The initial beta testing of "Darwinia" began on 27 August 2004, and the beta testing of the full game started on 26 November, the same year. A demo level of "Darwinia" was released 3 months later on 21 January, and can be downloaded from the "Darwinia" website. "Darwinia" was released in Europe on 4 March 2005 (the U.S. version followed on 12 June 2006), while the Macintosh version was released 30 March 2005 by publisher Ambrosia Software. A patch was released on 28 April 2005 for Microsoft Windows, bringing the version to 1.2. New features included an improved unit selection system, as well as numerous modding updates including the ability to create custom strings. Another patch (version 1.3) was released in September 2005, which includes the option (enabled by default) of clicking icons or using keyboard shortcuts to create units instead of using the gesture system. A new demo, using features of the above-mentioned version 1.3 patch and an entirely new level "Launchpad" not in the full game, was released in September 2005.