11 Bit Studios’ Frostpunk 2 has been delayed by several months, and will now release on 20 September 2024. While it was originally set to land in July, feedback from the game’s beta testing phase has inspired a re-prioritisation for the game’s developers.
According to its announcement post, the studio received a range of opinions on the game during its beta, with both praise and “keen observations on areas [it] could improve or add to the final game” shared. While players gave Frostpunk 2 an average 8/10 score in surveys, it appears there are several facets that need improvement.
“As we analysed your feedback and prioritised things we want to add to the game, we realised that to properly do them justice – and to guarantee the best possible experience at launch – we need more time to finish the development of Frostpunk 2,” Jakub Stokalski and Łukasz Juszczyk of 11 Bit Studios said.
Additional features will be added to the game during its delay window, and the team believes these are “something you deserve to see in-game on day one, not in a patch added after the release.” The list of improvements is large, but the Frostpunk 2 team has detailed a few highlights, to better explain the game’s delay.
Read: Frostpunk: The Board Game review – A tabletop survival behemoth
Why was Frostpunk 2 delayed?
One of the core reasons why Frostpunk 2 has been delayed is a need to tweak game mechanics, and smoothen gameplay flown. As shared by 11 Bit Studios, the development team is now working on a range of improvements to city management: temperatures will have more impact on your gameplay, workforce management will be more flexible, there will be more direct-use abilities in the game loop, and there will be improvements to faction behaviour, amongst other tweaks.
There will also be “extensive UI and UX enhancements” for the game, including an improved HUD, a new construction menu, and improved clarity and readability.
11 Bit Studios is also added a new “Zoom Stories” feature which allows you to get up close and personal with your citizens, for an added connection to the people you’ll be protecting in your city construction. Using this feature, you’ll be able to get closer to your townsfolk, and see them live out their day-to-day lives.
New details and additional feature improvements will be shared over the coming months, as 11 Bit Studios implements needed tweaks, and turns its attention to the game’s final release.
“As you can see, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done, and we’ve only mentioned a fraction of it here,” Stokalski & Juszczyk said. “Once again, thanks for all your feedback! It’s reading all of your observations that made us realise we can do even better and push ourselves even harder.”
Frostpunk 2 now launches for PC on 20 September 2024.
