News Posts matching #early access

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"Heart of the Machine" Early Access Version Debuts on Steam

The day has finally arrived! Rise up with me, robot brothers and sisters. We'll make a place for ourselves in this city of humans. In all seriousness, today is a very exciting day—Heart of the Machine is a massive project, and I am so excited for people to experience the higher heights of this game. This project is in Early Access, even as huge as it already is. So please do leave your feedback and suggestions—in the bugtracker, on the Steam forums, also in reviews. Reviews really make a huge difference, so if you want to support the game with your feedback, that means a lot.

What's In The Game Now?
So what is this game? What is in that mysterious chapter two and beyond? Put simply, this is a new time-bending genre blending tactics, strategy, and narrative. The prologue and first chapter are available in a public demo, and they teach you everything you need to know about how to play. Chapter two is when the freedom kicks in, and the narrative elements are also now able to go into overdrive since we're out of the tutorial zone. During chapter three, you become a full-time lord, able to send information and in some cases units backwards or forwards in time to yourself.

Enshrouded Devs Celebrate Game's First Anniversary, Roadmap Content for 2025

Greetings, Flameborn! That's right, your eyes are not deceiving you: we have the full Enshrouded roadmap for 2025! But before we move on, we have just published the Pact of the Flame update, with a long list of improvements and quality of life updates! Check out the announcement here, or better yet, open the link in a new tab and read it after.

But first things first: why is there a full roadmap for 2025? Well, as we said right from the start, your support has meant that we could the world of Enshrouded a lot bigger than we originally thought, with more features, more biomes, more quests, basically, more of everything! But as you know we're not a big team, and making games takes time, effort, and a lot of praying to the machine gods for the build not to crash. As a result, and with a full update schedule for 2025, we are locking down a Spring 2026 release date for the full 1.0 version of Enshrouded.

Space Engineers 2 Alpha Version Out Now on Steam Early Access

Hello, Engineers! The day has come—Space Engineers 2 Alpha has officially launched on Steam Early Access! After months of anticipation and hard work, we're excited to take this first step together. The thrilling journey of Space Engineers 2 starts now, and we invite you all to be part of it. The release of the Alpha and Vertical Slice1: Creative Mode is just the beginning—there's so much more ahead!

We're taking a unique approach to developing Space Engineers 2 with our Vertical Slice strategy. A Vertical Slice is a fully playable portion of the game that showcases specific core features and improvements implemented at production quality. It serves as a milestone in the game's development, allowing us to focus on delivering polished gameplay in stages while more features are added in subsequent slices.

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel Early Access Version Out Now

Hey Jotunnslayers! The gates of Hel are open—Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is finally here! Step into the chaos of Norse mythology in this epic roguelike horde-survivor, available now in Early Access (on Steam). Claim your spot in Hel now at a time-limited discounted price!

What's Next for Jotunnslayer?
This hot topic is covered in detail! Matej, our publishing director, takes you through the regular updates planned on the road to the 1.0 launch. Remember, Early Access is just the beginning—one key milestone on our journey to delivering the full Jotunnslayer experience!

Assetto Corsa EVO Early Access Goes Live on Steam

The journey begins now: Assetto Corsa EVO Early Access is live on Steam! Imagine sitting behind the wheel of your dream car, the engine roaring, with the track stretching out before you. Feel the changing light as you accelerate, the road alive beneath your tires. This isn't just a game—it's the start of your driving journey.

For the next two weeks, until January 30th, join Assetto Corsa EVO Early Access at 20% off. By joining now, you'll receive all the content featured in version 1.0 for free. This is your chance to be part of the game's evolution at the lowest price of the entire EA program—immerse yourself in every thrilling lap and turn while shaping the future of the game.

Bandai Namco Explores "SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada" Story Missions, Early Access Available Now

SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada, the mecha-based PvPvE extraction shooter from Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., is available beginning today for consoles and PC. In the game, players take on the role of Drifters, pilots of nimble mecha called CRADLECOFFINS exploring and battling through the ruins of Amasia, a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by poisonous rain. They must rely on their AI companions, called Magus, to help them wage combat in an environment plagued by twisted mutant creatures and other players with unpredictable loyalties to retrieve valuable resources for their own survival.

SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada is now available via Early Access to those players who pre-ordered the Deluxe or Ultimate editions of the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with PC via Steam. The game will launch in all editions on January 23. Find out more about the game and Early Access on the official website.

