Today we reveal our release plans. Archmage has been 8 years in the making and it will be out in the wild in two significant dates:
Alpha: Mid to Late October
Release to Early Access: Mid March 2023
Our full-time team of nine Defianceers is working hard to make these dates. We have to hit em, no more delays.
About Alpha in October
Build 14 is the last major build before we release to early access. The last two major components to complete for build 14 to be playable are:
Quest Systems
NPCs feeling alive and interactive
We are working on these and expect about 6 weeks to have something for you to play. It’s so exciting, feels like Christmas!
About Early Access in March 2023
Choosing when and how to release a game is a black-magic science art. I’ve remember hearing…
“A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.””
I also held in the back of my mind that you only get one chance at release: either Early Access or Full Release. I would much rather have that first impression be a fully featured tested game than some broken shabby husk of what the game will be.
Fortunately, this strategy has enabled us to participate in the next Next Fest in early 2023! Yippee!
With most of the game complete, this will allow us to enter Early Access with a bang and focus on the most important issues each week/month.
I hope and expect the early access period is about 3 months of No new features!, just balancing and responding to fan feedback.
There it is. This is the long awaited plan for Archmage. It’s scary yet comforting to see the end in sight!