Stormgate was announced in 2022 and has come a long way since: it became the biggest video game Kickstarter of 2023, raising $2 million on top of the $35 million already raised in its initial funding round, and celebrity by Simu Liu and Chris Metzen The company also succeeded in attracting the voice talent of It also made a big impression on online editor and PC Gamer strategy smith Fraser Brown, who declared, "For the first time in a long time, I'm excited to step back into the competitive side of real-time strategy."

However, the early access launch for Kickstarter backers has not gone smoothly: since its July 30 launch, Stormgate has received "mixed reviews" from Steam's 2,000+ user reviews: common complaints include incomplete story and inconspicuous unit interaction, poor enemy AI in PvE mode, lack of manual save and load, and excessive monetization.

This is far from a catastrophe, especially considering that it is an early access release and is expected to remain so for at least a year, and that the full early access launch, when Stormgate will be free to play, will not occur until August 13 In addition, the game will not be available for free until August 13. For now, access is limited to Kickstarter backers and those who have purchased an "early access pack."

Developer Frost Giant Studios emphasized these points in an update released a few days after Stormgate's early access launch, stating that there is still "a long way to go" before the 1.0 release. It also addressed some of the current complaints about the game, most notably that new in-game heroes not included in the Kickstarter bundle are now available for individual purchase on launch day: early backers of Stormgate have been "rewarded" for supporting the game To make them feel "rewarded," the next paid heroes to be released will be available to everyone who purchased the "UItimate Founder's Pack" tier or higher on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, and to everyone who purchased the Ultimate Early Access pack on Steam. will receive a gift.

Frost Giant said it is addressing "critical feedback" about the state of the game itself, including cutscene character models, inconsistent audio levels, and "stylized art direction." In-game features such as customizable hotkeys, the ability to pause the campaign, and a save system that works independently of the current checkpoint saves will also be implemented.

Slightly different from this sort of thing, the studio also noted Frost Giant's comments about "possible financial consequences."

"Those projections were grossly inaccurate," the studio wrote.

"Like any business, Frost Giant needs to create a product that people will decide to buy in order to be successful. We work hard to do that and are grateful to have ample funding compared to many startups, including many that never see their games in the hands of players"

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The reaction to Stormgate so far has spotlighted the risks of Early Access releases. The Early Access game is clearly not complete: to varying degrees, it is essentially a beta version that you pay for. If you give someone a beta build and tell them it's for testing, bugs and bullshit are to be expected. But if you charge for a product, "early access" or not, expectations are naturally higher. So what might have been "let's see what happens at launch" eventually turns into an ugly Reddit thread about the various ways the game failed.

"Early Access means different things to different studios and is still a relatively new way to develop and publish games," Frost Giant CEO and production director Tim Moten told PC Gamer.

"We're still relatively new to this," Tim Morten, CEO and director of production at Frost Giant, told PC Gamer.

"For us, early access means knowing that it's an unfinished product. We see early access as an active development phase that will introduce new systems, new game modes, and an editor, and we plan to add a lot of content before it starts to feel like 1.0. This includes audio, localization, performance optimizations, and other aspects that you won't see right away."

Morten said that comparisons to StarCraft 2 may have inflated expectations for Stormgate even further; Frost Giant is a company founded by former Blizzard developers, and the game is a long-overdue successor to that great RTS. It is widely seen as a proper successor to that great RTS that had been long overdue. While there are clear similarities between the two in terms of core gameplay, Frost Giant does not have access to Blizzard-class resources at this time.

"'StarCraft 2' benefits from over a decade of development, support from Blizzard's world-class cinematics team, and social features on Battle.net. The cutscenes (which account for much of the critical feedback) don't come close to Blizzard's Pixar-like quality." It will improve over time, but it's one area where independent studios will always be at a disadvantage"

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Some of the negative feedback received so far has been expected by developers, while others have been "thought-provoking." But Morten said all of it is valuable to Frost Giant because it helps them set priorities for the future.

"We adjust our production schedule based on player feedback," he explained.

"This is one of the great benefits of early access, getting feedback that proactively improves what we offer for the final 1.0. We are bringing forward work that was planned for later in development, such as more detailed character models for in-engine cutscenes. We will use this opportunity to re-prioritize various tasks.

Regarding the predictions of financial doom and gloom, Morten bluntly stated that the analysis he has seen is "deeply flawed." While these messages might superficially be interpreted as gamers cheering for the studio's failure, he sees it differently: "I think the underlying message is that the players want Frost Giant to stay in business. That's a sentiment I can get behind, even if their attempts at financial analysis miss the mark."

Frost Giant plans to release the next major content update for Stormgate in late September, which will include not only new content but "some meaningful response" to player feedback. Prior to that, a balance patch will be released prior to the full early access release on August 13, and a smaller patch aimed at fixing bugs and other issues that the team can work on quickly will be released "shortly."

"At this stage, both pros and cons are expected. There are a lot of great games out there that get polished into gems after the initial reaction is mixed. We firmly believe we are building something special, and we have big plans for the future of Stormgate.

"As Stormgate continues to improve and progress towards 1.0, we hope to attract many more players. Stormgate is a very passionate project for us and the entire Frost Giant team is committed to making this game great."

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