Hi everyone,
I hope you’re all doing well! As it’s been some time, I wanted to make an update regarding the physical game copies of Chained Echoes. First of all, I deeply want to apologize for the delay of more than half a year and for the lack of communication the past couple of months. The physical versions are still being worked on, but unfortunately they have been continuously experiencing delays.
For transparency reasons and because people have been reaching out to me for clarity on this issue, I decided to write about my work with First Press Games (FPG). The Kickstarter backers have been updated on this, but in case people from outside Kickstarter want to gain some insight into the situation, then I will start from the beginning.
In 2018, I started Chained Echoes’ online presence with a website and through multiple social media channels. I was trying to build an audience in preparation for the Kickstarter campaign I was going to start in the beginning of 2019.
Pretty early on, interest for a physical version became apparent, with a growing number of people asking if there were any plans for this. So I started a search for partners to make this a reality. I reached out to some physical indie publishers but they declined a collaboration (to be fair, I had no released game under my belt, as well as no experience in the game industry and had very little to show beyond screenshots and gifs).
Through a friend I learned about FPG, which had released the physical copy of the CrossCode OST back then and wanted to start publishing physical games. I met with them and they showed me samples of their products, which were of high quality. Not only that, they were clearly very passionate about their work, which left an impression on me. After seeing all this, I decided to work with them. Together, we created the templates for the Kickstarter campaign in 2019.
From the start, we knew that a simultaneous release of the physical and digital version was incredibly unlikely. Even nowadays most indie games do not release their physical version directly at launch date. There are two main reasons for this. First, the production processes at companies such as Sony and Nintendo take several months to test, approve, and produce the game units. We would have had to send in Chained Echoes in its alpha state to have it ready at release.
Furthermore, it is common that indie games (well, and as we know, AAA games, too) need some patches after release, with some needing it more than others. For Chained Echoes, I ended up releasing a few bug-fix patches. I also listened to player feedback and made some balancing changes and reworked the crystal system. A New Game+ mode was added after release, as well. FPG and I wanted all of these features to be included on the physical disc, so that the game would come complete without the need for any patches. This was done in the summer of 2023.
In parallel to all this, I worked on some of the physical assets, like the ~100 page manual, as well as the design of the cases, and even wrote a short story for the comic that will be included.
Then some delays started to happen. One such delay was that it took longer than anticipated to get the game approved for a physical release by the console companies (nothing big, just bugs in their back end). Additionally, a few of FPG’s manufacturers started to delay parts of their products due to broken machines or because FPG wasn’t happy with the quality. This not only happened to Chained Echoes but also to other releases of FPG, bringing their whole production pipeline almost to a halt.
At first, these delays sounded like they would only take a few weeks, so FPG delayed the release by only a bit to the end of 2023. But the manufacturers, especially of one specific part, kept them hanging week after week. This delay was caused by the printing company, who itself is dependent on the punching company. FPG had to redo all punching dies of the packaging from scratch, and the punching company was not able to provide anything on time, even refusing to answer urgent calls and emails.
I have tried to update the new release date as much as possible, but the spontaneous delays made it very hard, which led to more confusion for people who had pre-ordered. In the beginning of 2024, I decided to wait until I had an accurate release date before posting any new information again. And honestly, I really thought I would get it any week. Then, without realizing it, a few months had passed, without anything concrete. And now, we’re in the later half of June.
I truly am very sorry for the lack of communication during this period. I fell into a kind of a habit similar to what FPG was doing and stopped posting more updates. FPG has now started a blog, which I think is a great idea, because their lack of communication was something that has been criticized.
As I said, I wanted to write an update when I had an accurate date for shipment, but I’m sorry, I still don’t have anything to share on this. However, for transparency's sake, I want to share the current dates I’ve been provided by FPG, anyhow. Please keep in mind, though, that these dates could possibly change.
First, to get you a general understanding of the production process with the console companies, here is an overview:
- The game itself needs to be approved by the console companies. This was finished in Q4 of 2022 for the digital release of Chained Echoes.
- The physical game version needs to be approved by the console companies. This was finished in Q4 of 2023.
- The physical units need to be produced by the console companies. This will happen in the first week of July for the Playstation version.
The production of the Playstation units (the game itself) will start in the beginning of July, which is then estimated to take about three weeks to produce. Then it needs to be assembled by FPG and sent out. Afterwards, the Nintendo and PC version will be completed and shipped.
As noted earlier with the delay of the punching dies, this is what had deeply disrupted FPG's schedule. However, I’ve been told that the partner company has now finished, so things will finally be able to move on, not only in regards to Chained Echoes, but also with the other outstanding releases. There is a certain shipping order, though. They will first release the Regular Edition of Chained Echoes, but after that, other games they have in line will come out before the Collector's Edition of my game. The reason for that is because FPG plans to manufacture all the Collector's Editions simultaneously in order to save time, as they don't want customers to experience similar delays over and over again with each game. According to FPG, now that all the punching dies have arrived, there should be no such delays in the future.
I know it's been a very long delay of more than half a year, but I sincerely just want you to know that the physical versions are still being worked on.
This write up should not be seen as an excuse but a step towards more transparency, as this entire situation has weighed heavily on my mind. I really hope this answers some of your questions. Again, I really am sorry and I hope you can wait just a bit longer.
Thank you everyone for your patience and your support!
Cheers,
Matthias
spielegrotte.de
