Goals, Boosts & Bigger TV Empires

Hey folks! 👋

The fifth major Endless TV Tycoon update of 2026 is live!

Version 2026.5 is one of the biggest gameplay updates I’ve released in quite a while. Its main purpose is simple: to give you a clearer sense of what you might want to do next, make progress more rewarding, and give long-running TV empires much more room to grow.

At the heart of the update are three connected systems: Goals, XP, and Boosts.

Let’s take a look…

A Clearer Sense of What to Do Next

The new Goals system gives you short, recommended objectives based on the ventures you currently operate.

You might be encouraged to develop a new Show, produce stronger Episodes, climb the charts, manage your Network schedule, complete Ad contracts, or pursue one of many other objectives.

Once the introductory Goals are complete, you’ll normally have three active Goals. Completing them earns XP, and more demanding Goals may also reward you with Boosts.

Goals are there to provide inspiration—not to dictate how you run your empire. If one doesn’t fit your plans, you can discard it and wait for a replacement during End Week.

One Empire, One Level

The old system gave your TV Company, Production Studio, and Networks separate levels. That has now been replaced by a single TV Empire Level.

Everything you accomplish contributes to the same progression. Earn enough XP and your entire empire levels up, unlocking things such as:

• New Genres
• More Ventures (up to four)
• More Active Shows
• Larger Main Casts
• More Ad Contract per week
• More Show Pitches for your Networks
• Additional Boosts

Existing games are automatically moved to an equivalent starting point in the new system, so you can continue growing your established empire without starting over.

Boosts: Save Them for the Right Moment

Boosts are single-use advantages that can help when you need an extra push.

Depending on the Boost, you might improve an Episode, attract more viewers, reduce a cost, strengthen a renewal campaign, avoid a production problem, or gain another strategic advantage.

Some Boosts affect your entire empire, while others can be assigned to a particular Genre, Network, Show, Episode, or Ad contract. You can save them and decide where—and when—they will have the greatest impact.

The Goal and Boost pools included in 2026.5 are only the first batch.

I want to see how they behave in real games before expanding and adjusting them. Please let me know which Goals you enjoy, which become repetitive, and which Boosts feel especially useful, too weak, or too powerful. Your experience will directly influence how these systems develop from here.

Ultimate Pass supporters receive twice the Boosts awarded by level-ups as an additional permanent supporter perk. Goals, XP, and the complete progression system are available to everyone.

What About Milestones?

In my July sneak peek, I also discussed a separate Milestones system.

Milestones are not part of 2026.5. As the update developed, I decided to postpone them and focus this release on making Goals, XP, Boosts, and the new leveling system work well together instead of introducing a second parallel checklist at the same time.

I still plan to introduce Milestones soon. First, however, I want to learn how the new progression system feels across real, long-running games. That experience can help determine the exact shape of the Milestones feature.

Two Long-Requested Improvements

There are also two changes that many of you have repeatedly requested.

First, the former maximum of 10 active Shows is increasing to 20. 🥳

The additional capacity is unlocked gradually through the new leveling system, allowing ambitious long-running Production Studios to keep expanding far beyond the old limit.

Second, you can now pause and resume ventures.

If operating every part of a large empire becomes overwhelming—or you simply want to concentrate on something else—you can pause a Production Studio or Network from Add Action and return to it later. Pausing is immediate, costs nothing, and does not use an action slot.

The venture remains part of your empire, but its normal operations are suspended until you decide to resume them.

A Tutorial Built Into the Game

The tutorial has been completely rebuilt around the new Goals system.

New players receive special introductory Goals that guide them through launching their first Show or operating their first Network. When extra help is needed, Guide Me highlights the relevant room, button, or decision directly inside the game.

Once the guided introduction is complete, these tutorial Goals naturally transition into regular Goals. There is no long, separate tutorial to finish before the real game begins.

Production Studio and Network tutorials can also be enabled, disabled, or replayed for your next new game from Settings.

A Much Bigger—and Searchable—Knowledge Base

The Knowledge Base received an extensive expansion alongside the new tutorial.

It now contains 49 help pages across six sections, covering not only Goals, Boosts, empire progression, ventures, and pausing, but also many existing parts of the game that previously needed clearer explanations.

Topics such as production, scheduling, finances, Networks, staff, construction, scores, reviews, franchises, and strategy have all received new or substantially updated guidance.

The Knowledge Base also has a new search function, allowing you to search both page titles and their contents instead of manually looking through every category.

I’ve also improved the contextual question-mark buttons throughout the game, so they should now take you much more reliably to the help topic relevant to the screen you’re viewing.

Play Offline

Endless TV Tycoon can now launch and be played without an internet connection.

Previously verified Game Pass benefits are retained while playing offline. Features that depend on the online community or server—such as Feature Voting, the Hall of Fame, news, and managing or restoring subscriptions—still require a connection.

But the game itself no longer needs to wait for an online subscription check before letting you play.

A Few Naming Improvements

Throughout the game, your former “TV Company” is now more consistently called your TV Empire, making the distinction between the overall business and its individual ventures clearer.

When starting a new game, you can also leave the venture name blank and let your Production Studio or Network use the empire name automatically. Custom venture names are still available for those of you who enjoy building wonderfully overcomplicated corporate structures.

You know who you are.

Building Endless TV Tycoon Together 💖

I also want to be clearer about how the game is funded.

Playing with Free Access means playing the core game—not a limited demo. Goals, Boosts, empire progression, venture management, and the other central systems in 2026.5 are available to everyone.

Game Pass is an optional supporter subscription for players who enjoy Endless TV Tycoon and want to help fund its continued development.

The model I’m working toward is:

• The core game continues to be developed for everybody.
• Ultimate Pass members receive permanent supporter features and additional perks.
• Some major features begin in Early Access and later become free for everyone.
• Ultimate supporters can help decide what I develop next through Feature Voting.

The Basic Pass is the simplest way to support development and removes the occasional Game Pass reminders.

The Ultimate Pass adds permanent Supporter Features, Early Access, Feature Voting, extra level-up Boosts, and a place in the Hall of Fame.

Support from Game Pass members helps one solo developer keep building updates for the entire community. At the same time, playing with Free Access, reporting bugs, sharing thoughtful feedback, recommending the game, and leaving an App Store rating all contribute to its future too.

However you take part, you are part of the community around this strange little TV empire simulator—and I’m glad you’re here. ❤️

Feature Voting – Season 6 🗳️

Feature Voting is one of the ways community support becomes community influence.

Ultimate Pass members can decide which proposed features should receive priority. Votes can be spread across multiple ideas, and additional votes are earned through continued membership.

Season 6 remains open while I work toward releasing the previous winner, Full-Season Autopilot.

The standings continue to change, so head to Vote on Features in the Game Menu to see the live rankings and use any votes you still have available.

If there is a feature you especially want to see in Endless TV Tycoon, this is your opportunity to help move it closer to the top.

Until Next Time 👋

That’s all, folks! 🐽

2026.5 took a lot of weeks of closely connected work, and I’m excited to finally let you build much bigger empires with it.

Please share your experiences with the new Goals and Boosts. This is their first version, and your feedback will help shape where they go next.

Stay tuned... and until next time:

Keep pitching.

Keep producing.

Keep scheduling.

Keep scheming.

And keep owning prime time! 📺🔥

Cheers,
Greg Karpati
Solo Developer // The Guy Behind the Game 👋