Why Early Access?

“Sweatshop Tycoon is a systems-heavy management sim (economy, production chains, worker behaviour, inspections, risk and reward). Early Access lets us ship the core game loop in a playable state and then improve it with real player feedback on pacing, difficulty, balance, UI clarity, and performance across a wide range of PCs.

Our goals in Early Access are to expand the amount of content, refine progression, and iterate on the simulation so decisions feel meaningful and the game stays fun over long sessions. We’re committing to ongoing development throughout Early Access, with updates, patch notes, and adjustments based on community reports and suggestions.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We currently expect Early Access to last roughly 4 to 8 months. That estimate may shift depending on development pace and feedback, but the intention is to remain in Early Access until the game feels feature complete for the intended experience and has had enough time for balancing, optimisation, and polish.”

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

“The Early Access version focuses on the core experience: building up a small operation, running production, managing workers, and dealing with the pressures of operating under scrutiny. The full version is planned to expand on this with more depth, variety, and long-term progression.

Examples of areas we plan to grow during Early Access include:

More content and progression: additional machines, products, recipes, upgrades, and late-game goals.

Expanded world and scenarios: more locations/areas to operate in and more variety in how runs can play out.

Deeper management systems: more worker roles and behaviours, improved logistics, and more meaningful trade-offs between speed, quality, risk, and cost.

Inspections and consequences: more event variety and stronger “under watch” pressure to force tough choices.

Polish and quality: UI/UX improvements, tuning and balancing, performance optimisation, accessibility options, and general bug fixing.

(Some planned items may change as development continues and we learn what works best from player feedback.)”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game is playable and built around the main loop: start small, set up your space, buy/place equipment, run production, hire and manage workers, source inputs, fulfil orders, and grow while managing cashflow and risk.

Currently implemented (at a high level):

First-person gameplay with a management/building workflow (placing and arranging equipment).

Production with recipes/inputs/outputs and basic supply purchasing.

Worker management basics and operating costs that affect profit margins.

Progression through expanding your operation and unlocking/affording more capability.

Early versions of “under scrutiny” pressure (events/inspections may be present in a basic form).”

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

“We plan to gradually raise the price as we ship new content and features.”

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

“Community feedback is a key part of development during Early Access. We plan to use player reports to guide balancing, quality-of-life improvements, performance optimisation, and prioritisation of new content.

Best ways to send feedback:

Steam Community Hub (Discussions) for suggestions, balance feedback, and general discussion.

Steam bug reports / discussion threads for issues (including steps to reproduce, screenshots, and specs if possible).

Any additional channels (Discord/socials) will be linked on the store page in the Basic Info section when available.”