Following a mercenary group in the employ of different nations formed in the wake of a collapsed empire, the player engages in turn-based combat while navigating paths on maps similar to a board game.

Grand Kingdom is a tactical role-playing video game (RPG) in which players take on the role of a mercenary commander, who forms squads of fighters to complete missions for the four warring nations of Resonail.

[4] During mission gameplay, the player party is represented as a chess piece on a board game-like map, with pathways displayed in a grid pattern.

Special events which can be triggered including siege weapons to help the player and traps which must be dealt with in ways that may take varying numbers of turns.

[7][11][12] A currency called Royals could be earned through participation in the War mode, allowing special weapons and accessories to be purchased from shops loyal to of Resonail's nations.

The main scenario's antagonists are remnants of Uld, who seek to reclaim Resonail for themselves; they are led by Teterva, who uses the timid Corona for her own ends.

The mercenary's squad becomes involved in the Guild's fight against remnants of Uld, with one attack by Teterva succeeding in stealing Godfrey's sword Tyrbrand.

At an ancient fortress, Teterva and her granddaughter Corona break one of the magical seals of Tyrbrand, intending to release demons onto Resonail.

Teterva, sacrificing the rest of her people to hold back the Guild, breaks the final seal of Tyrbrand, allowing the Animus to return.

Additional campaigns follow the mercenary unit on missions supporting the four nations of Resonail, unlocked after the main story is cleared.

[17] In Landerth, which is currently in conflict with Magion, the mercenaries serve Queen Gladius and protect her younger brother who is determined to prove himself a worthy successor.

In Valkyr, the mercenaries end up supporting the dying warrior Silva, who spends his final days challenging his leader Graham in a ceremonial duel despite the protests of his adopted daughter Kiara.

In Fiel, the group must train the soldiers of the nation, weaning them off their reliance on the predictions of their queen Precia as they are attacked by the forces of Landerth.

Tomohiko Deguchi, a former staff member at Vanillaware who was level designer for Muramasa: The Demon Blade (2009) and directed 2011's Grand Knights History, founded independent developer Monochrome Corporation that same year so he could pursue his own projects.

[20] While similar in art style and premise to Grand Knights History, Deguchi called the gameplay very different, focusing on real-time action and tactical positioning.

[12] The music was composed by a team from Basiscape, a company founded by Hitoshi Sakimoto who had previously worked with Vanillaware on their projects including Grand Knights History.

[30] Grand Kingdom was announced in June 2015 through an issue of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, with development being reported as 65% complete.

[32] A demo subtitled "Lite Version" was released on November 12, giving players access to the first two story campaign chapters and the ability to take part in one War scenario per day.

[37] The February 2 update completed the Magion storyline, and came bug fixes, four new character classes, and a temporary experience boost campaign tied to the War mode.

[14] A physical and digital Western release by NIS America, building on their previous localizations of Spike Chunsoft series Danganronpa, was announced in January 2016.

[41] A beta test for the online functions ran from May 3 to May 10, allowing participants to regain experience and money earned in the full release.

[44] The European Limited and Grand editions included the wrong soundtrack CD featuring five instead of fifteen tracks due to a manufacturing error, prompting NIS America to offer purchasers a replacement service.

[9] As a consequence of the technical and manufacturing issues, NIS America extended the free download period for an early and day-one purchaser DLC "Lord' Set" bundle featuring a new themed player piece and equipment.

Kimberley Wallace, writing for Game Informer, lauded the character and background artwork, but felt the field environments lacking in detail.

[6] Trace Wysaske of RPGFan, reviewing the PS4 version, said the art design helped keep player attention compared to other elements he felt lacking.

[7] Josh Torres of RPG Site positively compared the artwork to that of Vanillaware's games, though felt some of the sprite animations were too choppy for his tastes.

[52] CJ Andriessen of Destructoid noted the lack of a strong narrative, but enjoyed the immersion of major characters speaking directly to the player.

[7] Reviewing the Vita version for RPGFan, Rob Rogen gave little mention to the story and characters, summing them up as "pretty generic".

[5] Both Moehnke and Bailey praised the packaging of the story DLC in the Western release, noting both the increased playtime and the additional lore surrounding the nations of Resonail.

[56] Moehnke enjoyed the number of battle tracks in the game, and praised both the English voice work and the inclusion of the Japanese dub.