Rockfish Games’ space shooter Everspace 2 is another title caught in the ripples of Cyberpunk 2077’s delay. The developer announced that the game’s Early Access release was going to be pushed back from mid-December to January 2021.
Posting on Everspace 2’s Kickstarter page, Rockfish Games wanted to get Cyberpunk 2077’s delay out in the open, labeling it as a “major blow” to Everspace 2’s Early Access release. Explaining that all eyes would be on the anticipated action-RPG throughout December, Rockfish and its marketing team addressed the audience overlap and revealed its new slot for Everspace 2. Conveying their inevitable disappointment, the team at Rockfish assured fans that the delay also came with perks.
Rockfish stated that the closed beta would now be available to all campaign backers, including the fans who didn't receive it as one of the perks. It was also announced that the closed beta would be brought forward by a month, where backers could use their pre-release keys to access the beta right now. The beta will include around 10 hours of gameplay for players to work through at their leisure. Rockfish also explained that there was no time constraint on the beta access, so fans could enjoy their first experience with the game at their own pace.
Once Everspace 2’s Early Access release launches next year, the closed beta keys will be revoked and backers will receive new keys to access the pre-release content. Early Access will be available on Steam, GOG, and Epic Game Store, the latter of which is still to accept the game. It was explained that by opening the beta to all backers, Rockfish would be able to receive more feedback from a higher number of players, and the delay would allow more time for improvements before the Early Access release in January.
The fast-paced space sim joins Path of Exile on the delay front, as its 3.13 patch was also pushed back until January. Grinding Gear Games respectively stepped aside to accommodate Cyberpunk 2077’s new release date, so that players didn't have to choose between the two games. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier stated on Twitter that CD Projekt Red’s developers found out about the action-RPG’s third delay at the same time fans did, no doubt adding to the pressure they're already under.
Source: Rockfish Games/ Kickstarter