Hello everyone,
Antoine here, those who recognize me know that I used to work on Humankind during the last few years. I’m now working as a Producer on Endless Dungeon, which means I’m helping to coordinate the Endless Dungeon team to make sure we can deliver a high-quality experience for you.
We have some news to share regarding the release date of ENDLESS™ Dungeon. We have decided to delay the release of the game to the 19th of October of this year, this includes all the versions: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, and Xbox X/S. The Nintendo Switch version will have a release date announced later. After all the feedback we've received we believe that it's important to spend extra time working on the game.
We hope that you understand that decisions like this are never easy to make.
___
What does this mean? There is not just 1 reason for this, there are several factors:
On the one hand, we wanted a bit more time to polish the game and solve some of the bugs that are currently present so that we can provide you with a smoother gaming experience at release.
On the other hand, and as you know, we have been gathering all your feedback on the different OpenDevs and there are areas we would like to dedicate extra time to work on key aspects. Which ones? Here are some examples:
- Meta Progression: in the past OpenDev “Final Rodeo” there was a feeling of randomness when unlocking it, now we are moving to a more player-driven unlock scheme, so it feels more rewarding to players.
- Economy: we are tweaking the economy in the game slightly. We want the 3 resources (science, food, industry) to all feel important to avoid the feeling that “industry is king”. The scarcity of resources is important so that your decision of what to invest in feels impactful.
- Balancing in general: there are a lot of elements in the game (beverages, heroes, upgrades, monsters, etc.), that require a lot of feedback, which is why the playtest with the community is essential.
- And other things, such as more variety in the districts, improving the multiplayer, onboarding new players, etc.
In the words of our General Manager and CCO, Romain de Waubert:
We’re grateful and honoured that players are looking forward to playing ENDLESS DUNGEON. The feedback we’ve received across our OpenDev sessions so far has proved to us that we truly have something special on our hands and we want to ensure we have time for the game to reach its full potential. Players have always been at the heart of our studio’s philosophy and releasing ENDLESS DUNGEON in October will allow us the extra time to keep working with the community and polishing the game for an amazing day one experience.
But hey, it's not all sad news. We do have a couple of surprises for you.
- To thank your for patience with the delay, we are planning to have 3 additional skins that will be free for everyone that pre-ordered and for early buyers when the game is released (for a limited time).
- For those wondering what is going to happen to the Closed Beta unlocked with the purchase of the “Last Wish Edition” -- The closed beta will absolutely still be happening, but we are envisioning a time frame closer to September.
- Right now, we are having an ongoing closed Playtest with players from previous OpenDevs (to help us with more feedback on the Meta Progression, balancing, etc.), and we are looking to include more players in the future. If you're interested in the possibility of participating, then stay tuned to our blogs and social media, as we will announce there when we open this chance to participate.
___
FAQ
- What If I want to cancel my pre-order? Players who have pre-purchased on digital storefronts can receive refunds where applicable in line with platform policy. This can depend on the specifics of the store and the country you are in. Please reach out to [email protected] if you are experiencing any problems.
- When will the Closed Beta (unlocked by pre-ordering the Last Wish Edition) happen? We will still have this Beta, sometime around September. Our closed betas tend to be around 1 month before the final release.
- Why do you need the extra time? We are polishing the game so players can have a better experience at release, and working on the different feedback, like the Meta-Progression, onboarding of players, the difficulty, the economy, etc.
- Will it be playable on Steam Deck? Right now, the game is playing well on Steam Deck. We will continue to work on the optimization and control scheme to achieve the green check verification.
- Is there a shared progression in co-op? If you are playing from the beginning on Co-op with your friend you will get the unlocks/meta progression at the same time, for example, if you encounter a chest that drops a key to unlock a district, it will be dropped for both of you. Meaning that any currency earned, district keys, scrap, beverages, and any meta-progression unlocks are all things you get to keep and take home to your main game. The only thing that will be "individual" is the quest progression, as it is tied to your profile. So, if you are playing Bunker and your friend is playing Zed, you will be continuing the quest progress of Bunker while your friend will progress with the character they’re playing (Zed).
___
If you want to stay up to date on all the news about Endless Dungeon, do not hesitate to check our previous and future blogs (like the latest Decrypting the Station blog about the Bosses) covering the different aspects of the game.
Thank you for your patience and support as we get the game over the finish line. We can't wait for you to see the result!
-The entire Endless Dungeon team.