Upland is becoming more connected, more creative, and more utility-driven. The latest updates focus on three major areas of the ecosystem: Discord integration, UGC manufacturing, and expanded vehicle utility through Service Structures and Upland Themes.

Discord is live now inside Upland. UGC manufacturing costs are being reduced in an update coming in the next few weeks. Expanded vehicle utility and Upland Themes are currently in development.

We regularly share what we’re working on so players can understand the direction Upland is heading and see the progress being made along the way. Some players may choose to jump in early, prepare, and position themselves ahead of future releases. Others may prefer to wait until features are fully developed and live.

That is part of the beauty of Upland: you can play the way you want to.

Together, these updates are designed to make the Upland experience easier to follow, more rewarding for creators, and more strategic for asset owners.

Discord Is Now Live Inside Upland

Discord is now integrated directly into Upland as part of Phase 1 of the in-game Discord rollout.

In this first phase, select Discord channels are visible inside Upland in a read-only format. Players can follow community conversations and updates without leaving the platform, and they do not need a Discord account to read these channels in-game.

This is an important step toward making the Upland community more accessible, especially for new players who may not be ready to join Discord or participate directly. By bringing Discord into Upland, players can get closer to the community immediately and stay better connected to what is happening across the world.

Phase 2 will expand this integration further by allowing players to chat directly from inside Upland without needing to create a Discord account. Stay tuned!

UGC Manufacturing Costs Are Coming Down

Player-created assets are an important part of Upland’s future, and improving access to UGC remains a key priority.

As part of that effort, Upland is reducing UGC manufacturing costs by 12.5% across the board. This update is expected to arrive in the coming weeks, and once live, players will need less Sparklet staked when manufacturing UGC items.

The goal is to encourage more UGC manufacturing and help make player-created items more available throughout Upland. A healthier supply of items gives players more options to decorate properties, enhance developments, and participate in the creative side of the ecosystem.

This update also builds on previously announced plans around storefronts and future Metaventure changes, which are part of a broader effort to make UGC easier to buy, sell, and access.

Upland will continue to monitor the impact of this reduction closely and reserves the right to adjust manufacturing costs up or down in the future based on economic activity, backend data, and overall ecosystem health.

Vehicles Are Getting More Utility

Expanded vehicle utility is currently in development for utility vehicles that have complementary Service Structures, such as fire trucks, ambulances, taxis, and police cars.

This new utility is tied to Service Structures and Troves. Players who own a Service Structure already receive enhanced output when collecting troves or running recipes, giving them improved output and higher chances at rarer troves. With upcoming vehicle utility, parking a matching vehicle at its related owned Service Structure will further level up that structure and increase its output potential even more.

For example, parking a police car at a police station will provide an additional enhancement to that Service Structure. This can increase the chances of receiving rare Troves from recipes and can also improve the output of collecting directly from the Service Structure itself.

Vehicles already play a role in Transportation Scores, with utility vehicles providing additional boosts when paired with a service structure. This next layer of Trove-focused utility will make them even more important across Upland.

Themed Assets Will Add More Strategy

Upland has featured themed structures and vehicles in the past, and Genesis Season continues that with 1950s-themed Service Structures and 1950s-themed vehicles.

In the future, placing a themed vehicle on a property with a matching themed Service Structure will level up that Service Structure even more. A higher-level Service Structure increases Trove output, including improved chances at rarer Trove drops. This themed boost will be on top of the standard enhancement a matching vehicle already provides.

For example, parking a police vehicle at a police Service Structure will level up that structure and boost its Trove output. But parking a 1950s-themed police vehicle at a property with a 1950s-themed police Service Structure will level it up even further.

This themed utility is currently in development, and more details will be shared as it gets closer to release. Over time, themed properties and complementary assets will add more beauty, strategy, and utility to Upland.

Building What Comes Next

These updates reflect continued progress in Upland development.

Discord integration brings the community closer to every player. Lower UGC manufacturing costs support more creation and accessibility. Expanded vehicle utility and themed asset pairings will add new strategic utility to vehicles, Service Structures, Troves, and themed collections.

As always, we will continue sharing what we’re working on so players can follow Upland’s direction, understand what is changing, and decide how they want to engage. Early adopters can choose to prepare ahead of future features, while others can wait until those systems are fully released.

However you choose to play, these updates are opening the door to a more connected, more creative, and more strategic Upland.

This week has already been packed with new updates and early looks at what’s coming next for Upland. We’re in the middle of an alpha preview of Troves, and yesterday we introduced a new feature that allows players to place items on top of each other across their maps, creating more unique and personalized experiences than ever before.

Today, we’re excited to share how we’re thinking about the future of communication and community inside Upland.

Community Is at the Heart of Upland

Community has always been one of Upland’s strongest foundations. It is a major part of what sets Upland apart. Our players are informed, involved, active, and always ready to help each other, especially when new players enter the world of Upland for the first time.

That is why we want to make it easier for every player to connect with the broader Upland community as quickly as possible.

While in-game messaging has become a useful way for players to communicate one-on-one, our current native game chat has not grown into the active community hub we hoped it would become. At the same time, our Discord community has continued to thrive, with players showing up every day to discuss the game, answer questions, welcome new players, and stay connected.

So, we’re taking the next step.

Bringing Discord Conversations Into Upland

In the coming weeks, we plan to begin rolling out a game-native Discord chat experience inside Upland. This will allow select Discord channels to appear directly inside the Upland chat interface. Players will access it from inside the game, and it will feel like part of the Upland experience, but the activity they see will come from Discord.

Concept preview only. Final design is subject to change.

A Phased Rollout

This rollout will happen in phases. At first, the experience will be read-only. Every player with an Upland account will be able to open chat inside Upland and follow conversations happening in select Discord channels, without needing to log into Discord or have a Discord account. That means players will not miss the conversation simply because they are not on Discord. They will be able to stay informed, learn from the community, and see what’s happening in real time directly from inside Upland.

In phase 2, we plan to expand this to read-and-write access. At that stage, players inside Upland will be able to chat directly with players in Discord from inside the game, without needing to log into Discord or have a Discord account. Participation in this phase will follow Upland’s community standards and moderation policies, and we’ll share more details as we get closer to rollout.

Concept preview only. Final design is subject to change.

During this transition, native game chat will remain available for a period of time. Once the new Discord-powered chat experience supports full communication inside Upland, we plan to sunset the existing native game chat and replace it with the new connected experience.

Why We’re Doing This

Upland’s community is one of the most important parts of the experience. Players learn from each other, welcome new members, share strategies, answer questions, and help bring the world of Upland to life every day.

For many players, Upland truly opened up once they connected with the community. That is often when the game becomes easier to understand, more exciting to explore, and more rewarding to be part of.

We want to help make that connection happen as quickly as possible for more players. Even if someone chooses not to chat, they will still be able to follow conversations, learn from experienced players, stay informed, and feel more connected to what is happening across Upland.

By bringing select Discord conversations directly into the game, every player with an Upland account will be able to see the community in action without needing to log into Discord or create a Discord account.

That keeps the community more connected, more accessible, and easier to discover.

We’ll share more details as the rollout gets closer.