Why Early Access?

“The core of Recycled is finished and playable: collecting, taking items apart at the workbench, sorting into eight bins, and co-op for up to four players. Before we build more areas and systems on top of it, we want to learn how the game feels to the people who play it: the size of the hill, the pace of sorting, the controls, and how co-op sessions go. Early Access lets us make those decisions together with players instead of guessing.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect Recycled to stay in Early Access for about 12 months. This is an estimate: the actual length will depend on the feedback we receive and on how much new content we add during that time.
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How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“We plan to add:
- New landfill areas, each with its own kinds of trash (for example furniture and scrap metal, or a hill of electronic waste)
- More items to take apart, and new bins where new materials need them
- Optional extra activities we experimented with during development, such as cleaning intact items and putting them up for sale, if players would like the game to have them
- More Steam Achievements as new areas arrive
- Final sound effects, music and more visual polish
- Native-speaker review of every translation, and more languages
- Better controller support and more graphics options

The calm, no-pressure nature of the game will stay the same.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version contains one complete area, the Trash Mountain: a hill of about 33,000 items that can be cleared completely. It includes:
- Collecting, carrying and throwing items
- Nineteen kinds of items to take apart at the workbench, among 47 kinds of trash
- Eight sorting bins, with hints for wrong choices
- Four sectors with their own counters and stars
- Solo play and online co-op for up to 4 players through Steam
- Three save slots with autosave
- 11 Steam Achievements
- Interface in 12 languages

Some parts are not final yet: many sound effects are placeholders, the translations other than English and Turkish are new and still being reviewed, and balance (such as the size of the hill and the bag) may still change.”

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

“We plan to raise the price gradually as new areas and features are added. Everyone who buys the game during Early Access will receive all future updates, including the full release, at no extra cost.
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How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We read the discussions and reviews on the Steam Community hub and use them to decide what to work on next. Every update will come with notes that explain what changed and why. When we are unsure about a direction, for example which area to build next, we plan to ask players through polls in Steam announcements, and to offer larger changes on an opt-in beta branch before they reach everyone.
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