Posted February 18, 2019 by Denki
So! Our Big News! We did a deal with a publisher to help us sell Autonauts.
Autonauts will now be officially released towards the end of this year, on PC first via Steam Early Access and growing out from there. The focus will still be on technology leading up to but not including the invention of steam power (that and future technology will added over time after the initial release).
Yes, it’s more waiting. But, to be honest, without this deal, it’s doubtful that Autonauts would have made it, let alone to the quality we want. It’s a tedious reality, but it takes time and energy to constantly chase financing and that’s always at the expense of creating something. The best thing about our new partnership is it gives us improved stability so we can focus on making the game; we get support with everything from localisation in multiple languages to more expansive quality assurance testing and marketing.
Over the past year or so, of all the publishers we showed Autonauts to, this one grinned the most when they saw the game; since then they’ve been enthusiastic and pragmatic about its potential, which we found most reassuring.
Who is this publisher?
We can’t say just yet. While the ink is dry on the contract and we’ve successfully delivered our first two milestones, there’s still some work behind the scenes to be done before an official announcement is made. We just wanted to keep you in the loop as soon as possible.
In the meantime, here are some screenshots from a recent (unreleased) build...
You also might enjoy this unlisted video we made last year as part of our update package for final part of our UK Games Fund grant.
“Will there be any form of Beta program?” It’s definitely something we’re considering but we can’t say for sure just yet.
“You said that anyone who donated £20 or more on itch.io would automatically get a Steam key when Autonauts was released. Does that still hold true now that you have a publisher?” We did say that and we stand by that - and so does our publisher, which is nice.
“Are you ever going to update Autonauts on itch.io?” Nope. The version of Autonauts on itch.io is the Pre-Pre-Pre-Alpha: a public prototype used to help prove the concept and help us build The Real Thing.