Manu Idle is now Tideward.

The TL;DR

• The game is now called Tideward (subtitle: An Idle Almanac).
• Manu Games LLC is still the studio. Tideward is the product.
• The TestFlight alpha you joined as "Manu Idle" continues as Tideward — your character carries over.
• 16 of the 23 trades were also renamed (Defence → Defense, Hitpoints → Vitality, Smithing → Forging, etc.). Full skill list.
• The website moved from manugames.com to tideward.app; the old URLs redirect.
• USPTO TIDEWARD trademark filed May 2, 2026 (Serial 99800434).

Why the rebrand?

Three reasons, in order of weight:

1. App Store positioning. "Manu Idle" was a developer-facing project name — fine while in private alpha, weak as an App Store title. The Apple editorial shelf rewards distinctive single-word brand names (Hades, Dredge, Balatro, Patterned, Crouton). "Tideward" is in that family — pronounceable, memorable, evocative without being literal.

2. Trademark clarity. "Manu Idle" had soft conflicts with at least one active App Store game ("MANU Video Game Maker" out of Hungary). "Tideward" cleared a USPTO knockout search and a 30-minute attorney clearance. Word mark filed at USPTO Serial 99800434 on May 2, 2026.

3. Long-term studio architecture. Manu Games LLC is the studio; Tideward is the first product. The split between studio brand and product brand was always going to happen — the rebrand pulled it forward by 18 months. The same studio will publish more games in time, and "Manu Games" works as a publisher umbrella in a way that "Manu Idle" never could.

The skill renames, briefly

Sixteen of the 23 trades got new names in the May 2026 rebrand. The reasoning was the same trademark-clarity reason that drove the game rename — many of the original names (Slayer, Prayer, Herblore, Runecrafting, Fletching, Thieving, Firemaking, Crafting, Agility, Astrology, Summoning) were too tightly associated with RuneScape or Melvor Idle in the same App Store category. Tideward needed names that were genre-evocative without being trademark-collision-risky.

Where the old name was just British spelling (Defence) or genre-overloaded (Hitpoints, Smithing), the rename swapped to the modern indie standard (Defense, Vitality, Forging — the names Hades, Hollow Knight, Dredge, and Stardew Valley use).

The mechanic of every renamed skill is unchanged. See all 23 trades — each skill page notes its former name where applicable.

What didn\'t change

• The TestFlight alpha access. tideward.app/install — fresh public invite link as External Testing comes online; existing alpha installs continue under the new name.
• Your character. CloudKit sync continues; existing alpha characters carry over to the renamed app.
• The studio. Manu Games LLC, NC-formed.
• The dev blog. Same posts, same author voice. tideward.app/blog.
• The Discord. discord.gg/hw6w93astV — same server, may rename to "Tideward" or "Manu Games" eventually.
• The newsletter. The Assembly Line continues at blog.manugames.com — that\'s the genre-coverage publication for factory + idle games, separate from Tideward dev blog.
• The launch date. Targeting February 11, 2027 on the App Store.

What did change

• App name on the App Store — Manu Idle → Tideward.
• Website URL — manugames.com → tideward.app for the game site (manugames.com stays as the publisher hub).
• Some skill names — see the skill list for the full mapping.
• Email addresses — moved to support@manugames.com, privacy@manugames.com, legal@manugames.com.
• X / Twitter handle — @tideward.