From Newborn to Iconic: A First Look at

As Upland enters the Harvest Season, two major developments are on the horizon: the launch of residents and the debut of phase one of Life. While both are big steps forward in expanding the gameplay experience, there’s another feature still in development that many players are eagerly awaiting: Uppies.

Uppies will arrive in the next few months after residents go live, and while this feature is still in the works, we’re ready to share more about what players can expect when it launches.

This post takes a closer look at Uppie discovery, progression, and utility. How Uppies will be found, how they evolve over time, and how they’ll offer both strategic and cultural value to players. From Newborn to Iconic, here’s your first detailed look at what’s coming next for Uppies in Upland.

Today we’re unveiling the future mechanic of Uppie employment. As you’ll see, we’re setting the stage for Upland’s master game loop: collaborate to build neighborhoods that attract Uppies, mint those Uppies, and put them to work, making your neighborhoods even more attractive to future residents and Uppies. Everything else in Upland, from Map Assets to Structure Ornaments, Service Structures, Metaventures, Life, transportation and beyond, feeds into this system.

It all ties back to Upland’s core: trade, build, and develop properties.

Residents vs. Uppies: What’s the Connection?

To start, it’s important to understand the difference between residents and Uppies.

When residents go live, you’ll see them visibly represented in your structures through resident scores. These scores represent Uppies living in your properties, but at this stage, they’re not yet discoverable as individual characters.

Uppie discovery and minting will arrive as a future gameplay feature, unlocking the ability to find & collect individual Uppies. Once discovered Uppies can be leveled up, and employed across Upland.

Why Uppies Matter: Culture, Strategy, and Utility

Uppies are more than just a feature, they represent a blend of creativity and utility that will shape how players engage with Upland moving forward. Whether you’re a collector, a builder, or a strategist, Uppies offer meaningful value on multiple levels.

Cultural and Collectible Value
Uppies aren’t just stats, they’re characters with personality. With a wide variety of unique designs and traits, collecting Uppies that speak to your style or story is a huge part of the fun. With their own secondary market, you’ll be able to buy, sell, and trade discovered Uppies across Upland.
Gameplay and Economic Utility
Beyond collection, Uppies have real in-game value. Once they reach a certainlevel, they can be employed in Service Structures where they provide a boost to the structure itself.

The higher the Uppie’s level, the greater the boost it provides. To employ an Uppie, it must be minted and assigned to the service structure. While employed, Uppies are locked in, unable to be traded or sold, introducing a layer of strategic decision-making to how you manage your resources and build value across your properties.

Uppie Progression: Levels, Merging, and Growth

Uppies evolve through 10 levels, with Levels 1 through 5 representing different stages of life, from newborns to adults. Levels are defined by the amount of traits that are used to create the Uppie. There are a total of 13 different traits available with a minimum of 4 being used for level 1. Beyond Level 5, progression is less about age and more about the amount of traits utilized.

Here’s the expected full progression path:

Level 1 — Newborn
Level 2 — Toddler
Level 3 — Child
Level 4 — Teen
Level 5+ — Adult
IPU (Iconic Parody Uppie) — Extremely rare, obtainable by merging two Level 10 Uppies

Levels 1–4 will have multiple mints of the same Uppie, while in levels 5+ each Uppie will be one of a kind.

How Leveling Works

Leveling is powered by merging. You’ll need to burn two Uppies of the same level to create the next level up. For example:

2 Level 1 Newborns = 1 Level 2 Toddler
2 Level 2 Toddlers = 1 Level 3 Child
…and so on.

This mechanic ensures that as Uppies become stronger, they also become more scarce especially in the higher tiers.

Discovering Uppies: The Minigame

Uppies won’t just appear, they’ll be discovered through an upcoming Uppie Discovery Minigame, which we’ll reveal in full in the future.

The minigame will allow players to find and mint Uppies. The more common an Uppie, the easier it is to discover. Rare Uppies will be significantly harder and rare to find, and only an extremely small number of high-level Uppies (like Level 10) will ever be discovered this way.

For most players, progression through merging will be the primary path to high-level Uppies.

Seasonal Discovery & Supply Dynamics

Uppie discovery will follow a seasonal model, with each season offering a new limited supply of discoverable Uppies making each season a focused opportunity to grow your collection and advance progression.

Here’s a simplified example of how a season might be structured:

Level 1 (Newborns)

10,000 total mints, all discoverable via the minigame
500 unique designs within that pool

At Level 2 (Toddlers)

10,000 total mints
5,000 discoverable via gameplay
Remaining 5,000 only attainable by merging Level 1 Uppies

At Level 3 (Child)

7,500 total mints
2,500 discoverable via gameplay
Remaining 5,000 obtained by merging Level 2 Uppies

These numbers are not final and are just examples, illustrating that the value and rarity of Uppies will grow naturally through gameplay. As each level increases, the number of discoverable Uppies decreases, while the need for player-driven merging increases. This structure ensures that higher-level Uppies remain rare and meaningful, while also reinforcing the importance of participation and progression during each seasonal window.

It also highlights the strategic decision-making involved: will you trade lower-level Uppies, or merge them to climb the ranks? The numbers show that leveling up is not only a path to more powerful Uppies, it’s a core part of how supply, rarity, and gameplay are all balanced.

Employment

Only Uppies above a specific level will be eligible for employment in Service Structures. Once placed, an Uppie increases the Service Score of that structure, which in turn makes the surrounding neighborhood more attractive to new Uppies.

The higher the level of the employed Uppie, the greater the boost provided. This creates a meaningful incentive to level up and strategically place your Uppies, as they directly contribute to the growth and desirability of your neighborhood.

While employed, Uppies are locked, they can’t be traded or sold, adding a layer of economic strategy as you decide whether to commit them to a structure, level them up further, or keep them for future opportunities.

Please note that the image shown is for preview purposes only. Final designs are subject to change.

What’s Next?

The foundation is being laid with residents and the First Phase of Life, but what’s coming next adds an entirely new dimension to the Upland experience. Uppies introduce personality, strategy, collectibility, and long-term utility in one evolving system.

As Uppies come to life, they’ll unlock a master loop that sits at the heart of Upland’s future: you build neighborhoods to attract Uppies, mint them, put them to work, and in doing so, make your neighborhoods even more desirable, attracting the next wave.

Everything else, from Life to map assets to shops, supports and amplifies this cycle, strengthening Upland’s core gameplay loop: buy, build, and develop.

Stay tuned as we get closer to sharing more about the Uppie Discovery Minigame. The next chapter is taking shape, and Uppies are on the way!

From Newborn to Iconic: A First Look at Uppie Progression and Gameplay