Steam News12 May 20261mo ago

Playtest Results: 12,000 Miners, 1,000 Surveys, and The Public Demo announcement

👋 Hey Miners! First of all, a massive THANK YOU. Our closed playtest was a huge success. We opened the gates, and 12,000+ of you jumped into the Alaskan dirt.

In this update9

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Full Gold Mining Simulator 2 update

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What changed

0 fixes1 addition10 changes0 removals

Performance
Gameplay
Store

changed🛑 The Elephant in the Room: OptimizationWhile the gameplay elements scored incredibly well (mostly 4s and 5s out of 5), the technical rating sits at a modest 3.25 .

changed🛑 The Elephant in the Room: OptimizationThe vast majority of the enthusiastic and positive reviews all shared one common critique: the game needs better optimization. Out of the 9% of players who couldn't finish the demo, the main culprits were frame drops/performance issues and AMD cards crashes and few gameplay bugs.

changed🛑 The Elephant in the Room: OptimizationWe know you gave us a lot of grace because this was a technical playtest, and we appreciate that immensely. However, we are taking this to heart. Fixing the optimization is our absolute #1 priority right now.

changed🛠️ What We Are Fixing & TweakingThe Pickup Truck: This was our lowest-rated gameplay element. We are heading back to the garage to improve its handling and feel. (We detected a bug that was causing it to jump and slide when loaded)

added🚀 Beyond the Demo: Your Full Game WishlistAI Workers & Automation (We don't plan on adding automation and workers at the moment since we believe GMS is about first person experience of gold mining. But we stay open minded for the future. Let's see first how the cooperation with your friends works out first.)

changed🚀 Beyond the Demo: Your Full Game WishlistManual Gold Smelting (On the to-do list as an upgrade in player house)

Right now, we estimate it will take us about46w

Gold Mining Simulator 2 changes

changedWhile the gameplay elements scored incredibly well (mostly 4s and 5s out of 5), the technical rating sits at a modest 3.25 .

changedThe vast majority of the enthusiastic and positive reviews all shared one common critique: the game needs better optimization. Out of the 9% of players who couldn't finish the demo, the main culprits were frame drops/performance issues and AMD cards crashes and few gameplay bugs.

changedWe know you gave us a lot of grace because this was a technical playtest, and we appreciate that immensely. However, we are taking this to heart. Fixing the optimization is our absolute #1 priority right now.

changedThe Pickup Truck: This was our lowest-rated gameplay element. We are heading back to the garage to improve its handling and feel. (We detected a bug that was causing it to jump and slide when loaded)

addedAI Workers & Automation (We don't plan on adding automation and workers at the moment since we believe GMS is about first person experience of gold mining. But we stay open minded for the future. Let's see first how the cooperation with your friends works out first.)

👋 Hey Miners!

First of all, a massive THANK YOU. Our closed playtest was a huge success. We opened the gates, and 12,000+ of you jumped into the Alaskan dirt. Even better, about 1,000 of you took the time to fill out our detailed feedback survey.

We’ve spent the last few days analyzing every single comment, rating, and bug report. Today, we want to share exactly what we learned, what we are fixing, and - most importantly - when you can expect the Public Demo.

📊 The Playtest in Numbers

Here is a quick look at the raw data from your surveys:

Metric	Result
Total Players	12,200
Surveys Submitted	~1,000
Demo Completion Rate	91%
Demo Overall Rating	92%
Technical Rating	3.25 / 5

We were absolutely blown away by the playtime. While most players finished the main storyline in 1 to 2 hours, we had documented cases of players spending up to 7 hours on the claim just mining and expanding! Furthermore, 35% of you kept playing after the story ended, and 42% stated you plan to return to the playtest build.

🛑 The Elephant in the Room: Optimization

While the gameplay elements scored incredibly well (mostly 4s and 5s out of 5), the technical rating sits at a modest 3.25.

The vast majority of the enthusiastic and positive reviews all shared one common critique: the game needs better optimization. Out of the 9% of players who couldn't finish the demo, the main culprits were frame drops/performance issues and AMD cards crashes and few gameplay bugs.

We know you gave us a lot of grace because this was a technical playtest, and we appreciate that immensely. However, we are taking this to heart. Fixing the optimization is our absolute #1 priority right now.

🛠️ What We Are Fixing & Tweaking

Based on your votes and comments, here is the immediate "To-Do" list we are tackling based on your feedback:

The Pickup Truck: This was our lowest-rated gameplay element. We are heading back to the garage to improve its handling and feel. (We detected a bug that was causing it to jump and slide when loaded)
Dirt Physics: We are fixing the bucket getting stuck in the ground, preventing dirt from unnaturally stockpiling in front of the excavator, and adjusting the digging speed so it doesn't feel "too easy".
The Excavator: Okay. You won... We will make it yellowish.

🚀 Beyond the Demo: Your Full Game Wishlist

⚠️ IMPORTANT: THE FOLLOWING FEATURES WILL NOT BE IN THE DEMO! ⚠️

To be absolutely crystal clear: none of the things listed below will be included in the upcoming Public Demo. We are sharing this list strictly to show you that we read your feedback and know exactly what you expect from the final release.

~~AI Workers & Automation~~ (We don't plan on adding automation and workers at the moment since we believe GMS is about first person experience of gold mining. But we stay open minded for the future. Let's see first how the cooperation with your friends works out first.)
~~Co-op~~ (While demo is singleplayer the Full Version will definitely feature multiplayer!)
~~More & Bigger Heavy Machinery~~ (We will create at least few models for every machine. If we manage to get licensing we will try to base it on IRL models)
~~Manual Gold Smelting~~ (On the to-do list as an upgrade in player house)
~~A More Alive World~~ - More NPCs and wildlife (Will be included in the full version)

🗓️ When is the Public Demo?

We hear you asking for a date! Because we refuse to release a poorly optimized demo, we need some time to implement these fixes properly.

Right now, we estimate it will take us about 4 to 6 weeks to rewrite the problematic code, optimize the performance, and tweak the earthmoving physics. This means we are aiming to launch the fully open Public Demo for everyone this summer.

We will keep you updated every step of the way as we cross items off this list. Thank you for helping us shape Gold Mining Simulator 2 into the best game it can be.

Get ready, because the real gold rush is just around the corner!

— The Gold Mining Simulator 2 Team