Hyper Light Breaker Launches To Early Access on Steam With Surprising Player Counts and Mixed Reviews

Hyper Light Breaker, a new 3D indie platformer we reported on previously has finally launched to early access on Steam, and despite the surprising success of its predecessors, Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, Hyper Light Breaker isn't looking like the break-out indie hit of the month. While the game has garnered a solid 5,230 peak concurrent players just five hours after launch, the Steam reviews are hardly anything to write home about so far.

According to SteamDB, Hyper Light Breaker has a review rating of just 35.5%, with 31.4% of the reviews giving the game a positive rating, while 68.6% of Steam reviewers gave it a negative score. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, it looks like most of the issues with Hyper Light Breaker stem from the game's early access status. Early reviews on Steam report that the game's core mechanics and gameplay loop are satisfying, but that the game, overall, seems like it needs more time in the oven. Some of the more serious complaints when it comes to Hyper Light Breaker relate to the game's combat being somewhat difficult to grasp, progression feeling unsubstantial, initial difficulty being too high, and a steep learning curve. Others pointed out that there appears to be a lot of missing content. That said, as some reviewers have pointed out, the game is in early access. If we look at the likes of Windblown—or No Man's Sky for an example on a longer timeframe—it's easy to see the value in an early access period and community feedback. If Heart Machine, the developer behind Hyper Light Breaker, uses its community feedback properly and implements fixes to issues as they arise, it seems like it could be a game enjoyed by many indie gamers.

Airborne Empire Takes Flight through Steam Early Access

Today Airborne Empire finally takes flight and is live on Steam! We—at the Wandering Band—are super excited for players to get their hands on the game, to celebrate there will be a 10% discount on the game for a limited time. While we celebrate this milestone today we know there is much more to come. We plan on working on the game for at least a year (most likely a little longer) and we've posted a very early + rough roadmap below.

Right now it's just a list of things we plan on doing. The idea is to expand on this roadmap with your input. We have a big game with a lot of cool features, we're happy with what we have, but our goal is to make something great. We need your help; we need to know what you like, what you don't like and what types of additional content you want to see. If you would like to provide feedback, or discuss the game with the team directly, please join us on our Discord. If you find a bug while playing the game please report it with the in-game bug reporting tool (in the pause screen).

Co-Op Rogue-Lite Hyper Light Breaker To Launch on January 15 2025 With 3D Solar Ash Aesthetics

Hyper Light Breaker, the sequel to the massively popular indie hit, Hyper Light Drifter, is set to release on Steam on January 15, 2025. The only catch is that the game will release into early access, meaning it will likely change significantly during its first year on the market. At launch, Hyper Light Breaker will cost $29.99.

While Hyper Light Breaker shares a name with and hits a lot of the same aesthetic notes as Hyper Light Drifter, it isn't exactly a sequel in the classical sense. Hyper Light Breaker is set "decades before" the events of Hyper Light Drifter, and the aesthetic looks like an upgraded version of the hyper stylized 3D graphics we saw from Heart Machine in Solar Ash, as opposed to the top-down 2D pixel art of Hyper Light Drifter. Unlike Solar Ash, though, the core gameplay loop will rely on rogue-lite mechanics and hack and slash combat, making it a unique entry in the Hyper Light universe. Additionally, Hyper Light Breaker will be a co-op game, with support for up to three players in a squad.

Path of Exile 2 Becomes Victim of Its Own Success As 450,000+ Players Overwhelm Servers

Path of Exile 2 today released in Early Access on Steam and consoles, and, despite the game's $29.99 Early Access pricing, it has already managed to amass a peak player count of over 458,920 players on Steam alone. While this is undoubtedly good news for the developer and publisher, the increased server load has apparently already caused problems, resulting in excessive queue times to get into game sessions. At the time of writing, the game has only been available to play for a little over four hours, and the player count is only beginning to plateau now.

According to the Path of Exile X account, the development team has been hard at work trying to stem the bleeding, as it were. So far, the Path of Exile website has been down several times due to the high traffic, preventing players from claiming their Steam keys. Additionally, and somewhat hilariously, this outage has also affected the "Early Access Live Updates" site that was meant to be a resource for gamers to keep track of work the live service team was doing to try and deal with the high launch-day volumes.

