I have a rule that I’m pretty good at sticking to: I usually don’t buy early access games. I’ve been burned too many times, so when a game pops up on Steam in early access, I put it on my wish list and try not to look at it again. But you guys, that’s been so hard with Astroneer. I keep looking at it. It’s so pretty. I almost let myself get away with buying it for my husband so I could play it without breaking my rule!
I won’t have to squirm much longer: Studio System Era Softworks announced today that it’s officially launching the multiplayer space exploration sandbox on PC and Xbox One (yes, it has crossplay) come February 6th of 2019.
“Liftoff will debut a new exploration-focused adventure that will take you to seven brand new planets while facing challenges like dangerous flora, treacherous terrain and immense, mysterious structures. Increased character customization options empower every astronaut to showcase their personality as they explore new narrative elements. Dedicated servers will enable intrepid adventurers to build their bases asynchronously through Xbox One and PC cross-play, fulfilling the developer’s intended vision. […] Grab friends for online multiplayer and blast off to explore uncharted planets, unearth rare materials and unlock the mysteries of the universe. Reshape colorful terrain, molding the stylized minimalist landscape to create mountains or chasms all while immersed in the meditative sounds of the sci-fi synth soundtrack. Gather resources to craft new tools and modules at fully customizable bases, then pack those bases onto vehicles and shuttles to fuel further forays into the unknown. Harness the ingenuity of an intrepid Astroneer to take on the final frontier as one of the forerunners of a new age of space expansion, propelling humanity into the future.”
“We wanted desperately to stick to the December release window, but as a team felt like we needed more time (six weeks) to ensure the 1.0 version of Astroneer met our quality bar,” the devs wrote on Twitter. You can pick up the game for about 20 bucks right now, though it’ll go up to $29.99 in two days. No pressure or anything.
