Why Early Access?

“I am developing Gunman Drift as a solo developer, while being a full-time student at university and a part time worker at the same time, it can be difficult during some weeks to find enough time to focus on this game without sacrificing other aspects of my life. Gunman Drift is a dream game that I have wanted to create/experience for a long time, it is inspired by some of my favourite and most memorable and happiest years/games from growing up. This means I have many large goals in mind, and considering this is my first major project, having this game be Early Access gives me a chance to keep building on it while giving the community the opportunity to tag along on this journey. Currently the game only has a single player game mode, and a limited selection of customisations and maps. The ultimate goal is to provide a unique multiplayer experience while maintaining the happiness of the fan base in the process, this can only be done by receiving constant feedback and through implementing features which are mainly requested by the community. One major element which I consider to be a requirement which stops this game from being a Full Release is the multiplayer, updating all the current features of the game so that they work in a multiplayer environment is a tough task, therefore the plan is to release a new iteration of multiplayer alongside frequent fixes to the single player mode every so often until the game is completely ready. By releasing this game as Early Access, I am granted the opportunity to gain money to fund this project, that means that if enough copies are sold, I would be able to reduce my hours at work and increase my hours working on Gunman Drift, ultimately reducing the time that it will take for this game to become a Full Release, of course you cannot bet on that so only purchase this game if you believe that you are interested based on what I have made already and from what you can see in the screenshots and in the trailer.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“I am making steady progress implementing the main multiplayer features currently, and assuming that everything continues to go smoothly, we should exit Early Access and see a Full Release around Q1, 2026.”

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

“The plan is for the game to contain: full multiplayer support, more cars, more weapons, more maps, better and more polished UI, VR support, Steam integrations such as achievements and possibly more in the Full Release version.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The current early access version includes: Player levels and experience, 3 different cars, 3 different weapons, a few different colours you can choose for your car, loot crates which are only obtainable by levelling up which contain some rare colours for the car, mastery missions which unlock a further 3 new colours for the car. There are 3 maps, and the ability to drive, drift, shoot and earn experience within each map. There is no limit to how much you play on each map, just exit whenever you think you are ready to upgrade your vehicle.”

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

“The plan is to gradually increase the price of Gunman Drift. Since it is going to be available in Early Access with the fewest amount of features, it makes sense for it to be at it's lowest price point. It feels right to increase the price of the game as it becomes more polished and obtains more features. The plan is to have a reduced amount of or none at all micro-transactions, as I believe there should be no pay-to-win aspects, and every piece of content I create for this game should be unlockable in a game that you pay to play in the first place. The highest price that Gunman Drift plans to be at is around $25 which will only be the case after it is released, the Early Access price will be the best price available but will not stay the same during the entirety of the Early Access period, if any major new features are implemented, then the price will go up slightly.”

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

“For the community, there is a Reddit, and a Discord which are set up, here everyone can share their moments, and thoughts/suggestions for the game. Here I read all of the suggestions and feedback. If specific features receive a certain amount of negative feedback, they will be redesigned. There will be a roadmap available soon which will contain the future plans of Gunman Drift. The community, through feedback, will be able to cause changes to this roadmap, if they truly believe that some features are more important than others.”