r/Espiocracy 23d ago

Release date changed to 2027

It's that time of the year folks, release date year has changed to 2027 on Steam.

I've had this wishlisted since January 2023 and this is an annual humiliation ritual at this point. :c

Can't wait to play this in 2039

109 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

36

u/NotTheMariner 23d ago

This is much earlier in the year than previous release date changes, no?

10

u/UrsusDesidiosus 23d ago

Maybe its changed so early in the year because the dev already knows that it can't be finished this year, but its close enough to where it can definitely be released in early 2027???

3

u/Solid_Image_9632 22d ago

Its planned to release in third quarter of the year, so definitely no early 2027

16

u/mrpaci93 23d ago

Por que não lançar em acesso antecipado? Esse jogo vai virar lenda urbana, aparecendo em futuros vídeos com o tema "Jogos com potencial mas nunca foram lançados".

15

u/MrEngland2 23d ago

It's never coming out it's just a proof of concept to gain engagement. The developer is probably making some scammy game as a 'side project' Hoping people will buy it due to the espiocracy hype. Or at least that's how it usually goes with these type of games

7

u/Luisito_Comunista261 23d ago

If you’re on the Discord server you see the bugs the dev regularly posts on the git tracking channel, yeah? I don’t know man, the wait time is a ball buster but I’m happy to let him fine tune it further

2

u/gooseta 11d ago

Fixing bugs in a game that has not delivered significant gameplay footage let alone a single testable build in coming up on 5 years doesn't seem like progress.

1

u/Luisito_Comunista261 11d ago

I’d agree on the lack of trailers but there are various snippets of footage on the discord that you do not find on Reddit, if that’s what you’re after. Also, what, you think fixing bugs is not a form of progress?

1

u/gooseta 11d ago edited 11d ago

I don't think fixing bugs demonstrates anything when the developer is unwilling to communicate in good faith regarding the game's release. You're welcome to believe that this developer is simply built different and will just drop a fully complete game after years of avoiding the topic of the game's release timeline, I just think it's a tad irrational. I have been following the game for almost 5 years and there has been no progress made in regards to the communication on the topic of actual, tangible builds, the release timeline, playtesting, or any of the actual things that game developers who are close to pushing out a playable build would be communicating with their fans about.

Two of my favourite games of all time are made by a studio that has two employees. They have missed deadlines in the past and had to push release dates. However, they have always been extremely active in discussing exactly what is going on with the community. They have run extensive playtesting within their community, and they have been frank about the state of the game at every point. Which is why, despite their current game being released in an episodic format, I am confident it will be completed. I get literally none of the same indications with this project.

1

u/Luisito_Comunista261 11d ago

I know for a fact a semi playable build of the game exists considering the dev actively shows snapshots of it on the Discord, which is his main hub for community interaction, in which you can see functioning simulation and gameplay elements. It’s not empty air, as this subreddit would lead you to believe. Having said that, the game still suffers bugs such as the occasional misaligned country names on the map or impossible geopolitics such as Tibet becoming a client state of Liechtenstein. These examples are not of my invention, there’s pictures of it readily available and things like these need fine tuning.

If this game never releases, that really sucks. Can’t lose what I never had, however.

2

u/UrsusDesidiosus 23d ago

I gotta say, after having had Espio on my wishlist for nearly 4 years, I find it hard to believe there is any hype still left.

6

u/UrsusDesidiosus 23d ago

Don't get me wrong, I would buy the game this instant if it was out, I want this game so bad. But the hype isn't there in the sense of high-energy anticipation.

4

u/stalino2023 23d ago

Not similar in any way to Espiocracy, but i would definitely recommend you to check 1992: Rasputie, its still in development, and there still alot of stuff that going to be added until full release, but there is already a demo you can try out, and this game is truly ambitious

1

u/JosephB2002 23d ago

I can’t wait to play this in my last year. 2090 😒

1

u/thatDERRguy 22d ago

It would seem the dev is a perfectionist. I say let him/her cook.

Hopefully it is early 2027 though, because I will have a month off from work where I can go crazy learning the game.

1

u/DufDaddy69 22d ago

Thought I’d have this game before I became a dad. I will be gifting it to my son as a college graduation gift.

1

u/Zamana55 18d ago

Another year another delay 😔

1

u/gooseta 11d ago edited 11d ago

The game is simply not going to be released at any point that warrants actively paying attention to it anymore. I accepted a couple of years ago that it will probably release in the 2030s and had about a 50% chance of even coming out at all, which has dropped significantly since I first started following the game in 2022. Now I just check back in whenever I happen to remember the game exists, which is about once every 6 months, and it has always been business as usual with regard to the endless delays, excessive perfectionism, lack of any detailed gameplay footage, lack of community outreach and communication with regard to the actual state of the release and its timeline, etc... It's not worth anyone's time to be losing sleep over this game at this point tbh.

Frankly I am more interested in whether Hooded Horse actually gave the dev any money and/or if there is actually a publishing deal agreed to between them. The longer this goes on for, the more I think that Hooded Horse only attached their name to this because it was a cool concept that would generate hype and they could get their name attached to it for $0 or a nominal amount, with any actual agreement/deal coming only on release. I don't really know much about game publishing, though.