Smarter Goals, Better Viewership & Everyday Improvements

Hey folks! 👋

The sixth major Endless TV Tycoon update of 2026 is here!

Version 2026.6 is a smaller update than the enormous 2026.5 release, but there’s quite a lot happening under the hood.

After introducing Goals, XP, Boosts, the new Empire Level, and many other changes in the previous update, I’ve spent some time looking at how those systems actually behave during real games. This update starts refining them, while also bringing a major viewership balancing pass and several quality-of-life improvements throughout the game.

Let’s take a look…

Smarter Goals

Goals were one of the biggest additions in 2026.5, and this update already makes them considerably smarter.

Previously, the game selected Goals mostly from the pool of objectives available to your current ventures. That worked, but it could sometimes offer something technically possible without it being a particularly logical thing to do at that point in your game.

The Goal selection system now looks more closely at the current state of your TV empire and tries to choose objectives that make sense as your next steps.

For example, instead of simply picking from everything you could theoretically do, the game can take your current progress into account when deciding what it should encourage you to work toward next.

I’ve also expanded the Goal pool with additional objectives, and I plan to keep adding more over time.

Goals are not supposed to become a checklist telling you how you must play Endless TV Tycoon. Their purpose is to notice where your empire currently stands and occasionally give you a useful little nudge toward something you might want to do next.

There’s also a small but useful UI improvement: when new Goals are available, the Goals button now receives a notification badge so they’re harder to miss.

A Big Viewership Balancing Pass

Another major part of 2026.6 happens mostly behind the scenes.

I’ve made a substantial balancing pass across the viewership system.

Viewership sits at the center of a lot of Endless TV Tycoon’s systems. Your Shows, Episodes, schedules, competing Networks, time slots, ratings, and ultimately your finances all interact with it in one way or another.

That also means relatively small changes to the underlying calculations can have effects throughout the game.

The goal of this balancing pass is to make audience numbers develop more naturally and make the different factors influencing viewership work better together.

As always with a simulation like this, balancing is an ongoing process rather than something that is ever permanently “finished.” I’ll continue watching how games develop and adjusting things where necessary.

Start Production Is Always Within Reach

The Episode Production screen has received one of my favorite little quality-of-life improvements in this update.

When configuring an Episode, you often scroll through quite a lot of production options. Until now, that meant your final Profit/Loss calculation and the Start Production button could disappear off-screen while you were working.

There is now a floating production panel that remains visible while you scroll.

It shows the current projected Profit/Loss together with Start Production, allowing you to see the financial effect of your choices and begin production whenever you’re ready.

It’s a relatively small change, but one of those things that makes a screen you use constantly feel noticeably nicer.

A Cleaner Briefing Room

The Briefing Room has also received some housekeeping.

Action Slots are now collected into a single group instead of being spread across the interface, making your available actions easier to understand at a glance.

I’ve also made the Action rows use a uniform height.

That might sound spectacularly unexciting written in a Dev Diary. 😄

But especially once your empire becomes larger and the Briefing Room starts filling up, having everything line up consistently makes the screen much easier to scan.

Game Menu Refinements

The Game Menu received another round of refinements as well.

As Endless TV Tycoon has grown, more and more things have found their way into this menu: settings, game information, supporter features, Feature Voting, the Knowledge Base, and various management options.

I’ve reorganized and refined parts of it to make the growing collection of options easier to navigate.

This is something I expect to keep revisiting as the game continues to expand.

The CEO Has a Name Again!

Here’s a tiny feature making a comeback.

You can once again give your CEO a name when creating your TV empire.

This option existed in earlier versions of the game but disappeared during previous changes to the new-game flow.

It doesn’t change your ratings.

It doesn’t make your Shows better.

It definitely doesn’t make your shareholders happier.

But your fictional media mogul deserves a name. 😄

A Couple of Fixes

There are also some bug fixes included in 2026.6.

I fixed an issue where the Event Layer could remain open during End Week if you were viewing the details of an Episode that had just aired.

There was also an issue with displaying competing Networks’ programming during longer Shows.

For example, if your Network aired a 60-minute Show beginning at 9:00, the competing programming could incorrectly display 9:00–9:30 twice instead of showing the competing Shows from 9:00–9:30 and 9:30–10:00.

That should now behave correctly.

Refining What We Already Have

2026.5 was deliberately a very large update. It introduced several systems that changed the structure and progression of the entire game.

2026.6 is partly about doing the other important half of that work: seeing how those systems behave once people actually start playing with them, and then improving them.

The smarter Goal selection is a good example of where I want to take things.

Instead of simply adding more and more features on top of the game, I also want the existing systems to become better at understanding the state of your empire and reacting to it.

There will absolutely be more new things coming—but continuing to refine the simulation underneath them is just as important.

Building Endless TV Tycoon Together 💖

Playing with Free Access means playing the core game—not a limited demo.

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 Feature Voting 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! 🐽

Please keep sending me your feedback, especially about Goals and viewership balancing. Both are systems I expect to continue adjusting as I see how they behave across different kinds of TV empires.

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 👋