Cookie Clicker deploys major update, putting global productivity at risk

Indie developer Julien “Orteil” Thiennot has released a long-awaited update for his hit browser game Cookie Clicker, adding several new features and improvements in a bid to reignite a global addiction to virtual confectioneries.

Version 2.0 of Cookie Clicker is the culmination of a nearly two-year-long beta period, which gradually rolled out a series of significant balance changes for the deceptively simple baking sim.

Playable in a browser window, Cookie Clicker challenges players to bake as many virtual cookies as possible by clicking icons and buying property in order to boost automatic production. Players continue to accrue cookies while idling, making the game a low-impact hit among casual players.

Cookie Clicker unveils a dark side once players hit a specific progression point, however, and late-game events take the game’s storyline into unexpected territory. Cookie Clicker‘s addictive gameplay and bizarre sense of humor earned it a dedicated fanbase, and its vast collection of in-game goals and achievements provide ample incentive for players to expand their cookie production empires for months on end.

The release of Cookie Clicker spawned many similar games in recent years, including mobile hits like AdVenture Capitalist and Bitcoin Billionaire. The game has remained freely playable since its launch in 2013.

Cookie Clicker‘s latest update introduces banks, temples, and wizard towers, which automatically increase cookie production when purchased. Other new features include offline production, challenge runs, and a cookie dragon.

The update also revamps Cookie Clicker‘s Prestige system, which rewards dedicated players with persistent bonuses for giving up their cookie empires and starting over from scratch. Players can now purchase a variety of “permanent transcendental upgrades” when ascending, making subsequent playthroughs more profitable as a result.

Creator Orteil notes that Cookie Clicker Version 2.0 additionally features “heaps of rebalancing and bug fixes,” along with new upgrades, unlockable achievements, customization options, and various quality-of-life improvements.

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Danny Cowan