Shadowrun Online Coming to Early Access on March 31st

It’s been quite a while since I last saw an update on Shadowrun Online’s status, but that doesn’t mean the Cliffhangers Productions’ team was idle, and they actually have just announced that an Early Access build of the title is going to be available on Steam on March 31st. That said, undoubtedly a lot of things have happened, considering the original release date was May 2013, so you might want to watch this video update. Or just read my short bullet point summary:

• The build that’s going to be uploaded on Steam Early Access isn’t the full game, but a prequel to the final campaign, and includes most of the core combat gameplay and some PvP elements. Hacking and character progression won’t be included.
• The team initially intended to simply use the Jagged Alliance Online code as a base. However they soon realized that it wouldn’t work, so they started working on a completely new codebase.
• Building a new codebase from scratch is expensive, so the team looked for a new investor. Initially they found one, only for them to walk away at the last minute. To help finance the title (whose funding also comes from a successful $500,000 Kickstarter campaign) they shared the technology with another developer. Right now they’ve also found a new investor
• Every 4 to 6 weeks the developers plan to update the title, and progressively add more missions, character progression, more character, etc.
• A DRM-free version is still in the plans, but Early Access is going to be Steam-only.
• Likewise, tablet and mobile versions of the title are still planned.
• In the late part of the beta there’s going to be an internal server that’s going to be exclusive to the team and the Kickstarter backers, and will include content that’s not yet released on Early Access.
• Backers will be contacted during the Summer for their rewards, which should be fulfilled closer to the game’s release.
• The Campaign Book reward should be released later this year.