Manor Lords publisher's space whale city builder gets delayed, but there's a silver lining

I'm a sucker for any city builder set on the back of an animal. Blame an upbringing on Terry Pratchett novels for that, I guess, but The Wandering Village tickled all of the right pickles for me, and I was hoping for Beyond These Stars to do the same. Unfortunately, developer Balancing Monkey Games and publisher Hooded Horse have announced that the whale-topping (not like that) strategy sim has been delayed until 2026. It's unfortunate news after a successful Steam Next Fest demo last year, but Balancing Monkey Games has offered us an olive branch in the meantime.
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