Right on schedule, and as we reported earlier this month, Wayfinder has exited its long, tumultuous Steam Early Access period, and, almost immediately after the full release, the game saw a significant spike in player count—at least compared to its recent player count. Wayfinder released to the general public today, and since its full launch, it has gained at least 100 additional positive reviews. Meanwhile, the initial player count only spiked by around 2,000 concurrent players, and the game's all-time Steam review score barely budged from its overall mixed rating.

Wayfinder's 1.0 release seems to be off to a slow start, especially compared to its 24,000+ peak concurrent player count, which it achieved back when it was still slated to be a free-to-play online MMO released under Warframe developer Digital Extremes's publishing wing. Since then, however, Airship Syndicate has drastically changed the nature of Wayfinder, turning it into a co-op (or single-player) dungeon crawler ARPG that's loud and proud about being microtransaction-free. In the Wayfinder 1.0 update, Airship Syndicate also added a whole new area for players to explore and a new movement mechanic, which should dramatically increase the verticality of the game and the diversity of combat encounters.Wayfinder launched to Steam today, October 21, 2024, along with the new map, new movement mechanic, and a $19.99 Critical Role DLC, which adds four Vox Machina-themed character customizations and a healthy helping of other visual goodies for players to enjoy. To celebrate the Wayfinder 1.0 launch, Airship Syndicate is offering the base game at a 10% discount, for a final price of $22.49.

According to the Steam launch announcement and changelog, Wayfinder 1.0 also introduces some additional content and gameplay changes:

• New Wayfinder - Lora the Vessel
• New Overland Zone - The Crucible
• New Lost Zones - The Shattered Foundry & The Aegis Vault
• 6 New Weapons
• 15+ New Armor sets
• 35+ New Housing items
• Updated tutorial
• NVIDIA DLSS
• Performance Improvements

Wayfinder's story is something of an underdog tale, as its indie developer, Airship Syndicate had to pivot the game and its monetization model almost at the drop of a hat when Digital Extremes shuttered its publishing operation. As a result, Wayfinder had to change its early access strategy, immediately launching the game at the full $24.99 retail price, despite still being in early access. Of course, this was because the relatively small studio no longer had the financial support of Digital Extremes to back it up, but it seemingly pulled through.


Time will tell whether Wayfinder turns out to be a success story or a cautionary tale, but it seems to be off to a fairly strong start, especially for a paid indie game with a storied history.