Hello everyone,
First of all I would like to apologize for the inconvenience related to launch date changes. We are doing our best given the stressful situation. That being said, I have some good news.
Steam just approved our build and we have run our pre-release checklists.
We have decided to launch BitCraft Online on Saturday June 21st 9AM EDT / 3PM CET (NOT June 27th). This is one day after our originally planned date, but hopefully still enough time for players to plan and prep.
For context, we were caught between several terrible choices on the BitCraft launch timing and we needed to pick the least bad option. Our options were:
Launch on June 27th - This was always a horrible date for the launch as it is during the Steam Summer Sale. However we needed to give Steam a week in case there were further issues with the approval. Now that we have our approval, proceeding with this date would essentially be suicide as it would not give us any opportunity to reach the front page of Steam or be picked up in the Steam algorithm. After 7 years of development we don't think this would give BitCraft a fair shot.,
Move the release to Tuesday June 24th - This is still close to the sale, but it's also in the middle of the work week and many people who requested time off from work to play on launch day (and then subsequently moved their time off to the 27th) would be rightfully furious that they still wouldn't be able to play on launch day.,
Move the release to Saturday June 21st - In this case, most people will be able to play on launch day as it's a weekend, even the people who requested time off from work on the 27th. The major downside being that we're changing the date yet again, which is understandably frustrating, but at least you'll be able to play BitCraft this weekend.,
We believe the last option is clearly the best option for the game.
Thank you for your patience. It's been a very dynamic situation, and at the end of the day we want to do what is best for the long term health of the game and the community.
I hope you all enjoy our game.
Edit CL-Lutra: Time 9AM EDT / 3PM CET