Why Early Access?

“Splimbo City has been in active solo development for several months, and it's reached a point where the core loop which is working a mundane data entry day job at Splimbocorp while fighting in underground clubs after hours is fully playable, with a battle system, leveling and abilities, karma-driven consequences, and a growing cast of NPCs and quests. I want to bring the community into the process early: I've been sharing playtest builds with my Discord, and their feedback has already shaped systems like the fight club progression and drunkenness mechanics. Early Access lets me keep building out the story, zones, and content with real player input steering priorities, rather than developing in isolation until a "final" release.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“6 months - 1 year”

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

“The Early Access version includes the core gameplay loop like day job mechanics, fight club battles with a full ability/leveling tree, an open-world city to explore, karma and reputation systems, an inventory and equipment system, NPC quests, and multiple interior locations. We plan to expand the story to its full arc, connecting the underground fight clubs to the Splimbocorp conglomerate and building toward a final confrontation. We plan to add additional fight club locations with unique bosses, more NPC questlines, expanded economy features like a job board and black market, deeper karma-based world reactivity, and more zones to explore. We also plan to continue refining combat balance, art, and polish based on community feedback throughout Early Access.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version is fully playable from start to current content, with many hours of gameplay. It includes a working day/night loop, a turn-based battle system with abilities, items, and enemy variety, an open-world city with NPCs, quests, and multiple explorable interiors, a karma system that affects the world and dialogue, and an economy with shops, loot, and equipment. The game has been tested extensively with an active Discord playtest community throughout development.”

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 throughout Early Access, with a modest increase once the full version is released. This reflects the growing amount of content and polish added over time, but we don't plan on any drastic price jumps.”

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

“I run an active Discord community where players get access to playtest builds ahead of major updates, and their feedback directly shapes development. Recent examples include community input on the fight club progression system and combat balance. Throughout Early Access, I plan to continue sharing regular builds and devlogs, gathering feedback on new content and features before they're finalized, and prioritizing updates based on what the community wants to see most. Players will also be able to report bugs and suggest features directly, and I'll be transparent about what's being worked on next.”