online game, spectated match, or finished puzzle without leaving the live game. Explore alternative lines with a sandboxed lookahead engine.

  • Done
    Custom AI uploads

    Build your own AI and upload it to play as your VS AI opponent.

  • In Progress
    Daily puzzle

    A new puzzle every day. Compare your solve time with the community.

Platforms

Play anywhere. Same account, same progress.

  • Live
    Web

    Play in your browser at chess.quantumnative.io. No download required.

  • Live
    Installable app (PWA)

    Add Quantum Chess to your home screen on desktop, iOS, and Android. Full app experience, no app store required. Same account as the web.

  • Live
    Steam

    The remastered desktop app is live on Steam, replacing the original release. Existing owners got it automatically, with 6 months of Premium included.

  • Done
    Controller support

    Play with a gamepad on desktop and web: navigate every menu, move pieces, split and merge, all from the controller. Button hints appear whenever a pad is in use.

  • Planned
    Native iOS & Android

    The PWA covers most mobile use today. Native app store releases are still planned for the future.

Community & Social

Friends, tournaments, and ways to play together.

  • Done
    Challenge a friend

    Send a private invite link, challenge a recent opponent, or invite Steam friends straight from the desktop app. Configure the time control and color once, then send to as many friends as you want.

  • Done
    Spectator mode

    Watch live games. Spectator delay for ranked matches to keep things fair.

  • Done
    Discord Rich Presence

    The desktop app shows your current activity in Discord — what screen you're on, what game you're playing, and how long you've been at it.

  • Planned
    Friends list & online status

    Add players as friends, see who's online, and challenge them with one tap.

  • Done
    Tournaments

    Different tournament formats. Community organizers can create and run their own events.

  • In Progress
    Discord bot integration

    Tournament announcements in the community server. Challenge friends to a match straight from Discord.

Polish

The details that make it feel right.

  • Done
    Sound effects

    Moves, captures, quantum splits, measurement collapse. Audio feedback for every action.

  • In Progress
    Board themes & customization

    Choose your board colors, piece set, and quantum visualization style. The theme picker shipped with 1.0; the Alchemy board theme is Season 1's league reward.

  • In Progress
    3D board

    Play on a board you can orbit and tilt, with probability rings and entanglement drawn in space around the pieces.

  • Done
    Game replay & sharing

    Step through past games move by move. Share a link to any game.

Want to help shape what comes next? Join the Quantum Chess community on Discord and let us know what matters most to you.