Astral Ascension - Release Date Update (Everyone)

Hello Fans, PixelFaders, and Patreons,

Today we'll be sharing an updating regarding the release date of Astral Ascension. I think a good majority of people are expecting a release for August 22nd as that has been our historical date for past games:

ACE - August 22, 2016

Crystalline - August 22, 2018

Ethereal Enigma - August 22, 2020

I will confirm that August 22, 2024 was our original targeted release date however we didn't share it for the exact reason of where we are today - it would have been missed.

So what happened? When we finished the writing for the game earlier this year, we felt that the ending was in a decent enough spot however we felt it could really benefit from an "After Story" for each of the waifus. This added another 50k+ word count making Astral Ascension's total word count over 400k+. For comparison, this is significantly more than double the word count of Crystalline and almost Triple that of Ethereal Enigma.

We don't have a publisher forcing deadlines on us or formulating monetization strategies that maximize profits. The reality is if we did, the outcoming would have been:

1) Avoid feature creep to release on time (no "After Story" content)

2) Release the "After Story" as a paid DLC

We aren't going to worry about feature creep because our goal is to make the best game that we can. We are financially able to do so thanks to your generous support in buying our games and our Patreon subscribers.

In terms for releasing it as a paid DLC down the road, yes that would have made a lot of sense both in terms of release date and getting more out of monetization. But the team doesn't want to do that. We'll create the extra content because it fits the vision of what we want for Astral Ascension and it will be a part of Astral Ascension with no additional cost to you.

As it stands, Astral Ascension is fully playable from start to finish (all 400k+ word count) with episode 1 voiced by the main cast so far; It is available here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/astra-full-game-110312870

What's left for Astral Ascension to be completed is all related to VO work:

1) Recording voice over (90% done)

2) Processing voice over (20% done)

3) Implementing voice over (14% done)

4) UI Overhaul (40% done)

5) Bug fixes/Polish (TBD)

So when is the release date of Astral Ascension? The honest answer is I don't know. It'll be ready when the team can put the stamp of full completion, which is when we are confident it is the best experience it can be for our players. Is that still 2024? I don't know.

We'll continue to work with passion and dedication as we always have, however we won't release a rushed project or force unsustainable overtime/crunch. Ultimately, it is in our best interest to release as soon as possible just as you'd like to play as soon as possible. We aren't withholding a finished game, it is still being actively developed. Please have patience and faith in us, and we promise to deliver an exceptional experience with Astral Ascension for you to best of our ability!

Thank you,

PF Team