Why Early Access?

“Re:BirthStone is built on two opposing sides - the God Side and the Demon King Side - and how far each side should grow, and in what order, is not something we want to decide alone. We are releasing in Early Access because the decisions that are still open are better made with players in the game: which side's story we continue next, how the party-battle half and the tower-defense half should weigh against each other, how much Taskbar Mode should do while the main game is closed, and which of the larger systems we have planned we should build first. We would rather build the rest of the game with the people playing it than guess at it on our own.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We are planning for roughly 6 months in Early Access - roughly the first half of 2027. A large part of the game we are aiming for is still ahead of us: story beyond God-side Chapter 4 and Demon preview Chapter 2, Tower Defense past stage 1-10, an outside map with gathering and vehicles, the Magic Racetrack, and seasonal event hubs. We plan to build these together with player feedback during Early Access. This is an estimate rather than a commitment - if feedback shows we need more time to get them right, we plan to extend Early Access and update this estimate on the store page and in our update notes.”

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

“We are planning for the full version to be considerably larger than the Early Access version, not simply a more stable one. We plan to continue the God-side story beyond Chapter 4 and the Demon preview story beyond Chapter 2, and to extend Demon-side Tower Defense past stage 1-10 with new stage mechanics rather than more of the same. We also plan to add three things that do not exist in the Early Access build at all: an outside map with gathering and vehicles, the Magic Racetrack, and seasonal event hubs. Alongside that we plan to deepen what is already playable, with more equipment, skills and costumes for the 24 envoys, and more for Taskbar Mode to do while the main game is closed. How far each of these goes, and the order we build them in, is what we want to decide together with Early Access players rather than lock down in advance.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The current Early Access version includes God-side story Chapters 1-4 and a separate preview of Demon-side Chapters 1-2, Demon-side Tower Defense stages 1-1 through 1-10 and five Demon story battles, Demon King Castle and Castle Town growth, raising the 24 envoys through equipment, skills and costumes, and Taskbar Mode. The Demon preview has its own entrance and a short introduction to a later transfer. It does not take place immediately after God-side Chapter 4. God-side story from Chapter 5 and Demon-side story from Chapter 3, Tower Defense past 1-10, the outside map, the Magic Racetrack and seasonal event hubs are not in this version. Balance, progression pacing and stage difficulty are still being tuned and are expected to change during Early Access.

When the game transitions to full release, saved data, including progress and inventory, may be reset or deleted due to changes to the game or bug fixes. For Early Access players, we plan to provide a way to carry selected items into the full release, together with Early Access player rewards. The eligible items, conditions and rewards have not yet been decided. We will announce the details once they are determined.”

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

“The base game is planned to remain free to play during Early Access and after full release. The current Early Access version has no real-money purchases. If optional purchases are added in the future, their contents will be disclosed before they are introduced.”

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

“The Steam Community hub and discussions are where we plan to do this. During Early Access we plan to post the questions we are genuinely still deciding - which side's story to continue next, what the next Tower Defense stages should ask of the player, how far Taskbar Mode should go, which of the planned systems to build first - and gather opinions before we build, not only after. Reports on balance, progression pace, performance and bugs are just as welcome. In our update notes we plan to say what changed and which feedback it came from, so it is visible when player input has changed the game.”