Open-world adventure and exploration game Forager is coming to PlayStation 4 and Switch in addition to its previously announced PC release, publisher Humble Bundle and developer HopFrog announced. A release date was not announced.
In a Steam news post today, HopFrog explained why development is taking so long:
Hey everyone!
Today I want to address the current situation with Forager and the constant lack of release date announcements.
As I have said in the past, the reason Forager was delayed back from it’s November 2018 release date was that the console versions of the game weren’t done yet, and for contractual reasons, I needed to release all of the game’s versions at the same time. (PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch).
We are now in the middle of January and I am honestly still not sure how long this process will take. I have several estimates on when could be the earliest release date, but all of them are just speculation at this point.
Forager is my first ever “real” game, and there are lot of things I am learning how to do on the job. One of them is communicating with this amazing community and trying to keep expectations managed. I made a mistake putting dates and numbers to when I thought the game would be ready, and because of that the team and I are under a lot of stress trying to get this done so everyone has a chance to play the finished game at the same time. This is all my fault.
The console versions are almost done, but I don’t want to announce possible release date windows anymore in case I am wrong again. From now on, I will not announce any type of release date window until I am 100% sure we can actually release that day/month. I know for sure Forager is releasing soon, but I am not exactly sure when.
Now let me give you some good news!
Since the console ports are still under work, I took the last couple of months as an opportunity to improve the game and add more free content. Everyone that played Beta 7 knows of the new features, which are conveniently listed here!
Additionally, I have added some new things, fixed some annoying bugs and hired a very talented programmer that has actually improved the performance of the game GREATLY. I am talking about constant 60 fps, even in the super late game!
Due to the recent reworks in code systems to improve performance, I think it’s a good idea to do some massive testing before we officially release. This is why there will be a Beta 8 in the near future. My goal is to get this done by the end of January or the first week of February.
Beta 8 will contain some new features and reworks that I haven’t announced yet plus all the things added and fixed that are currently visible on the official development Trello board.
We have now entered the final stretch and this is a very stressful time for us, so I would like to thank you all for your patience and continued support and once again apologize for all the dumb mistakes I have made while trying to finish this amazing passion project of mine.
I would also like to note that thanks to the supporters on Patreon, Forager will get FREE DLC updates for EVERYONE on ALL PLATFORMS! There will be plenty of new content added to the game even after it releases!
Forager WILL be great and I promise I won’t let you down!
Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:
About
Forager is a 2D open world game inspired by exploration, farming, and crafting games such as Stardew Valley, Terraria, and The Legend of Zelda.
Key Features
- Gather, collect and manage resources.
- Craft useful items & structures.
- Build and grow a base out of nothing. Buy land to expand and explore.
- Level up and learn new skills, abilities, and blueprints.
- Solve puzzles, find secrets and raid dungeons!
- Achieve anything you want! The choice is yours, you set your own goals to work towards!
Watch a trailer below.