Why Early Access?

“The game in its current state has most of the systems and functionality that we wanted to introduce, but we still have lots of ideas on how to expand them in terms of both the amount of content and its depth. Since Drill Core is a roguelike game, the more elements we add to the formula, the harder it is to properly balance it without help from dozens of people ready to share their thoughts and feedback. That’s why we want to go to Early Access.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We are aiming to release the full version in the second half of 2025 - but the actual timing may shift depending on the feedback that we receive from players.”

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

“We want to expand the game in terms of the amount of available platforms and biomes. We want each one of them to bring some new and interesting ways to interact with the game, refreshing the feelings from the gameplay. We also plan to introduce more content and improve balance of features by the time of release.

During Early Access, our plan is to release a Major Update every few months containing new features and content, followed soon after by patches to shore up any issues. We are looking to release the first of these Major Updates later this year.

An in-game Development Roadmap is planned to be added to provide more context on where we're at in development and our current priorities”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game is feature complete, meaning it has all the functionality we intended for the core game. You have full procedural generation of levels, robust progression system, tons of content and potential builds you can explore in our roguelike base-building strategy. You can also enjoy the first two biomes and 10 different difficulty levels.”

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

“Depending on the scope of additional content we add to Drill Core over time, we may raise the retail price at a later point.”

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

“We are actively monitoring all messages in our official Discord server linked in the game client. We read all the feedback received from anyone who played the demo version of the game and we plan to do the same throughout the whole direction of Early Access.

Additionally, we will run a special survey after Early Access starts and each Major Update. We will also be checking feedback here in our Steam discussion forums, Steam reviews and any other platform, where a public discussion may occur.

Essentially, what we want to establish with our players is a back and forth conversation centered around the game's balance, content and progression. We feel that with the amount of moving pieces in Drill Core we could never hope to balance the game on our own satisfactorily, so we decided that Early Access would be our best route forward!”