Why Early Access?

“Stormgate is a free-to-play (on August 13) real-time strategy game featuring a wide variety of current and future game modes. That includes competitive 1v1 gameplay, the start of our ongoing campaign, 3P co-op vs. the AI, and a few other custom modes that we’re experimenting with. In the future, that will expand to include 3v3 and our powerful Editor.

Throughout our testing phases, we have found that player feedback has been a big part of how we’ve made such great strides with each new build. We believe that this close partnership with the community is the best way to make games today, and Early Access is the natural next step on this collaborative development journey.

With the community’s help, we can be better informed about balance and gameplay feel, and squash bugs faster and more efficiently than possible without them. Early Access is an opportunity for us to create an ongoing, open dialogue with our players who can be directly involved in the evolution and growth of Stormgate.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We are planning to be in Early Access for at least a year, but that’s subject to change. We’ll decide on what’s best for the game and our players as development continues.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“We plan to evolve and improve Stormgate for years to come, but our vision for 1.0 is that of an RTS with a variety of playable heroes, several chapters’ worth of campaign content, all of our core game modes (including competitive 3v3) in a fun and playable state, Tier 3 units and technology for our core factions, and support for custom games with our Editor.

This effort will also include improvements and polish to visuals and sound, as well as performance optimization. Finally, we’ll be taking a closer look at game balance once the core faction gameplay has been largely finalized and adjust where we see fit armed with the data provided by community feedback.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Stormgate is unfinished. Early Access is a full development stage for us. On day 1 of Early Access, Stormgate will feature several playable game modes, including competitive 1v1, 3P co-op vs. AI, and our initial campaign missions. These campaign missions are a work-in-progress and use our gameplay models in cutscenes. We will be updating these models with facial animations and improved body proportions during Early Access. We also plan to continue improving the art, story, and more.

We also have a handful of experimental modes available for playtesting in custom games, including 2v2 maps and our MOBA-inspired Turf War.

Our core gameplay is in place and players can already feel the difference made possible by our ultra-responsive game engine. Our global server infrastructure has been tested and shown to provide an unmatched online play experience for players around the world, opening up new possibilities for bringing players together for fun and competition.

In addition, we have a variety of in-game features such as the Quick Macro Panel (QMP), automated control groups, and the BuddyBot that help make our game more approachable than many past RTS games.

Our goals for Early Access include working on improved tutorial and onboarding experiences, improving and expanding our campaign content, further work on our core factions such as building out more Tier 3 units and upgrades, the initial release of our in-game Editor, and our all-new objective-based competitive 3v3 mode.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Stormgate is free-to-play starting August 13 and will continue to be free throughout Early Access and beyond. While we do not anticipate making any significant changes to the pricing of our downloadable in-game content, we reserve the right to make adjustments, including price increases, should we feel they support our mission of providing players with a good value and delivering content that adds to their enjoyment of Stormgate.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We have regularly engaged the community on Reddit and Discord during our closed playtesting phases and plan to continue soliciting feedback and listening to players as they let us know what they love, hate, or want to see changed in Stormgate. We aim to post updates to our Steam page fairly regularly and to be active on Discord. We enjoy sharing behind-the-scenes development updates that include concept art and insider looks at our development processes.

Above all else, we commit to listening to our players. Without our players’ feedback, Stormgate would not be where it is today. We look forward to continuing to make strides as we embark on this Early Access journey with our community and to build an RTS that we can enjoy together for many years to come.”