The holidays are over and the grey, damp weather of a new year is upon us. If you’re anything like me, you’re doubtless standing in the shadows of your dusty and disused attic, illuminated only by the weak flickering of an elderly gas lamp. The harsh whistle of the wind is probably imposing itself under shale and through cracked panes, filling the room with an uncertain and disagreeable atmosphere. Shivering, you might pull your heavy woolen shawl close around your shoulders, and look down upon the truculent heathland that surrounds your once-proud abode. Day after day – week after week – you repeat this ritual, staring out from the wreckage of your past. Standing vigil for the return of video games.

Well, we have good news.

After eight months of First Access release through Itch.io, we’re at a point where we feel Beacon is ready to make the jump to Steam Early Access. We’d like to thank everyone who took a chance on the game so far; it’s thanks to your support and feedback that the game is in a strong enough position to open it up to a wider audience, and we hope you’ll continue to enjoy the game as we progress towards full release.

Beacon will release into Steam Early Access on the 27th February 2019 for $19.99 (as well as an initial 10% launch discount). If you can’t wait that long, you can wishlist the game right now, and of course the game is already available on Itch.io. Everyone who purchases the game through Itch.io will also receive a free Steam key for the game upon Early Access release.

Before that, though, we just released another major patch to Itch.io First Access. Along with a boatload of fixes and a couple of new items, Patch 1.9A also had some long-awaited feature improvements:

• Improvements to the continue system – players will now be able to resume a game on the same level they quit on, with all items and weapons preserved.

•Tutorial screen update – The initial tutorial screen has been redesigned with improved flow and visuals to better help new players quickly get to grips with the game.

Patch 1.9A is available now for everyone who has purchased the game through Itch.io!

Finally, we wanted to give you a glimpse at a major part of the new content arriving with the Steam Early Access build — level 5. Those of you who have been playing Beacon already will probably have noticed that, as you progress further through the game, you find yourselves making your way closer and closer to the mysterious PRISM facility. Level 5 allows you to finally breach the mysterious PRISM vault, and along the way introduces new mechanics and gameplay that players will have to interact with in order to progress further.

We’ve put together a roadmap to chart out the coming months on Steam Early Access, and we’ll be going into each step in greater detail soon. For the moment, though, here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect:

That’s everything for now. We’re so excited – and scared, and anxious, and excited – to finally release Beacon to a wider audience. We hope you all enjoy it, and continue to follow us as we develop and add to the game over the coming months.

- Joe