Why Early Access?

“Blood West is a complex game with some sandbox gameplay, and a lot of moving parts. We would love to see how you'll be playing it, what will be your approach to its many challanges, and what will be your thoughts on the game's world, systems, and general experience.

At Hyperstrange we've had the best of experiences with involving the Steam community in the development process, by including them in our work cycle through Early Access. Games like ELDERBORN and Jupiter Hell wouldn't be what they are today, if it wasn't for your involvement. We want to approach Blood West the same way.

While we have a complete and quite precise vision of the game in our minds, we know we can make it even better by giving ourselves space to work with your feedback.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“March 2023 - Edit

The spirits are restless again... The Blood West team would like to thank all the players for the exceptional reception of the game's second chapter. We know you're very eager to play the full game, and you were expecting to do so by the end of March 2023. This will not be the case. The initial release of the 2nd chapter left us with many things to fix and polish, and made us re-think the whole development cycle once again. We don't want to just ship the third episode. We want to make sure that all three fall into place creating a living, engaging, cohesive world and a robust story to follow.

On top of that, we've decided to raise the bar once more, and add some special zest to the fantasy that is Blood West. We believe its universe is deserving of more details, delivered on various levels, and we need more time to make the game in the scale that - once more - outgrew the initial, and the revised plans.

Please expect a release date reveal soon, and prepare yourself for a few more months of exploring and mastering the 1st and 2nd chapter in anticipation for the 3rd and final one. We apologize if this comes as a disappointment, but we're confident you'll see the value in the delay, once the full game arrives.

October 2022 - Edit
The reception of Blood West's first chapter blew our mind, and we're happy to see so many people enjoying the game so much. It's been said about Blood West numerous times, that the game came into the Early Access in much better shape than many games come out of it. We know players have their hopes up, way up, for our western stealth shooter. We want to make sure that the updates, and the full game not only meet, but in many ways exceed their expectations. For that reason, Hyperstrange has made the call to expand the development team and extend the production time.

We know that the fans are anxious to play, but we will be taking our time with Blood West, to ensure the best possible end product - a game to be remembered! The content update containing the second chapter will be making its way to the players around Halloween 2022. The third and final chapter of the base game has been pushed back to February / March 2023, giving the game a full year in Early Access before the full release.

January 2022 - Original entry:
Having worked on the game since 2019 and with the mechanics as well as the first section done, we expect to put another 6-8 months into development, before releasing in full, with two substantial content updates, one adding the second of three planned scenarios, and the third adding the final scenario bringing the game to full release. (keeping this for transparency)”

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

“With the initial Blood West Early Access release you're getting one out of three planned scenarios. Each of them offers a large gameplay area to explore, with various challenges to tackle in many ways. We plan to make the full game approximately three times as large, as what you get in the first Early Access release.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Blood West is already a fully-playable game. All the gameplay mechanics are there, most of the weapons can be found and utilized, a selection of varied enemies is present, as well as NPCs (fully-voiced). The first scenario should be able to offer you a nice few hours of playtime - especially upon the first playthrough, when you only start to find your way around the cursed frontier, and find your own path leading to the first challenging boss. The free-roaming nature of the game, comparable to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, makes replaying the scenario, and trying a different approach, quite enjoyable.”

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

“We want everyone who joins us in Early Access and accompanies us through the final months of development to feel appreciated, and one of the ways to achieve that is by letting you benefit from a lower Early Access price point. The final release price will be higher.”

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

“Our dev team will be present here, in the Blood West Steam hub, looking for your feedback and excited to hear about your experience with the game. If you are so inclined, there's also a dedicated section of Hyperstrange Discord, where you can voice your opinion and chat to other players, as well as the devs.

After the Early Access release we'll be also posting some Steam Hub updates about our progress, again - encouraging you to give us your thoughts.”