Why a Game Remains Without Release Plans Four Years into Early Access

Hey, so have you ever stumbled upon this quirky game called Timberborn? It’s this beaver city-builder thing that’s been floating around since, I dunno, September 2021? Yeah, it’s kinda wild that it’s already sold over a million copies. I guess people dig the vibes of these industrious little critters. Thing is, though, no one’s said when they’re dropping the big 1.0 version, and it’s been, like, forever!

I dabbled a bit — not gonna lie, maybe just a handful of hours in. But those beavers? Man, they’re something else. It’s like, they just get stuff done, you know? Like, there’s this video chat I had with Michal Amielanczyk, the comms guy, and he was all about how these beavers are just made for this kind of sandbox game. They prep for winter, chill in their little communes, and even sharpen their teeth! Oh, and update 7 just dropped on May 8, with ziplines and these things called “tubeways.” Totally bonkers, right?

Anyway, lots of fans are practically yelling, “Hey, give us 1.0 already!” after the recent updates. But Michal’s all like, “Nah, we’ll take our time and make it perfect.” And who can blame them, really?

I actually told Michal and another brain behind the game, Adrian Bociek, that the thing feels pretty complete already. It’s got this whole city-building chaos going on, and there’s a zany mix of stuff thrown in by the devs and fans on their Discord and Reddit. Adrian mentioned how they just love tossing ideas out there and seeing what players do with them — surprise, surprise, right?

This Early Access deal? It’s like their magic wand. They get more space and time, and fans get cool new toys to play with. Win-win, I guess.

So, I queried Michal about post-launch plans — you know, what comes next. He gave me this vague “too soon to say” line, probably because Timberborn is their first baby. They’re taking it slow, cautious-like, holding onto that ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ badge like it’s precious. It’s almost like they’re not sure they’ll ever nail 1.0, which gives it this air of mystery until — poof — it happens.

Anyway — look, I think I got lost in there somewhere. But who knows, maybe the mystery’s part of the charm?