Early access releases from fully funded studios usually come with some version of a mostly-complete game—but it looks like Spiders is instead committing to the Baldur’s Gate 3 approach to early play when it comes to Greedfall 2.
Today, the studio released an updated version of its early access roadmap for Greedfall 2: The Dying World, offering more details on what players can expect come Sept. 24.
Greedfall 2 will be starting with three major regions, six skill trees, and six companions, with at least two more on the way in future updates. Compared to the two regions and five companions in the first Greedfall, the sequel’s already starting off at a bigger scope and headed towards a much larger game as development continues throughout early access.
For now, it looks like Greedfall 2’s “continuous community feedback and balancing updates” will closely follow the early access experience of BG3, with gradual increases to level cap and character progression, story additions, and more. Notably, players will have to wait for major features like a crafting system, player hub, and photo mode to be added in later updates.
After Larian’s success story, this model for non-indie titles might seem more than viable. However, it’s worth remembering BG3 was in early access for three years before its meteoric rise. If this is where Spiders is starting, Greedfall 2 may also be looking at a very long journey to full release.
Another shadow hanging over Greedfall 2 is the recent dev strike over alleged mismanagement and untenable working conditions, as announced through an open letter on Aug. 27. As of Sept. 13, the devs who spoke out have reached an agreement with studio management for higher wages, a workplace audit, a commitment to future improvement, and more, according to STJV.
However, the open letter from the developers did cite broken promises as one of the major grievances, so it remains to be seen if conditions will actually improve. For now, eager players can only hope the myriad of issues reportedly plaguing Greedfall 2’s long production will be successfully resolved before the RPG falls into an early access development limbo.
