Punch Upon a Time Latest Patch
Build 24830939 · 20 August 2026 · Public Demo
The most recent public demo push landed on 20 August 2026 with build ID 24830939. This page summarises every mode change, character adjustment, item cooldown tweak, and bug fix in the patch. For the studio’s roadmap, see Roadmap.
Mode changes
- Basketball: Shot clock reduced from 90 to 60 seconds. Sudden-death overtime now ends on the first dunk instead of the first scored basket.
- Sumo: Platform now shrinks every 15 seconds instead of every 20. Late-game knock-offs are significantly easier.
- Red-Light-Green-Light: Announcer voice inflection rebalanced. Anti-cheat detection is now stricter on input-perfect reactions.
- Long Live the King: Throne rotation extended from 20 to 30 seconds. Fresh Kings now start with a 2-second damage shield.
Character changes
- Merlin: Arcane Bombardment ultimate duration reduced from 5 to 4 seconds.
- Little Red: Wolf-form ultimate damage increased by 8%.
- Goldilocks: Healing orb pickup range increased from 3m to 5m.
- Pinocchio: Puppet ultimate cooldown reduced from 90 to 75 seconds.
- Three Little Pigs: Brick House ultimate shield value reduced from 40% to 30%.
Item changes
- Freeze Wand: Cooldown reduced from 75 to 60 seconds. Now Tier S in the Best Items ranking.
- Big Top Hat: Cooldown reduced from 60 to 45 seconds. Knock-back range increased from 2m to 3m.
- Medkit: Cooldown reduced from 150 to 120 seconds.
- Wild Card: Removed from competitive ranked play.
Bug fixes
- Fixed a crash when entering a custom lobby with a full friend list.
- Fixed a desync issue when two players used the Big Top Hat on the same frame.
- Fixed a visual glitch where the sky galleon would briefly disappear between rounds.
- Fixed an audio bug where the announcer would skip the red call after a green window shorter than 1 second.
- Fixed a save corruption issue when the player quit during the squad-galleon phase.
How this patch affects the meta
The Freeze Wand cooldown reduction is the single biggest change in this patch. Freeze Wand is now the strongest defensive item in the game, and most Squad Saga squads will run two copies per match. The Basketball shot-clock reduction accelerates the mode significantly — most rounds now end in 60 seconds instead of 90. The Sumo platform shrink makes late-game knock-offs much easier, which favours high-mobility characters like Frog Prince.
For the full tier-list impact, see the updated Tier List and Best Items pages.
Pocket Item and roster knock-on effects
Beyond the headline Freeze Wand cooldown reduction, the patch quietly rebalanced several pocket items that the launch roster leans on. Shield Charm now absorbs the first elimination rather than the first 100 damage, which favours squads running high-mobility pilots like Frog Prince and Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. Gravity Boots got a small buff to mid-air drift, which makes them a legitimate pick for objective modes like Long Live the King and Target Smash rather than a niche Pocket Item Roulette option. Rocket Boots saw a brief bug-fix patch mid-cycle to prevent a desync when two pilots used them on the same frame.
The character roster also benefits indirectly from the Freeze Wand cooldown reduction. Little Red’s Wolf-form ultimate now deals more damage but is harder to land if the opposing squad runs two Freeze Wands. Goldilocks’ wider healing orb radius means she stays relevant as a support pick across the entire 12-character launch roster, especially when the squad has been chipped down by Sumo shrink damage.
Known issues still open after this patch
The studio confirmed three known issues that did not make this build and are scheduled for the next patch. Pocket Item Roulette occasionally fails to spawn the second item when the round transitions quickly from a knockout. The sky galleon cosmetic preview shows a debug mesh on Steam Deck for users running the latest SteamOS beta. Long Live the King throne rotation can desync for one frame if the king is hit by a knock-back at the exact moment of transfer.
Forums and the studio’s Discord will continue to track these as the wiki logs them, and the next Latest Patch entry will resolve them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
When was this patch released?
20 August 2026, build ID 24830939. The build is live on Steam as of this writing.
Does this patch affect the demo or the full game?
Both. The demo and the full game share the same engine build, so balance changes apply to both versions.
Where can I see the official changelog?
Steam News posts the official changelog. The wiki mirrors it with additional context for each mode, character, and item change.
Why was the Basketball shot clock reduced so sharply?
Playtest telemetry showed the average round dragged past 90 seconds, which pushed Squad Saga matches over 12 minutes. The 60-second cap cuts the average match to 9 minutes without removing overtime.
Was Wild Card removed from casual play too?
No — Wild Card only leaves ranked ladders and competitive events. Casual lobbies, custom lobbies, and the public demo can still queue with Wild Card enabled.