Why Early Access?

“DEADGATE is an extraction shooter, and most of what makes it work depends on real players in real raids: how long contracts take, how much pressure the zombies put on a squad, how loot and the economy feel, and how fights between squads play out on 32-player servers. Internal testing alone cannot answer these questions.

The full raid loop is already playable. Early Access lets us test it with players at scale, fix problems quickly and shape the rest of development around what players actually do in raids. We intend to keep developing DEADGATE toward a full release.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect DEADGATE to stay in Early Access for about 12 to 18 months. This is an estimate, not a fixed date: the final length depends on player feedback and on how much balance and server performance need to change once many players are in raids at the same time.”

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

“Our current plans for the full version:
- pressure that builds during the raid, with more zombies as the island clock runs toward midnight
- more contract types and objectives
- support for more languages
- seasonal rewards and leaderboards for ranked play
- balance changes to weapons, loot and the economy based on raid data and feedback
- continued work on performance, stability and server-side checks

These plans may change based on what we learn from players during Early Access.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The full raid loop is playable. The current version includes:
- matchmaking into online raids of up to 32 players on dedicated servers, matched by connection quality and skill rating
- queue alone or as a squad of up to four with Steam friends; solo players are not placed into random squads
- one map: an island of about 2 km² with 25 named areas
- 6 contract types with three difficulty levels and chained, any-order and rush variants
- contract exits through four quarantine gates, emergency exits through three metro stations from 16:40, and a raid that ends at midnight on the island clock (about 42 minutes)
- hundreds of zombies that react to sight and sound, with limb damage and dismemberment
- 10 firearms, a crossbow and 3 melee weapons, plus armor, helmets, backpacks, a chest rig, food, water and medical items
- a weight-limited inventory and a health system with six body regions, bleeding, hunger and thirst
- a persistent stash, credits, an in-game shop, seven rank tiers and career stats

The interface is available in English and Turkish. Expect bugs, balance changes and performance issues. Progress such as your stash and rank may be reset during Early Access, for example at the start of a new season.”

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

“We plan to raise the price for the full release, so the Early Access version is the lowest price we plan to offer. The game offers optional credit packs, sold through Steam, that add in-game credits for the shop. Credits are also earned by playing: contracts pay credits and you can sell the loot you extract, and the best gear is found only in raids.
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How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We read and answer the Steam Discussions, and we plan to post patch notes with every update and a development update about once a month on Steam. Player feedback and aggregate raid statistics, such as extraction rates, contract completion and causes of death, decide what we balance next. For bigger changes we plan to run playtests before they go live, and we share our priorities openly in our updates.
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