Nightingale sees its early access release delayed to autumn

Nightingale, the gaslamp fantasy game led by ex-Bioware boss Aaryn Flynn, will now see its early access launch arrive in autumn.

As reported by Eurogamer, in a recent Nightingale developer update video, developer Inflexion Games confirmed that the survival game would no longer be launching in early access some time in the first half of 2023, but instead would be coming out in autumn, putting it in the second half of the year. “The reason for the release shift is simple: the playtest process is working,” said Flynn in the developer update video, which you can check out below.

“The feedback we’ve been receiving from players has been invaluable and the extra time will allow us to continue the progress we’ve been making, while not jeopardising the health of our team. There are a number of things we want to do with this extra time, from quality of life improvements like crafting bench animations, to tuning and progression and pacing, to continuing to work to make the realms feel as mystical and amazing as they can be.”

While the game’s early access release has been delayed, it does mean that Inflexion has been able to move up to Unreal Engine 5.2. There are still playtests on the way, with the next one coming next week.

Nightingale was first revealed at The Game Awards in 2021, being described as “a shared-world survival crafting game set within a rich Victorian gaslamp fantasy setting.” It has the usual things you can expect from the genre like crafting, building literal buildings, and big “expansive realms” you can explore in either co-operative play or solo. Flynn shared last year that he wants players to have more “agency” over what they do in survival games, and hopes to do so with the game’s systems.

You’ll be able to play Nightingale on PC via Steam or Epic Games when it launches in early access later this year, but no word on a console release.