Why Early Access?

“RollerCoaster Tycoon is a franchise with an extremely dedicated, passionate fanbase. The classic RCT games represent cherished gaming memories for millions of players and are still enjoyed to this day. Early Access offers an opportunity for us to involve this passionate community directly in our development process, helping to sculpt the next great RCT. We want to hear from you! What works? What's missing? What do you want to see in your ideal RCT?

We have a tremendous legacy to uphold, beginning with Chris Sawyer's original RollerCoaster Tycoon in 1999. We hope, with your support, we can build a game that continues to build on the brilliance of the series, taking what worked in those classic games and pairing it with surprising new twists and modern sensibilities.

We have a dedicated roadmap of new parks, rides, and features that we'll roll out throughout Early Access (including water). But in addition, we're leaving space to hear from you and incorporate feedback and suggestions from the community directly into the game. Time to get in on the ground floor, Tycoon!”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We plan to maintain Early Access support for about a year.”

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

“For our full release of RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks, we intend to include at least 6 new parks along with accompanying objectives, rides and other assets. We also will roll out new gameplay features throughout EA including Water and accompanying Water rides, Weather effects, and a broader meta-game progression (and a true “ending” to the game).

We also plan to add quality-of-life features that give players multiple ways to approach the game - features such as a ‘classic’ builder mode for our coaster builder, toggles for park gridlines, and more.

Lastly, we fully intend to use this period to hear from you, the player, about what you want to see in the game. While we of course can’t integrate every suggestion, we want to build a game that makes returning and new players happy, and honors the legacy of the original titles while taking it in new directions.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Our Early Access release has all core gameplay and simulation mechanics in-place, including coaster building and ride management (placement, customization, upgrading, testing, deteriorating and maintenance), guest needs & wants, staff management, stats and heat maps, terraforming, and more.

Certain features may (almost certainly will) need balance changes to make sure that we optimize game progression. We also anticipate edge-case bugs that we will test and fix throughout Early Access, along with quality-of-life requests called out by our community.

The game launches with its first two parks intact - the derelict Hollow Creek and lush Forest Frontiers. In each park, you’ll have various milestones and progression goals to complete.

To unlock all content in the game we estimate around 6 hours of gameplay, but we hope that players will continue to expand their parks and explore game mechanics for many hours beyond that. Throughout EA we will expand the number of parks and assets in the game to bring up the total completion hours significantly).”

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

“Yes. We recognize that our Early Access players are coming along for the ride before the game is complete and playing an active role in shaping its future. To reflect that, RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks is available at a lower price during Early Access. When we launch into 1.0, the game will transition to its full retail price.”

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

“We'll be gathering player feedback via Steam and Discord to steer our Early Access journey. Community suggestions will directly influence balance updates, system tweaks, and upcoming content priorities.”