# Simon Willison releases Battle Drones, an audio‑multiplayer RTS built with Claude

Digest AI · Agents & Tools · published 2026-10-20T19:34:19Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/simon-willison-releases-battle-drones-an-audiomultiplayer-rts-built-wi

## Summary

Simon Willison released Battle Drones, a browser‑based real‑time strategy game created with Claude. After 12 major iterations and 321 commits, the game runs as static HTML/JavaScript, works offline, and supports both mobile and desktop. It includes 9 buildings, 7 ground vehicles, 6 aerial vehicles, 3 infantry units, six maps across five biomes, a random map generator, fog of war, and adaptive music that intensifies with combat.

The newest version adds audio‑based multiplayer that lets two phones within microphone range exchange game state, using a radio‑probe tool built by Claude Opus 5.5. Claude also ran 1,200 AI‑vs‑AI test matches, cutting games still undecided after 25 minutes from 14 % to 0.9 % and raising comeback win share from 24 % to 46 %. The author notes that Claude Code “Ultracode” burns tokens heavily but can solve complex tasks from a single prompt.

The project demonstrates that LLMs can generate 3D assets with Three.js, compose in‑game music, and design new maps such as the Archipelago, while requiring minimal human design input. Willison hopes the audio‑multiplayer pattern will be adopted by other developers.

## Key points

- Battle Drones runs as static HTML/JS and supports audio‑based multiplayer between nearby devices.
- After 1,200 AI‑vs‑AI test matches, undecided games after 25 min fell from 14 % to 0.9 % and comeback win share rose from 24 % to 46 %.
- Developed over 12 iterations and 321 commits, adding 9 buildings, 7 ground vehicles, 6 aerial vehicles, 3 infantry units and six maps across five biomes.

## Why it matters

Shows LLMs can autonomously create complex, multiplayer games and novel audio networking, indicating progress toward AI‑driven software development and new interaction paradigms.

## Sources

1. [Battle Drones - a vibe coded RTS with audio-based multiplayer](https://simonwillison.net/2026/Oct/20/battledrones) (Simon Willison, 2026-10-20)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Simon Willison releases Battle Drones, an audio‑multiplayer RTS built with Claude", 20 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/simon-willison-releases-battle-drones-an-audiomultiplayer-rts-built-wi

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