- [i]More time for changes & polish:[/i] The slight delay gives us the opportunity to put in extra polish and ensure the best possible experience for you all on day one when Fellowship enters Steam Early Access! As you all know, we’ve been having our private playtest recently – which has helped us identify changes we can make to the game. Having some additional development time, even if it's only a week (a week goes a long way!) will allow us to make the changes and polish we want to make so Fellowship is the best it can be when it enters Early Access on October 16th!
- [i]To address the elephant in the room – we want to give Fellowship it’s time to shine[/i]: There are major game releases happening the week we originally planned to enter Early Access. Following Gamescom, we saw your all’s concerns about launching Fellowship during a major week for highly-anticipated game releases and recognized of course you all (like us!) wanted to make sure Fellowship has its time to shine in the spotlight. We always want to be transparent with our community and get your feedback, and this is no different! By launching Fellowship in Steam Early Access on October 16, it allows us to make sure the game does get in the spotlight and get the attention we and you all think it deserves!
[b]Open Beta – No changes:[/b] No changes here, we absolutely can’t wait for you all to jump in! The Open Beta via Steam will still kick off on Thursday, September 18 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time and end on Tuesday, September 23 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. For the Open Beta, there will be a North America, Europe and Asia server available, and servers will be online 24/7! You can request access to the Open Beta via the game’s Steam page to be notified immediately when the Open Beta goes live.
At the very end of this blog, we have an Open Beta FAQ with quite a few answers to questions folks have asked since we announced the Beta. Make sure to check it out!
[b]Leagues System & Matchmaking Updates:[/b] The Leagues System will be a new way to experience progression throughout Fellowship! With the system, you’ll be able to make your way through different leagues as your experience, gear, and item level improves. Matchmaking will set you up with players of similar item level, and you will then be able to pick a dungeon of suitable difficulty. Prepare to complete dungeon runs, enter higher leagues, and reap exciting rewards!
Our matchmaking game modes will remain about the same but will have some quality-of-life changes to make matchmaking even better. For modes, we’ll have Quick Play, and for now, what we’re calling Challenge (previously known as Ranked or Ranked Dungeons). Quick Play, like before, offers a more casual experience that’d give you a chance to try out new heroes, and not have to worry about gear as your gear will not matter but you’ll of course still have all your usual abilities per character! Our Challenge mode (name to be decided!), will have the Leagues System and really dive deep into the game’s progression, as you’ll work your way up to harder difficulty dungeons. The higher the league you’re in, the more challenging and rewarding dungeons will be!
[b]Localization:[/b] Right at Steam Early Access launch on October 16, Fellowship will be playable in the following languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Korean, and Chinese! The game will launch in your chosen Steam language or default to English if it’s not supported.
[b]Fellowship Content from Creators:[/b] Leading up to our Open Beta and during the beta, you’ll be able to watch some of your favorite creators play Fellowship on Twitch and YouTube. Beyond Open Beta, there’ll be even more content from press and content creators to be shared before, on and even after Early Access launch. Keep an eye on our social media channels and join our Discord to not miss out on anything!