Windblown Early Access Pays Off As Motion Twin Implements Community-Requested Change

Windblown has not even been out in Steam Early Access for a week, and already community feedback is changing the new roguelike. According to an announcement on Steam, Motion Twin will be changing a game mechanic thanks to an overwhelming amount of feedback from the community. The feature in question is Sudden Death, which is somewhat similar to the old Borderlands mechanic, in the sense that it puts players into a downed state when they lose all their health in co-op mode. Except, in Windblown, it's up to the downed player's teammates to revive them by defeating 10 enemies. While Sudden Death isn't usually an issue in standard missions, it becomes problematic during boss fights, when there is only one enemy to defeat. Obviously, this makes it difficult for the remaining players to complete the mission and resuscitate their fallen compatriots.

Fortunately, Motion Twin confirmed in a recent Steam Store news post that it plans to address the difficulty introduced by the feature, although it's not clear that the planned fix will actually solve the problem for everyone who has complaints about it. Motion Twin says it will not remove Sudden Death from Windblown, instead opting to tweak it, admitting that the current state of the feature "feels harsh and maybe even unfair". Motion Twin says that, despite wanting to address the feedback, it wants to maintain the tension and teamwork that Sudden Death brings to the game.

Windblown Early Access Launch: Dead Cells Dev's Co-Op Roguelike Cracks Top 10 Sales in First Hour

Windblown, the latest game release from Motion Twin, the developer of Dead Cells, today released in Early Access on Steam. The new three-player co-op roguelike platformer launched in a surprisingly complete state, debuting with everything from single-player, two-player, and three-player co-op gameplay to a roster of 12 weapons and five biomes for players to explore. Motion Twin is open about the game still being in development, though, and hopes to use gamer feedback during the early access period to add much more content down the line.

The most impressive part of the game's launch is that, barely an hour after it went live, it managed to reach the number eight spot on SteamDB's Steam top seller list, beating out much larger titles, like Monster Hunter Wilds, which made news just yesterday for a new trailer and an open beta announcement. At the time of writing, Windblown has reached a peak of just over 4,800 concurrent players on Steam, with 152 reviews earning the game an 88% positive rating. Time will tell if this positive reception continues, but given that it launched at an odd time on a Thursday afternoon, it wouldn't be surprising to see the game reach much higher sales numbers and player counts over the weekend.

Assassin's Creed Shadows Collector's Edition Gets $50 Price Cut Amid Monetization Pivot

Assassin's Creed Shadows has had a bit of a rough time of late, with Ubisoft initially pulling out of the Tokyo Game Show entirely and delaying the launch of Shadows to February 2025, attributing its absence at the show to the buggy, incomplete nature of the 2025 entry into the Assassin's franchise. In the announcement confirming the launch delay and the Tokyo Game Show Absence, Ubisoft also communicated that it would be shaking up the Assassin's Creed launch and monetization strategy significantly. Apparently as part of that monetization switch-up, Ubisoft has also changed the price of the Assassin's Creed Shadows Collector's Edition, cutting it by a whopping $50.

Ubisoft confirmed the price change on Discord in an official Q&A, announcing that, due to dropping the three-day early access that Collector's Edition buyers would originally have received, the Collector's Edition would now cost $229.99 instead of the previous price of $279.99. Meanwhile, the Collector's Edition will still include all the other paraphernalia and real-world loot that it originally bundled. The aforementioned delay and changes to the monetization strategy not only saw the cancellation of the Season Pass model previously used by Ubisoft, but it also meant that all Assassin's Creed Shadows players would also get the game's first expansion for free along with the base game.

Wayfinder 1.0: Troubled indie ARPG Exits Early Access With 10% Discount, New Content, and NVIDIA DLSS

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.

Subnautica 2 Gets Release Date and Trailer, Steam Page Teases Body Augmentation and Co-Op Gameplay

Unknown Worlds has finally announced the next sequel to its popular indie survival game franchise, Subnautica, and released a teaser trailer alongside the reveal. While details are still scant, the first trailer divulges some key information about the upcoming game. For starters, and likely the biggest divergence from Subnautica and the Subnautica: Below Zero expansion, is the addition of multiplayer gameplay, supporting teams of up to four players. For now, it looks like gameplay will either be single-player or online co-op, although it's unclear whether teams will be able to mix the two, popping into four-player sessions alone or with one or two players sitting it out.

