I know, it is a little later than the planned release in Q3. While I'm not happy about that, the Beta period received a significant amount of updates that were not originally planned. I'm confident that it improved the game enough to make it worth the extra time, but am sorry to ask for a little more patience from you.
How much content will Early Access launch with?
Early Access will launch with the first five chapters, containing well over 70 hours of unpaused gameplay. In the grand scope of things, it'll just be the beginning, as Early Access is aimed to expand to roughly 700 hours of content before marking the game complete. Of course, as you should expect, joining Early Access means all future content will be included for free.
What does this mean for the Beta?
The beta will close on October 12th. Beta sign-ups close today, but a few more invites will go out. Way more of you signed up than I dared to expect, and Beta testers have been incredible to me. Your feedback has helped the game reach a level of quality I wouldn't otherwise have been able to reach before Early Access. I can't wait to show the game to a lot more players with Early Access!
The Beta does not automatically provide a key to the Early Access version. However, your save does automatically carry over to Early Access through Steam Cloud. So you do not need to start from the beginning (although you can, if you'd want to).
What will the game cost when entering Early Access?
Increlution will feature a one-time purchase of $3 (or any currency equivalent). No optional in-app purchases or DLC. The balance is too carefully tuned to really fit any other model, and it just feels like the right approach on Steam. Of course, the demo will remain available to try the first chapter for free.
A lot of beta testers have indicated that the price point might be on the low side for the content that is already present in the game. I greatly appreciate this feedback as it's extremely helpful in determining what to expect when more players are able to play the game. However, I do feel more comfortable sticking to my original plan as it keeps the threshold to join Early Access low for many players. The price may increase throughout Early Access as more content is released, so you can consider the initial price an early adopter price. By joining Early Access, you are directly supporting me in bringing Increlution to the potential I strive for. And I'd like to reflect my gratitude for that by keeping Early Access easy to join!
I hope to see you in Early Access! I've been very happy with how the Beta period has been, but can't wait to show all of you what Increlution has to offer!