There are few things more nerve-wracking for a self-publishing indie developer than the launch of a new game in Early Access. Those first 24 hours often define a game’s success going forward, and may determine whether the game even gets finished. ForROCKFISH Games, the launch ofEverspace 2in Early Access had all levels of pressure, but luckily it seems likeEverspace 2has delivered, with ROCKFISH CEO Michael Shade said in a press release published by Gamasutra that its start has “exceeded our wildest expectation.”
Everspace 2officially launched on Steam in Early Access this past week. The game has long been anticipated, having run asuccessful Kickstarterproject in late 2019 as the sequel to a well-received game from 2017. According to Shade, ROCKFISH has been confident for some time. He citesEverspace 2having accrued over 260,000 wishlist entries on Steam, which is often indicative of early success.
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Few could have predictedEverspace 2to jump to the top of Steam’s charts for best-selling games. It even reached second place in theSteam weekly totals of top-selling games. A further detail shared by Shade is thatEverspace 2managed to climb to over 3,000 concurrent players on Steam and a 94 percent positive review rating, which are impressive for an Early Access game.
Everspace 2has a ways to go before it’ll be ready for a full launch, saying that it plans to stay in Early Access for 12-18 months. ROCKFISH will spend that timeexpandingEverspace 2’s universe, adding ships, star systems, enemies, and more, as well as expanding the game’s various progression systems. What matters is thatEverspace 2appears to be successful enough in Early Access that ROCKFISH will be able to deliver on its hopes for its game comfortably.
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