Hello everyone, I have big news today!
Cellscape will release on January 12, 2027.
It will launch directly into 1.0 instead of Early Access.
It’s been quite a journey since I started creating Cellscape in January 2025. Initially I expected this to be a very simple game, something on the level of Flappy Bird. I thought I’d spend a couple of months on it and either release a silly little experimental project, or decide that game dev is not for me and go back to my normal work.
Now it’s been almost two years of focusing heavily on this project, and there is still so much I want to do. I’m absolutely enchanted by the process of game development. I can’t begin to describe how much I love working on Cellscape, and how proud I am of what it’s turning into. Turning my own artwork into something alive and interactive really feels magical.
Why Not Early Access?
Cellscape is now reaching a point where I can see the complete game taking shape.
For most of this year I’ve been saying I’d release in Early Access toward the end of the year. However, the more I think about it, the more I’m not sure what the point of Early Access would actually be.
My plan was essentially to release the game in a reasonably complete state, just needing to be filled out more. Then later, there would be a full release. The thing is, I don’t have plans to stop development after the 1.0 release. I have many years worth of ideas in mind, so I’d have to just pick some arbitrary point and say “ok, now it’s released”, but I’d still continue working on it after that, so calling it 1.0 wouldn’t really mean anything in practice.
So I feel it makes more sense to release directly to 1.0, and I'm confident that I can have the core game ready by mid-January. Cellscape already has a solid gameplay structure and only needs a few additional major systems like achievements and character customization unlocks to feel like a complete game. Further development will continue beyond that initial release point, with the goal of adding more depth and generally expanding and improving the game indefinitely.
This way you’ll get a polished game sooner, and be able to play exciting new updates as they come out instead of just getting teasers for years and years.
Here is the new roadmap from now to 1.0:
Thank you so much for following along with this journey so far!
If you'd like to follow a little more closely, you can find a live interactive demo of Cellscape's new aquarium mode over on Twitch. I'm usually in and out of chat during European daytime and evening hours, so come say hello and !feed the microbes!
Wish you all the best,
Kate