Frostpunk 2’s release is delayed so the developer can take in player feedback from its beta earlier this year. The survival city-builder was originally supposed to start throwing orphans into the furnace in July, but those darlings now have a bit of a respite until September 20.
“Based on the surveys we received from you after playing, the average rating you gave the beta version was 8 out of 10,” he says delay announcement. “We are very grateful for this! At the same time, the Beta was just a petite part of a still developing game that is a work in progress. Even though we have a lot of backlog, the Beta was an opportunity for us to hear what you liked and what you haven’t quite gotten there yet. This has allowed us to better prioritize and bring to the fore the features and modifications we’ve already been working on (we hope!) that you’ll enjoy the most.
In order to introduce up-to-date, priority features and “ensure the best possible experience at launch,” 11bit says it needs more time.
The full announcement includes some details about the changes since the beta, and they don’t seem minor. Temperature and heat-based systems, which are the core of Frostpunk’s gameplay, are being revised. A up-to-date resource has been introduced to make city building “more strategic”. Players will be able to modify city districts after they are built. The faction’s behavior will be more consistent with its history. The user interface is being modernized to make the world more readable.
11bit is also adding a up-to-date feature they call “Zoom Stories”, which allows you to get closer to your city to “observe the daily lives of your citizens.” The goal is to make players feel more connected to these orphans, as they did in the miniature period before they were thrown into the furnace.
Matt Cox enjoyed his time with the Frostpunk 2 beta in April, finding it “quite promising” after playing a relatively “small portion” of the full game. We will now have to wait longer before we find out whether this promise has been fulfilled.
