Why Early Access?

“Bloodlines & Banners spans ten eras of history, and several of its biggest systems are still being built and rebalanced. We want players shaping them while they are still changeable, not after they are locked.

Our goals for Early Access:

- The economy. We have just rebuilt how costs grow through the ages, so that armies, buildings and administration get properly more expensive as your realm modernises. We are tuning it against real campaigns, and players will decide where it feels too harsh or too generous.

- AI rivals. We are reworking how computer-controlled realms run their courts, appoint governors and build their economies, so they grow into real competitors instead of stalling. Your reports of rivals that feel passive, broken or unbeatable will drive this directly.

- Multiplayer. Hot-seat play is in the game today. Online multiplayer works by invitation, and a public lobby for finding opponents is still in development.

- Depth across the eras. Some ages have far more events, characters and decisions than others. We want players to tell us which eras feel thin, and we will fill them in that order.

We are a small studio committed to finishing this game. We release updates regularly, publish patch notes with each one, and read every report. Early Access lets the people playing it decide what gets built next.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect roughly six to twelve months. We will stay in Early Access until the economy, the AI rivals and online multiplayer meet the standard we are aiming for, rather than leaving on a fixed date.”

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

“The full version will have:
- A finished economy, balanced across all ten eras so that a well-run realm always has meaningful choices about what to spend on.
- AI rivals that manage their courts, governors and economies competently from the first age to the last.
- A public online lobby for finding opponents, alongside the hot-seat and invitation-based play available now.
- More events, characters and decisions in the eras players tell us feel thin.
- Clearer interface and onboarding for new players, and better performance on large late-game maps.
- Right now there is no save feature available. We are weighing whether one should be included.
The order will follow player feedback.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“ou can play a complete campaign today, from the Neolithic to the Information Age, with 88 civilizations, 146 technologies and 40 wonders, dynasties, courts and diplomacy. Single-player against AI rivals works fully offline, and hot-seat multiplayer is included.
It is not finished. The economy was rebuilt only recently and is still being tuned, AI rivals are being reworked and can play poorly in some situations, and the public multiplayer lobby is not yet available. Expect balance changes between updates, rough edges in the interface, and bugs. We aim to keep campaigns compatible across updates, but a major update may occasionally require starting a new campaign.”

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

“The price may increase as the game grows and when it leaves Early Access. Buying during Early Access includes every update through full release at no extra cost.”

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

“Players will directly set our priorities. We run the Steam discussion forums and our Discord, where we read every bug report and suggestion. The game has an in-game feedback button that sends reports straight to us. We publish patch notes with every update explaining what changed and why, and we will ask players directly which eras, systems and features to work on next.”