Why Early Access?

“Carnival Hunt is a multiplayer horror game, and while the game is already fully playable and includes the core mechanics we intend for the full release, Early Access gives us the opportunity to improve and expand the experience with the help of the community.

Our main goal during Early Access is not to prove the core gameplay, but to grow the amount of content around it. We want to focus on adding more variety through additional monsters, maps, environmental diversity, balance improvements, polish, and quality-of-life updates.

As a small indie team working on a multiplayer game, player feedback is extremely valuable to us. Early Access will help us understand how players interact with the mechanics, what strategies emerge, which monsters feel the most engaging, and where the game can be improved before the full release.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We currently expect Carnival Hunt to remain in Early Access for approximately 12 to 18 months.

This timeline may change depending on development progress, community feedback, and the amount of additional content and polish we feel the game needs. Since the core mechanics are already implemented and playable, our Early Access period will be focused mainly on expanding content variety, improving balance, refining the experience, and adding polish.”

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

“The Early Access version already includes the main gameplay mechanics and systems intended for the full release. The game is fully playable, and players can experience the core multiplayer loop, objectives, monster gameplay, and match structure.

The main difference between the Early Access version and the planned full version is content variety and refinement. During Early Access, we plan to expand the game with more monsters, more maps, improved procedural map variety, additional environmental diversity, balance updates, visual and audio polish, quality-of-life improvements, and further refinements based on player feedback.

Currently, Carnival Hunt includes two main monsters and one procedurally generated map. While the map can generate different layouts and provide replayability, the overall aesthetics and atmosphere can still feel similar between matches. We plan to improve this by expanding map variety and creating a stronger sense of freshness between games.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Carnival Hunt is currently fully playable and includes all of the main mechanics we intend to have for the full release. Players can experience the core multiplayer gameplay, objectives, match flow, monster mechanics, and one procedurally generated map.

At this stage, the game is not missing core systems; it mainly needs more content variety, balance improvements, and polish. The Early Access version currently includes two main monsters and one procedurally generated map. The map offers different layouts between matches, but we want to improve the amount of visual and gameplay variety so that each match feels more distinct.

Players should expect a complete and playable core experience, with Early Access development focused on expanding monsters, maps, environmental variety, balancing, bug fixing, and overall refinement.”

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

“We plan to evaluate pricing as Carnival Hunt grows during Early Access. Since the game already includes its core mechanics, future updates will focus mainly on expanding content, adding more monsters and maps, improving variety, and increasing the overall level of polish.

As the amount of content and overall scope of the game grows, the price may increase. Our intention is to make sure Early Access players receive value for supporting the game early while also reflecting the expanded content planned for the full release.”

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

“Community feedback will be a key part of Carnival Hunt’s Early Access development. Since the core mechanics are already in place, we want players to help us refine the experience and guide the direction of future content.

Player feedback will help us understand which parts of the game are working well, which areas need improvement, and what types of content the community would like to see expanded.

We plan to communicate with players through Steam discussions, community channels, updates, patch notes, discord, social media and feedback posts. Our goal is to use Early Access to improve Carnival Hunt together with the community while expanding the game’s content and polish.”