Why Early Access?

“Too Hot To Hold is the kind of game that gets better and better when players start breaking it, mastering it and find ridiculous ways to play that we never expected.

The core game is there, but Early Access allows us to build on it together with the community. We want to see which abilities players love, which strategies emerge, where the chaos is at its best, and what needs adjusting.

Player feedback will play a big part in how the game grows from here.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We currently expect Too Hot To Hold to remain in Early Access for around one year.

That may change depending on development and community feedback. During Early Access, we plan to release updates that improve the existing game while also introducing new content, features, abilities, maps, and other ways to troll your friends.

We don't want to rush toward 1.0 just to hit a date. We'll leave Early Access when we feel the game has reached the level of content, polish, and variety we're aiming for.”

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

“Our goal is for the full release to be a bigger, more polished, and more varied version of the game available at Early Access launch.

We plan to expand the game with additional maps, Trickster and Warden abilities, traps, gameplay interactions, customization options, balancing improvements, and other content developed throughout Early Access.

Some ideas will come from us, while others will almost certainly come from players doing unhinged things during matches.

The exact scope may evolve as development continues.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Too Hot To Hold launches into Early Access with its core multiplayer experience fully playable.

Players can take the role of Tricksters trying to keep the Ember alive by passing and throwing it between each other, while Wardens hunt them down and attempt to destroy it.

The game already includes the main round structure, both playable roles, proximity voice chat, Warden tracking mechanics, Trickster and Warden abilities, traps, multiplayer interactions, and the core win and loss conditions.

Early Access will focus on expanding that foundation while improving balance, variety, polish, new areas, new mechanics and replayability based on how people actually play the game.”

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

“Yes.

We plan to launch Too Hot To Hold at a lower Early Access price. As the game grows and receives substantial new content and features, the price may increase.

Any changes will reflect the amount of content available at that point.”

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

“We'll be paying close attention to Steam discussions, reviews, Discord feedback, bug reports, balance discussions, and the completely unintended strategies players discover.
Moreover, we have implemented thorough systems in our game such as the "Council system" where players can write suggestions when there is no poll active, this means we gather all of the players' opinion to create a poll and when it's active, players can vote. After some time, the poll will close and the results will be published so players can know what comes next.

We want players to tell us which abilities are the most fun, which ones make them want to uninstall the game after their friend uses them, which maps they enjoy playing repeatedly, and where the game could become even better.

We'll use that feedback alongside our own vision for Too Hot To Hold as we continue developing the game toward its full release.”