Delay until later in 2026

Hi everyone. I'm delaying the early access release from May until later this year. The exact new date will not be known for a while, but I thought it's important to get this info to you ASAP. So I am telling you exactly what I know today and will update you again as soon as I have more info.

Besides that are 3 things I want to communicate to you. Appreciate if you will read until the end.

1. I'm sorry

This was a really difficult decision. I get many kind of messages from fans of the game. People going through a difficult time who say it's the only thing they're looking forward to, soldiers eager to try before being sent to the frontlines, etc. And you guys have played a key role in development with your ideas and feedback. We've established strong trust and built this game together. That's why I'm truly sorry for letting you down with this delay. I worked as hard as possible. But it was not enough.

2. Why delay?

If you've been following development, you know last June I switched the strategy layer to real-time-with-pause (tactical layer is still turn-based). Since then things have been going very well and I finished building all the main systems on schedule in December. At that point, I could sit down and play the whole thing. This is when I became confident it will be the game I always wanted to make. The sandbox is rich, and tactical, and strategic, and political, and procedural. It's everything I wanted it to be.

But I underestimated how complicated this sandbox has become. In hindsight it's obvious. In this game you fight a war, cultivate spies, set up logistics, queue production, develop research, navigate labor strikes, mold social ideology, and manage diplomacy on Mars and Earth. For me, it's easy to play because of course I designed it and can see everything under-the-hood. But for playtesters, there was a lot of friction and lack of info that prevented them from enjoying the sandbox.

So almost all of 2026 has been about polish, balance and bug fixes. I thought 4 months would be enough time. But I was wrong. There's a famous saying the last 20% takes 80% of the time. I'm learning the hard way this is very true in game dev.

That's why I decided to delay. I need more time to polish and balance. I'm really happy with the underlying game. Both strategy and tactical layers. But I don't want this design to go to waste due to friction, which is something I can definitely fix with more time.

3. What's next

As soon as I get a few more issues resolved, the public playtest will resume and then I will have a better idea of the release window. Meanwhile, unlike me, the artists are completing their excellent work on time. So expect more updates, beginning later this week when I finally introduce both factions in detail. For now, here are some new screens.

After many years of searching, I finally found a great animator. Say hello to kambru from Argentina, who is bringing to life something I've kept under wraps: robots. This doggo has excellent mobility and crowd-control abilities. I will share more details about robots soon.

Steam post image The corporate mechanics of the Capital campaign are ready to be shown publicly, so expect a deep dive soon. And as you can see here, ZOHEI is busy making awesome illustrations for the strategy layer and also cutscenes.

Steam post image You guys asked for more customization options and guns from Earth. Ahintoflime (aka Russ) is COOKING.

And yes, a demo is coming. It will feature both factions and a slice of the strategy layer. The demo must meet the threshold for polish, so I don't know the exact date yet. But it will be before EA release.

If you don't mind annoying bugs and friction, you can also join Discord to sign up for the playtest. I learned over the years that having a steady flow of fresh eyeballs is critical for good feedback. That's why playtest access is unlocked in chronological waves based on when you join Discord. So if you can stomach another social media platform in your life, please join up. It's a very friendly community guided by a crack mod team.

Lastly, big thanks to Hooded Horse for their support in this difficult decision. They have been a steady hand as I navigate my first game. They're working hard to ensure MT will be the best quality possible on release.

Ok, thanks for reading until the end. If you want to yell at me or ask me anything, please go ahead in the comments. I want to hear you out and be transparent with what's going on. It's the first step to rebuilding trust.

Thank you again for all your patience and support.

Yuji (MH)