Roadmap and State of Development
Greetings! We want to share our plans for Jump King Quest, and let you in on the current state of development!
Since Early Access launch in February we have continuously updated and improved the game, both on deeper technical levels and with new content, features and balancing! The reception has been great, especially after the Redcrown Update. However, we have noticed many players have held off on playing (even when they like it) - choosing to wait until Early Access is over. This is perfectly understandable for this kind of game (we believe it's just a poor match with the EA model), but since current sales do not sustain the studio the crew has shrunk and the time we have at our disposal is shorter. We have therefore formulated a new plan to bring the game out of Early Access sooner, saving the greater expansions for a more prosperous future! We still have faith in the quality and uniqueness of the game, so we hope the 1.0 release and the stuff we are working on can lift it to greater heights.
We are working on an ending-segment of the game, (codename: Phantom) with the goal of making a worthy finale to the base-game experience before we continue on any future “Acts”.
This is our roadmap for the foreseeable future, though it is not very long or detailed, we hope you are excited for the stuff to come!
[h2]What is “codename Phantom”?
[/h2]
Phantom is the 1.0 update for Jump King Quest, which will take it out of Early Access. Our aim is to release it this fall (2025).
This update will bring new content, features and weapons. We have a lot of stuff in the pipeline, but not everything is guaranteed to make it in.
This is guaranteed:
We still hope to be able to include the following points in some form, but they can't be guaranteed (listed in order of priority):
This order is based on a combination of our own reasoning and what we have seen you talk most about missing in the game, but let us know if you would like to see a different order, or find that something obvious is missing from the list!
[h2]Our Reasoning for this new Plan:[/h2]
We want to exit Early Access as soon as we can, to make it clear that waiting for potential future content expansions is not needed to get a true experience and complete challenge! The game currently provides ~30-40 hours of gameplay for a first playthrough, so we want to tie it together with a real ending before any further “major” expansions.
If the game’s success grows when we exit Early Access we should be able to continue development and expand the game with more Acts as previously planned. But at this point we can not be certain of that future, since our crew is now smaller, and the amount of content needed for a full new Act is unrealistic to produce for the ones who remain.
Our idea for the future Acts of Jump King Quest are similar to the different Maps/Babes in the original Jump King, closer to being sequels than mere “DLC”. So clearing “Act 1” can be likened to completing the Main Babe in the original! For the event that we are not able to complete another Act, our conscience will be cleaner by wrapping up Act 1 in a satisfying way, so - unless we have fortune on our side and can grow back to size - it can be left as a complete whole.
Do you think anything is missing from the game or our plans, to make it feel complete? What do you think about the current state of the game? Please let us know, and we'll also try to answer questions whenever we can.
(The Early Access Q&A on the Store Page will soon be updated to reflect the changed plans.)
We hope you are looking forward to a Smoking Hot resolution in the 1.0 "Phantom" Update!
Since Early Access launch in February we have continuously updated and improved the game, both on deeper technical levels and with new content, features and balancing! The reception has been great, especially after the Redcrown Update. However, we have noticed many players have held off on playing (even when they like it) - choosing to wait until Early Access is over. This is perfectly understandable for this kind of game (we believe it's just a poor match with the EA model), but since current sales do not sustain the studio the crew has shrunk and the time we have at our disposal is shorter. We have therefore formulated a new plan to bring the game out of Early Access sooner, saving the greater expansions for a more prosperous future! We still have faith in the quality and uniqueness of the game, so we hope the 1.0 release and the stuff we are working on can lift it to greater heights.
The Phantom Plan
We are working on an ending-segment of the game, (codename: Phantom) with the goal of making a worthy finale to the base-game experience before we continue on any future “Acts”.
This is our roadmap for the foreseeable future, though it is not very long or detailed, we hope you are excited for the stuff to come!
[h2]What is “codename Phantom”?
[/h2]
Phantom is the 1.0 update for Jump King Quest, which will take it out of Early Access. Our aim is to release it this fall (2025).
This update will bring new content, features and weapons. We have a lot of stuff in the pipeline, but not everything is guaranteed to make it in.
This is guaranteed:
- 3 new Bosses
- New Areas, including a Tower…!?
- An ending that completes “Act 1”
- Story and lore additions
- Localization support and translation to Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (BR), Russian and Chinese.
We still hope to be able to include the following points in some form, but they can't be guaranteed (listed in order of priority):
- Star-Smithing (upgrading the star-rating of weapons)
- Quick-Item-Menu (switching between or using “favourite” items with a new interface)
- Emotes
- Ranged weapons (Such as a Bow)
- Magic weapons (Such as a Wand)
This order is based on a combination of our own reasoning and what we have seen you talk most about missing in the game, but let us know if you would like to see a different order, or find that something obvious is missing from the list!
[h2]Our Reasoning for this new Plan:[/h2]
We want to exit Early Access as soon as we can, to make it clear that waiting for potential future content expansions is not needed to get a true experience and complete challenge! The game currently provides ~30-40 hours of gameplay for a first playthrough, so we want to tie it together with a real ending before any further “major” expansions.
If the game’s success grows when we exit Early Access we should be able to continue development and expand the game with more Acts as previously planned. But at this point we can not be certain of that future, since our crew is now smaller, and the amount of content needed for a full new Act is unrealistic to produce for the ones who remain.
Our idea for the future Acts of Jump King Quest are similar to the different Maps/Babes in the original Jump King, closer to being sequels than mere “DLC”. So clearing “Act 1” can be likened to completing the Main Babe in the original! For the event that we are not able to complete another Act, our conscience will be cleaner by wrapping up Act 1 in a satisfying way, so - unless we have fortune on our side and can grow back to size - it can be left as a complete whole.
Do you think anything is missing from the game or our plans, to make it feel complete? What do you think about the current state of the game? Please let us know, and we'll also try to answer questions whenever we can.
(The Early Access Q&A on the Store Page will soon be updated to reflect the changed plans.)
We hope you are looking forward to a Smoking Hot resolution in the 1.0 "Phantom" Update!