Stormgate, the spiritual successor to StarCraft 2, has received mixed reviews on Steam. Frost Giant remains unfazed: 'Mixed ratings are to be anticipated at this stage.'

Stormgate was first revealed in 2022, and it has come a long, long way since. It was the largest videogame Kickstarter for 2023, raising $2 million over $35 million raised during an initial funding round. Simu Liu, Chris Metzen, and other celebrities even provided voice acting. Fraser Brown, PC Gamer's online editor and strategy expert, was also impressed. He said that, "for the first in a long time, I am excited to dip my feet into the competitive aspect of real-time strategies again."

Early access for Kickstarter backers wasn't a smooth launch. Stormgate's Steam rating has been "mixed" since its launch on July 30. This is based on just over 2,000 reviews. Common complaints include a lackluster story, unremarkable units, poor AI in PvE, the lack manual saving and loading and aggressive monetization.

This is far from a disaster, especially since it's an Early Access release that's expected to remain in this state for at least one year. HTML0 especially because the full launch of early access, where Stormgate will be free to play, won't take place until August 13. Access is currently limited to Kickstarter backers, and anyone who purchased an "early-access pack."

Frost Giant Studios made these points in a post released a few weeks after Stormgate's launch. They said that there is still "a long way to go" before the final 1.0 version of the game can be released. It also addressed current complaints about Stormgate, namely that a new hero in-game, not included in any of the Kickstarter packages, was available separately on launch day. To ensure that early Stormgate backers "feel rewarded" by supporting the game the next paid character will be given to all who purchased the "UItimate Founder's Pack", or higher, on Kickstarter or Indiegogo as well as everyone who purchases Ultimate Early Access on Steam.

Frost Giant has said that it is taking action in response to "critical feedback" regarding the state of the actual game, including complaints about character model in cutscenes and inconsistent audio levels. It also addressed the "stylized artwork direction." Other features are on the way, including customizable hotkeys and a pause feature for the campaign. A save system that works independently of the checkpoint system is also coming.

The studio has also responded to comments made about Frost Giant’s "possible outcomes" after a Reddit post predicted that Frost Giant would be in financial trouble by 2025.

The studio stated that "Those projections were wildly incorrect." Frost Giant, like any business, needs to produce products that people want to buy in order to be successful. We're working very hard on that and are grateful to have a good amount of funding compared to many start-ups who never see their games in players' hands.

The reactions to Stormgate to this point have highlighted the risks associated with early access releases. Early access games are not finished: They're essentially paid beta versions. It's the risk that comes with early access games: They're not complete. To varying degrees, they're essentially beta versions you have to pay for.

Tim Morten, Frost Giant's CEO and production director, told PC Gamer that "early access" meant different things for different studios. It is still a relatively young way to develop and release games. "Some players expected a near-final version and not a work in progress when they came to our early access preview," Tim Morten, Frost Giant CEO and production director, told PC Gamer.

"To us, Early Access means that this is a work that we are aware of being unfinished. Early access is a phase of active development where we will introduce new game modes, new systems, and our editor. We still have a lot to add to the game to make it feel like '1.0'. This includes less visible aspects such as audio, localization and performance optimization.

Morten said that expectations for Stormgate could have been inflated by comparisons with StarCraft 2. Frost Giant is a game developed by former Blizzard developers. It's widely regarded as the long overdue successor to the great RTS. Frost Giant and Blizzard share many similarities in terms of gameplay, but Frost Giant does not have the resources to compete with Blizzard.

Morten said, "[StarCraft 2] was a product of more than a decade's worth of development, the support of Blizzard Cinematics, the social features on Battle.net and so forth." As a smaller, more modestly funded team, we fall short in comparison to Blizzard’s Pixar quality. They will improve with time, but an independent studio is always at a disadvantage in this area.

Some of the negative feedback that has been received was anticipated by developers. Other critiques are "thought-provoking." Morten says that Frost Giant has benefited from all the feedback because it helps them set priorities for future.

He explained, "We are making adjustments to our production calendar based on feedback from players." Early access is a great way to get feedback and improve our final 1.0. We're moving some work up that was scheduled for later in the development, such a more detailed character model for our in engine cutscenes. We're using this opportunity to reprioritize various work."

Morten called the financial predictions he has seen "deeply flawed." While these messages could be interpreted by some as gamers wanting the studio to fail on the surface, Morten sees things differently. "I believe that the underlying message is the players want Frost Giant stay in business." This is a sentiment that I can support, even if their attempts at financial analyses miss the mark.

Frost Giant will release Stormgate's second big content update in the second half September. This update will include both new content and "some meaningful responses" to player feedback. Subsequent updates are expected to be released at least every other month. A balance patch will be released ahead of the early access release date of August 13 and another patch to fix bugs and other issues that the team can quickly address is expected "shortly."

Morten said that it was normal to expect mixed reviews at this stage. "There are many amazing games that become gems after mixed reviews. We're confident that we're creating something special and have big plans for Stormgate.

"I hope and expect many players to come around as Stormgate continues its improvement and progresses towards 1.0. Stormgate is a passion project, and Frost Giant's entire team is dedicated to making it great.