Slay the Spire 2 launched into Early Access on Steam this year, with indie developer and publisher Mega Crit working since its release to release updates every two weeks. Until now, that is.
As the studio reveals in a new announcement, content is slowing down to allow devs to get more ambitious.
"The team has been hard at work on new content, but it'll be at least a month until any of it hits the beta branch," as Mega Crit writes. "We'll be out of office during late August for our annual team break, so there won't be an August 27 patch."
That's understandable enough – the devs do deserve a break.
"As a mostly remote company, it's good to meet in person to touch some grass, frolic on the beach, and whatever else it is that people do when they aren't playing or making video games," as the team puts it.
The past bi-weekly patch system that Mega Crit has built its schedule around has "allowed us to cross quite a few features and content off of our to-do list" and "to be more dynamic and experimental when introducing changes."
That checks out. Late last month, Slay the Spire 2 finally got a keyboard-only mode and various balance adjustments, for example. Then, with v0.111.0, substantial buffs to several enemies and a big ol' nerf to one of the strongest cards and relics in the game, Brightest Flame, came.
At the same time, though, "when doling out content piecemeal like that, it's harder to dedicate time to developing the bigger, more impactful content that so many players are most eager for." That's why Mega Crit is shaking things up now and taking updates more slowly.
"We've since shifted our focus to such pieces of content, including an alternate Act 2 and new character," the studio explains. That's why "we will be shifting our updates to be a bit further apart, at least for a while. We can't guarantee the exact pace or if said pace will be regular, but we'll continue to keep you updated, as always!"
Along with the character and alternate Act 2, Mega Crit plans to drop "experimental game modes," too.
I suppose it all makes sense – Slay the Spire 2 has a journey ahead of it to its full release, and bigger, "more impactful" updates could be the key to a smoother delivery.
Need something else to look forward to? Browse through our roundup of the best new games coming this year and beyond to wishlist right now.
