On February 19, developer Mega Crit announced that Slay the Spire 2 will release on March 5. This is exciting news for fans ready to dive into the sequel of one of the best roguelike deckbuilders out there. However, the timing might be tough for other indie developers. Launching their games around the same date could mean being overshadowed by Slay the Spire 2‘s popularity.
One dev team, 58BLADES, decided to delay their game, Handmancers, which was set to release during Turn-Based Thursday Fest starting March 6. They felt the competition would be too fierce, stating, “Yea…we’d get absolutely crushed.” This decision shows how the hype surrounding Slay the Spire 2 can impact others in the genre.
Similarly, Algorocks, the developers behind Mini Tank Mayhem, have not openly stated their reason for a delay. However, speculation has arisen that the upcoming Slay the Spire 2 may have influenced their decision to push their release from March 3 to April 29. This shift happened shortly after a new trailer for Slay the Spire 2 was released, stirring up discussions in the gaming community.
On the other hand, the team from Omelet You Cook, a fun cooking roguelike made by a two-person team, wisely moved up their launch date. They feared their game would be lost in the shuffle and noted, “Every streamer we’d reach out to will be playing it.” It’s a smart move that highlights how smaller titles must navigate their release windows carefully.
While no other devs have postponed their games publicly just yet, the topic is buzzing among indie studios. For example, the team behind Trials of Valor announced their game will also drop on March 5, right alongside Slay the Spire 2. This choice raises the stakes for both titles.
Some developers are taking a lighthearted approach to the competition. ThunderRam Studios, creators of Grimslair, say they won’t shy away and plan to stick with their March 6 release. Meanwhile, Fishagon jokingly mirrored another dev’s announcement to promote their party card game, Vice Versa, drawing attention in a fun way.
In the past, some games have struggled in similar situations. For example, the developers of Adventure of Samsara launched on the same day as the highly anticipated Silksong last year and faced significant challenges. Fortunately, some devs like Chugga Chugga LLC, creators of Slumber Realm, realized they wouldn’t be ready to compete and decided it’s best for their games not to overlap.
Overall, Slay the Spire 2’s upcoming release is stirring a mix of excitement and apprehension among indie developers. This situation reminds us that timing can be everything in the gaming world.
Source link
Slay the Spire 2
