After much back and forth with Valve getting things approved and signed off...
UNKNOWN HORIZONS IS NOW ON STEAM!
OK, so, the store page exists. It's not playable yet, but it's a start... and important start.
So here's the plan for the coming weeks, and where we're up to with development...
Playtest Branch
We have created a playtest branch which you can sign up for on the store page. The plan is for Playtest builds to be frequent, but buggy. Some will contain experimental features that won't make it to the final game, some will probably just crash because I missed a comma, or did something stupid. The whole purpose of a Playtest build/branch is for people to actually get access to a version of the game so that they can provide constructive feedback to help us shape the game. Playtesting is free, but only available to a limited number of people, so if testing a buggy mess doesn't put you off, go sign up! As I need more testers to get a wider range of responses etc, I will add more people to the playtest pool.
Next Fest June 2026
Yes, Unknown Horizons will be taking part in Next Fest in June 2026. We are currently working on a "demo" build that that will be available when Next Fest launches. The demo will include the initial steps of the story and "tutorial", and then let the player free to explore. Players will be able to run missions to earn money, or trade in mined resources, they will be able to buy the two ships (or however many I've added by that time) from stations, and they will be able to try out some ship upgrades, like the Jump Drive and the Mass Spectrometer... but the rest of the story and the reputation system will only be present in a very basic form. Hopefully it will give people a taste of what I have planned and leave them wanting more.
Early Access
After Next Fest we will be pushing for Early Access, hopefully before the end of the year. This is hopefully when we will really start to see what people think of the game, and we should start getting detailed feedback about bugs, game loop issues, soft locks or anything else that could make the game feel incomplete. By this time I hope to have the survival mechanics included, a more dynamic economy, interactions and relationships between factions, and hopefully all that without tanking performance.
There's a lot in the pipeline, and we are just at the beginning. Come along for the ride and help me turn this into something great.
See you on the horizon.