Why Early Access?

“By My Side is made by a small independent studio, and Early Access lets us build it together with our players. The heart of the game — surviving the seasons, building and powering a home, farming, and raising a dog companion at your side — is already here and fully playable. A cozy survival game like this grows best with real feedback: what you enjoy, what needs balancing, and what you'd like more of will directly shape the road ahead. We'd rather build the rest of the game with the community than on our own.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We're planning roughly 12 to 18 months in Early Access. That said, getting the game right matters more to us than hitting a fixed date — if community feedback shows we need more time to polish features and content, we'll take it. We'll keep players updated on our progress along the way.”

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

“Our goal for the 1.0 release is a bigger, deeper and more polished game. We're aiming to expand the world with more biomes, animals, crops and buildable content, deepen the homestead and survival systems, stabilize and grow online co-op, add more to do across the seasons, and refine balance and polish throughout — guided by what the community helps us prioritize. Early Access is the version where the foundation is solid and the content keeps growing.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“By My Side is already a complete, playable survival experience. You arrive in a procedurally generated wilderness, find and tame a dog that grows and follows you, gather resources, and build and furnish a multi-story home. You farm crops across four seasons (with greenhouses for year-round growing), raise animals, and run your own power and water systems — solar panels, batteries, pumps, heaters and sprinklers. You hunt, fish, craft, and survive harsh winters and wolf attacks. Two modes (hardcore Survival with permadeath, and a relaxed Story mode) and interface localization in 8 languages are already in. Online co-op is included and being actively stabilized. Expect some rough edges and ongoing balancing — that's exactly what Early Access is for.”

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

“We plan to raise the price gradually as the game grows with more content and features during Early Access, so buying early means supporting development at the lowest price. The price will not change at the moment the game leaves Early Access.”

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

“Player feedback is at the core of this project. We'll gather suggestions and bug reports through the Steam Community Hub, the discussion forums and our Discord, and use them to prioritize updates, balance and new content. We'll share progress regularly and let the community help steer what we build next.”