Why Early Access?

“BLACKMARKET is made by a small studio in Osaka. The fastest way to get it right is to put it in front of runners now and watch where they slide, where they die and where they give up. The core of the game is here today: the doors, the clock, the Saferooms, the movement, and the things that hunt you through EDEN. Early Access lets us build the rest with you instead of guessing.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect a couple of months, depending on what we learn from players along the way.”

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

“We plan to keep adding to EDEN through Early Access:
- New sectors, each with its own rooms, hazards and the things that live there
- More entities, each with one rule to learn and one way out
- More Deals, Contracts and Gear, so no two runs build the same runner
- More secrets behind the doors, and more of what EDEN actually is
- Leaderboards and seeded runs to race other runners on the same doors
- Polish across movement, performance, controller support and accessibility
What gets built first will follow what players enjoy, and what they break.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The full loop is in and playable from start to finish of a run: numbered doors, the Saferoom clock, and what comes for you when it runs out. Movement has its full set of tech (slides, wall-kicks, trimps, pounds, vaults, climbs and swimming). There are several sectors to run through, a cast of entities that each kill you one way, Deals and Contracts to change how a run plays, a weekly shift that everyone runs on the same seed, and achievements. Expect rough edges, balance changes between updates, and the occasional room that doesn't behave.”

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

“No. BLACKMARKET is free, and we plan to keep it free when it leaves Early Access.”

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

“Through the Steam forums and our Discord: tell us where you got stuck, what felt unfair and what you want more of. We read what you send. We also look at anonymous play data (which you can turn off in the settings) to see where runs end and which rooms trip people up, and we tune from that. Updates will come with patch notes that say plainly what changed.”