Tempest Rising accidentally launched a week early on Steam, and the dev has decided just to leave it

Base-building RTS Tempest Rising released on Steam yesterday, a full week before it was supposed to, and the publisher doesn’t see a good way out of it, so the game just has a new release date now: April 17 instead of April 24.

“While the team worked quickly to address the issue, the most seamless solution ended up being to release the game to everyone,” reads an update on Steam.

The mistake had something to do with a seven-day early unlock period that was meant to start yesterday. Only those who pre-purchased the Deluxe Edition were supposed to be granted access, while others would have to wait for the full launch. Instead, Tempest Rising just fully released.

The error put developer Slipgate Ironworks and publishers 3D Realms and Knights Peak in a bit of a pickle. Anyone who pre-ordered the special edition specifically for advanced access has lost the bragging rights and theoretical extra hours of gameplay they paid for, but as the studio ultimately decided, rescinding access for owners of the regular edition would not be a good move.

After all, they seem to be liking the game, which currently sits at a Very Positive user rating on Steam. We liked it a lot, too, awarding Tempest Rising an 85% in our review.

The developer is now “working on new exclusive in-game content” for Deluxe Edition owners to make up them losing their early unlock reward.

Well, technically losing it. Tempest Rising did unlock early, it’s just that it unlocked early for everyone and not just Deluxe Edition owners.

It’s a pretty minor accident and it’s unlikely anyone will truly be mad about it, but it does draw attention to the silliness of advanced access bonuses. Players who bought the Deluxe Edition are now in the awkward position of having lost something, but what they’ve lost is the privilege to not have Standard Edition owners enjoying the game alongside them—and why would they want that?

Anyway, Tempest Rising is available on Steam, and it’s good, so no complaints from us about the early launch!