Last November we reported on the first steps for a Face of Mankind rogue server known as Empire Rising, whose minders aimed to “rebuild the game from the ground up, fix a lot of engine related issues, and modernize the game for 2025.” At the time of reporting, the server’s operators discussed a rough testing outline and plans for the launch of two versions of the game: the multiplayer revamp Empire Rising and the single-player Face of Mankind Classic.

It’s (naturally) the multiplayer title that we’re focusing on thanks to the first quarterly update of 2025 from the server, which notes a wide assortment of restored functions including character customization, multiple working worlds, weapons and armor, the apartment system, and production and mining features, among several other things.

The test is currently in a closed “phase II” build that right now has “just under 100 players running around in the world of global dominion.” That appears to be the current state of the server going forward; according to another reply, testing will remain closed without any sort of closed or open beta, though the server is eyeing a full release sometime this August.