Icarus was supposed to release in less than two weeks, but developer RocketWerkz has had a change of plans. The sci-fi space survival co-op game will now release later in November and will instead start hosting a series of beta weekends starting in late August.
"We’ve made the decision to delay Icarus’ launch until November to ensure the game is the best it can be for our players," wrote RocketWerkz on Steam, "and we’re introducing a longer Beta which you can play from 28 August.
"We’ve been keeping a close eye on the state of our development builds and have decided that we want to give Icarus more love by delaying the game, and improving upon our Beta process by spreading it across multiple weekends, with each having a specific focus. A plus side of this also means reducing Beta fatigue for our players."
Each of Icarus's beta weekends will be separated by two weeks and focus on a specific biome or in-game system. The first beta weekend starts on August 28 and unlocks the game's Forest biome. Players will learn the basics of base building, hunting, and crafting, but won't have to worry about all their beautiful creations being destroyed by Icarus's violent storms.
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That all changes on September 11 when the Storms beta arrives. Icarus is a planet full of valuable resources but has been subject to a failed terraforming experiment, resulting in extremely powerful thunderstorms that can be very destructive to hand-built structures.
On September 25 Icarus will launch the Arctic biome with its animals and blizzards. On October 9 comes the Desert biome with its critters and sandstorms. And on October 23 Icarus will launch its Factions system so you can start doing odd jobs for the galaxy's political factions.
Finally, the beta period will end on November 6 weekend with a community event and prize giveaways. Icarus will then launch later that month, and if they keep to the two-week schedule, we’ll see Icarus have its full release on November 20.
Icarus’s beta weekends will be closed, so head on over to RocketWerkz Discord to have a chance at getting a key. Content creators can also request a beta key using this link.
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