Tavern Keeper 🍻 News

Sadly, we had to postpone our long-awaited Early Access Release. I know many here are really looking forward to the game so I wanted to take a moment to share a bit more about why we have come to this decision.

Perhaps surprisingly, given the announcement, the game at the moment is actually in a good state! All mechanics are implemented. It is content complete, has full English voice over and all translations should be ready within the week. The tutorial works great, the Early Access campaign (and stories) are fun and you’d likely have a great time playing it IF, and this is the crucial point, IF you know how to avoid a number of existing pitfalls.

Some staff can get stuck forever, some mechanics interact with each other in ways that make them hard to control, some UI elements and mechanics are a little too confusing. There are some performance issues and sometimes errors occur that interrupt or halt gameplay. In short: the likelihood that you would get frustrated while playing is currently a little too high for a great first experience.

The good news is that all these issues - given just a bit of time - are solvable, but if we had tried to stick to the November release plan, we’d likely have burned out the team in the process. You don’t want a burned-out team and you especially don’t want a burned-out team at the end of more than ten years of development and at the start of your Early Access journey. We’d also be launching into Early Access with a list of known issues that would keep us busy and prevent us from properly responding to your feedback in a timely fashion.

So, with heavy hearts but with clear minds, we have made the decision to postpone the release, giving us the breathing space to address the frustrations and to do things right.

We’ll announce a new release window next year, when we are ready.

When Tavern Keeper releases into Early Access, it will hopefully bring you joy, and both the game and the team will be ready for your input!

Patrick
And The Tavern Keeper Team

Hey, tavern keepers!

During Gamescom, we released a preview version of the Item Workshop, a level in Tavern Keeper where you can fully dedicate your time and creativity to design your own decorations. To celebrate, we held the first public Design Challenge! Here are the winners that will be added to the game:

[h3]First Category: Decorated Small Table, using up to 150 gold
[/h3]

Lumber Chic, by löyly - Code TKC-a3f456c6


Rustic and elegant, the Lumber Chic small table truly brings a refined touch to your tavern at a small price - only 74 gold! According to löyly, no old-growth forest was harmed by making this furniture.


Sustainability Setting, by Rymanora - Code TKC-06985169


With table legs made of actual leg bones, Rymanora went all in the reuse and recycle mindset for this one. At 136 gold, our good skeleton friend Cuthbert definitely approves!


Makeshift Table, by Zoragna - Code TKC-3a8e50ae


The final winner is a table made of everyday tavern things: some barrels, buckets as seats, and pillows, to make it comfy! For 147 gold, Zoragna made this design stand out by using unusual pieces to create their own small table.


[h3]Second Category: Standalone decoration, no gold limit[/h3]

Travel Info, by whimsicalowl54 - Code TKC-14038fe2


The perfect decoration for any tavern for adventurers! The details on each tiny card, teasing hiking guides, musicals, and wine-tasting events, really make you imagine yourself picking the perfect activity for your trip. At 396 gold, whimsicalowl54 showed their love for fantasy worlds!


Skeleton King, by Cem - Code TKC-a7c83624


A king from ancient times, when the people of Tavern Keeper still had upper arms. We can see Cem put a lot of care into this design, moving the parts of the skeleton to sit on the pillow, and the arrow through the chest gives this decoration a nice finishing touch. It comes at 68 gold.


Makeshift Storage, by Nox - Code TKC-034810bf


For 136 gold pieces, Nox’s design gives your tavern a special place to keep some spices, potions and even leeches! We can definitely see this decoration at home in a storeroom or in the kitchen, giving the tavern a comfy mood.



You’ll be able to see these designs on the stage located in the Item Workshop the next time it goes live and they’ll be added to the demo to be unlocked during your playthrough. And of course, you can already import them to your tavern by copying the share codes above and pasting them into the “Import” menu.

[h3]🎉 Congratulations to all the winners 🎉
[/h3]

A MASSIVE thank you to each one who participated in this challenge! We LOVED seeing the different concepts and ideas shared, from more modern-inspired designs to movie references and even creations that had their own storytelling.

If you didn’t win this time or couldn’t join, worry not, tavern keeper! The Item Workshop will be back in October and there will be plenty of Design Challenges in the future.


Much love!
Patty - Social Media Manager @ Greenheart Games 💚

📢 BIG NEWS, tavern keepers!

Check out our brand-new trailer and get a peek at the fantasy world that awaits you:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]The release date is here: Tavern Keeper 🍻 comes out on Steam Early Access on November 5th!
[/h3]

After a decade of dedication and passion put into the game and all the heartwarming reactions to the Demo, we are thrilled to finally unveil the release date!

We’ll share more details of our plans for Early Access soon!

In the meantime, you can try out the Demo and test the Item Workshop, available now as a preview:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2833530/Tavern_Keeper__Demo/

Cheers,
The Greenheart Games 💚 Team

Tavern keepers, it's time to unleash your creativity!

To celebrate the preview release of the Item Workshop, we will host the first public Tavern Keeper Design Challenge from August 21st to August 25th!

There are two categories you can participate:

• A decorated small table, spending up to 150 gold. There’s no theme, so feel free to create a romantic corner or the setting for a good tavern game of cards!
  

• A standalone tavern decoration for any cost, let your imagination go wild! It can be a sword rack, a menacing statue, or a cabinet full of cute pigs like the one below:
  

After August 27th, the Tavern Keeper dev team will handpick the top 3 designs from each category to be added to the game for everyone else to see - of course, with your permission and attributed to you!

[h3]How to join[/h3]

• Share your design using the hashtag #TavernKeeperDesign on X, or post it on our Discord, in the Design Challenge forum, with the “Challenge Aug2024” tag;
  
• Use as many design pieces as you’d like to create your masterpiece;
  
• You can have multiple entries in both categories!
  

[h3]How to share a design[/h3]

Here’s a little tutorial on how to save your design and share it with other players!

• Go into Build Mode (shortcut: B), right-click your design, and select “Save as Template”
  
  
  
  
• Name your design and add a description, if you like! You can either save it as a variant of an existing item, in the case of the small table, or make it a standalone decoration.
  
  
  
  
• Save and share the image with everyone! You can add other players' designs to your game by entering their code in the “Import” tool.
  
  

We can’t wait to see what you’ll create!
The Greenheart Games 💚 Team