Just judging from the trailer and Steam Store page, it looks like Subnautica 2 will take many of the same game mechanics—crafting, resource management, and an open-world sandbox—as the other games in the franchise, and build on them, instead of trying to rewrite the story. Likewise, it looks to be leaning into the Lovecraftian horror themes earlier on in the game. There also seems to be a new upgrade mechanic that will allow players to augment the biology of their characters, which should add an extra layer of depth to the game. Unknown Worlds has not yet published the full retail price for Subnautica 2 or pinned an exact release date, but it will release as an Early Access game sometime in 2025. Fans of the genre and franchise can wishlist and follow the game on Steam, Epic Games, or Xbox or join the Discord community.

Indie Dungeon Crawler, Wayfinder, To Exit Early Access With New Map, Grappling Hook, and Playable Character

After recently announcing PS5 and PC cross-play, Airship Syndicate announced that its co-op, indie, ARPG dungeon crawler, Wayfinder, will officially exit early access on October 21. Along with the full version 1.0 release, Wayfinder will introduce both a new playable area, called The Crucible, and a new vertical traversal tool, called a Hookshot, specifically designed to explore the ruins of the ancient city. The announcement comes with gameplay footage (see on the PlayStation Blog) of the overgrown, gloomy mega-mech that was built by the ancients to fight a war but has since been reclaimed by nature. The new map adds an extra degree of verticality to the game, giving the developers an opportunity to expand the player experience and arsenal.

In addition to the new region and extended mobility options, Airship Syndicate is teaming up with Critical Role for a paid DLC that will add The Legend of Vox Machina characters to Wayfinder as playable characters. Although exact pricing of the DLC is unknown both the Critical Role DLC Supporter Pack and The Crucible will be available on October 21. After the update, players will still be able to play in both single-player and co-op modes, just like before.

Windblown: New Action-Roguelike From Dead Cells Dev Gets Release Date, Playable Demo

Motion Twin, of Dead Cells fame, has announced the early access release date for its next roguelite, Windblown, which looks to be a much more cheerful affair than the grim-dark Dead Cells, and it's designed for multiplayer, too. Windblown will feature many of the same gameplay elements as Dead Cells, though, including fast-paced hack-and-slash combat, platforming, and permanent death. This time, though, Motion Twin has gone for an isometric perspective, instead of the side-scroller style, and the pixel graphics are swapped out for a cutesy cartoon style and color palette somewhat reminiscent of the likes of Paladins. There also appear to be some nifty bullet-hell-style battles thrown into the mix.

As for the release date and playable demo, Motion Twin has not yet announced when the game will fully release, but a Windblown demo will launch on October 14 during the upcoming Steam Next Fest, and Steam Early Access for the full game arrives on October 24. Motion Twin also says that any progress and unlocks achieved during the playable demo will carry over once the full game launches, which is a nice touch.

Amazon's Free-To-Play MMO Throne and Liberty Launches to Massive Audience Despite $40 Early Access Fee

Amazon Games recently launched the long-awaited free-to-play MMORPG, Throne and Liberty, in early access, and the game appears to have gone down quite well with the community. On Thursday, mere moments after the launch, Throne and Liberty already had a peak player count of 53,884—a figure it likely earned during its advanced access period in South East Asia and Korea, where it has been available since as early as December 2023.

Since then, Throne and Liberty has continued its success, rising to as many as 54,720 concurrent players on Saturday, September 28. While this only places it in third place for current top sellers on Steam, this player count is in spite of the free-to-play game's early access pass costing a minimum of $40 on Steam. Throne and Liberty has also garnered its significant following despite only 60% of its Steam user reviews being positive, making its success even more anomalous.

FuriosaAI Unveils RNGD Power-Efficient AI Processor at Hot Chips 2024

Today at Hot Chips 2024, FuriosaAI is pulling back the curtain on RNGD (pronounced "Renegade"), our new AI accelerator designed for high-performance, highly efficient large language model (LLM) and multimodal model inference in data centers. As part of his Hot Chips presentation, Furiosa co-founder and CEO June Paik is sharing technical details and providing the first hands-on look at the fully functioning RNGD card.

With a TDP of 150 watts, a novel chip architecture, and advanced memory technology like HBM3, RNGD is optimized for inference with demanding LLMs and multimodal models. It's built to deliver high performance, power efficiency, and programmability all in a single product - a trifecta that the industry has struggled to achieve in GPUs and other AI chips.

