3/7 Status Update

Last week I talked about how I needed to decide whether or not to push back the release of Netoria 2 to allow for more polish. Well I've made my decision, and it's not any of the options I was talking about. What I've decided to do is change the game's distribution model.

Netoria 2 will now be released on Steam, Itch, and my subscription platforms. I no longer plan to release all of Act 1 or the rest of the game for free. I was thinking about it, and the main point of giving away the game is exposure. But this game is a sequel, people can play the first game if they want something free. What's the point of putting the series on Steam if I just shift away from it immeadiatly?

To be frank, selling games upfront is a business plan I like a lot better anyway. Patreon and Subscribestar have always felt a bit icky to me. Trying to give people value for their money month after month creates patterns that are aligned against the interests of creating as good a game as possible. It also makes me anxious in a way that the revenue stream from Steam games doesn't. If this is an opportunity to move more towards Steam as the main place to get and pay for my games, I think I should take it. That doesn't mean that there won't be any free version of the game. I plan to make a demo with the first maybe 5-6 levels of the game. And I'm sure it will be leaked to the piracy sites regardless, that's fine. But I won't be the one posting the game for free on them myself.

I'll be releasing all of Act 1 as an early access release, with Act 2 and 3 released over time until the game is complete and comes out of said early access. Now, this may sound basically the same as what I did for Netoria 1, releasing updates over time, but it has a few key differences. The biggest is that I shouldn't feel pressure to get X update out by Y month. Since people will pay up front, even if some updates take longer people aren't burning money like they are on the patreon. I think it's important to stress how crappy that kind of thing makes me feel. Regardless of whether my supporters actually feel like they're getting value for their money or not, I feel a pressure to release things on a schedule of how often they're charged instead of when I think the content is ready. This is a psychological thing, but that doesn't mean it impacts me less. Making these games is largely a mental battle, trying to have fun and make things balanced against a wide variety of demoralizing elements like burnout, writer's block, and anxiety about my own production and funding model.

I suppose since you're reading this and already subscribed to either Subscribestar or Patreon, this doesn't actually affect you that much. I still plan to give the game to higher tiers even if you don't buy it elsewhere and I still plan to give out preview content and builds. But this pivot does mean the game won't be out for at least a few months. I haven't even started the approval process with Steam yet and that took quite a bit of time last time. Maybe it will be faster now since this is a sequel, I don't know. But either way I'm thinking May at the earliest now.

I know that's quite a delay from the original target of January, but the game has grown a lot since that projection. I really want to make this game as good as I can, I think it has the potential to be really special. Sorry for this pivot so close to the game being done, but I think it's the best thing to do overall.

That's all for this week. As always, thank you for your continued support.