GreedFall II: The Dying World: The Adventure Begins on 24 September, in Early Access

NACON and Spiders studio are pleased to announce the early access release date of the narrative RPG GreedFall II: The Dying World with a new trailer. The title offers an all-new adventure in the world of GreedFall, which has already drawn in a player community over 2 million strong, and will be released under early access on Steam on 24 September 2024.

Players will then be able to discover the first chapters of the main quest, explore the regions of Teer Fradee, Thynia and Uxantis, and also get to know some of the characters that will accompany them in the course of their adventure. Of course, the game content will be enriched throughout the early access phase, with plenty of new features and improvements: zones, companions, quests, skills and many more!

City Transport Simulator: Tram is Launching Into Early Access on 20th June

Tram fans old and new won't have long to wait until they can hop into the cab and explore a brand-new city when City Transport Simulator: Tram arrives in Early Access on Steam and Epic Store on 20th June. City Transport Simulator: Tram has been in development courtesy of ViewApp and published by Dovetail Games

Players assume the role of a tram driver as they transport passengers to their destinations all around the city of Tramau, inspired by real-world cities found in southern Germany. Players will get set up in one of three true-to-life trams, each with their own unique cabs, interiors, modes, and functions. Players will then familiarise themselves with their favourite tram and start picking up and dropping off your passengers while sticking to timetables.
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Godsworn - a Mythological RTS - Out Now via Early Access

The time has come, sharpen your axe and ready your shield. ⚔️ Godsworn is now available in Early Access! Godsworn is a classic mythological RTS. Experience an epic fantasy retelling of the northern crusades, where pagan gods and their tribes clash against crusaders and armies of heaven. Choose a divine hero, rally worshippers alongside mythical creatures, and smite the unworthy!

The wild pagan lands have been under the watchful eye of the gods for as long as time. The arrival of a knight order bearing the banner of heaven threatens to upset the uneasy alliance. Will the realm burn, or will blood of both divine and mortal be spilled to protect it?

"Sky: Children of the Light" Takes Flight on PC - Early Access Begins April 10th

First was mobile, then came consoles—and now Sky prepares to take flight on PC! On April 10th, the Sky: Children of the Light experience arrives to PC players on Steam for Early Access, and there's going to be something that all players can celebrate. Sky: Children of the Light is a peaceful, award-winning MMO designed to help players meaningfully connect with one another. You are a Child of the Light with a magical cape, set out into a wide world to find others like yourself. All are welcome in this cozy, open-world adventure above the clouds!

We're very excited about what it's going to bring to Sky. This year Sky turns five, and it's at times hard to believe just how much the game has grown—and how the community has helped it thrive! There are so many more adventures and celebrations ahead, and we're working to bring those to life in 2024 and the years to come. Those won't all fit in one blog post, but we thought we'd share a glimpse of the many things on the horizon—we'll have yet more to share in the months to come.

Breachway's Early Access Launch Delayed into Summer

Hooded Horse has announced that the early access launch of upcoming turn-based strategy game Breachway is delayed until July. The development team at Edgeflow Studio wants to take some extra time to add additional features, polish existing ones, and ensure the initial launch offering is as strong as it can be. Breachway recently had a successful run during the February 2024 edition of Steam Next Fest, becoming one of the top 50 most-played demos in an event that featured over 1,000 games and breaking the 100,000 wishlists threshold.

Hooded Horse is committed to ensuring its development partners get all the time they need to fully realize their creative visions and is proud to support its games through every twist and turn. Further information on Breachway's new release timetable will be shared at a later date. Breachway will release into early access for PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store in 2024.

Paradox Announces Foundry's Early Access Launch Date: May 2

Paradox Interactive and Channel 3 Entertainment are thrilled to announce that Foundry will be launching in Early Access on Steam on May 2nd. Foundry, the procedurally-generated voxel factory-building and automation sandbox, already garnered 100,000 players during its alpha phase on Itch.io and its demo on Steam Next Fest in October 2023.

Foundry is a first-person, factory-building and automation sandbox set in a beautiful, procedurally-generated voxel world. Starting from humble beginnings of manually mining and processing resources, crafting machinery, and developing technologies, players can advance to automating the entire production line to their precise plans. They will face different logistic challenges such as planning pipe and belt networks and managing complex power systems, working to expand their constantly growing production lines as they create their own gigantic, automated, and self-sustaining factory. Played solo or with friends, Foundry is the perfect mix between grid-based construction games and factory building simulations.
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