Hello everyone!
We're excited to announce that we are planning to release out of Early Access on July 20th! You can check out our teaser trailer here:
What's coming:
1.0 is coming with a few large things - up to 4 player multiplayer, the first new location, a new item type, and more!
Multiplayer:
As we mentioned in the last update, multiplayer is officially coming to Bookshop Simulator! Multiplayer will work through Steam's API, meaning you can join your friends with a simple invite or right click in your friend's list on Steam. Up to 4 players can join in on the fun together!
New Location:
We're introducing our first new location - The Cotswolds, England. This is a scenic location in a snowy atmosphere that features a new unique layout with a second story with open areas looking down on the first floor and a dedicated storage space in the back.
New Item Type:
Magazines are a new item type that is coming alongside the Cotswolds. They will function much like our other book-like item types such as comics and manga. They will be unlocked in the Cotswolds and will require a license for each title.
Housekeeping:
As part of our release to 1.0, the price will be going up slightly. We will be taking part in the SimFest Workers and Resources festival from July 20-27 and will have a discount running during that time. As for saves, all saves from the Early Access build will be fully compatible with the 1.0 release version so no need to restart if you don't want to.
Road to 1.0:
Throughout our Early Access lifecycle, we've been hard at work bringing more content and features to the game. Some were ones that we've had in mind since the beginning, others were some that evolved with the community's involvement.
Here's a non-exhaustive list of things that we've added since the beginning of Early Access (not including what is in 1.0):
- Handheld scanner
- Holiday decorations for Halloween and Valentine's Day
- Genre-specific bookshelves
- Hanging signs
- Wall posters for books
- New plants
- Cafe with coffee and pastries for customers
- Cafe employees
- Steam workshop support for books and children's books
- Custom books in-game for both normal and new special books
- Customizable Lights
- Customizable storefronts
- Item teleporter for moving objects between locations
- Additional decorative furniture
- Update rare/used books
- Passive income improvements
- Over 30 new books
- Over 12 new legendary books
- Tons of wall and flooring options
- Tons of Quality of Life improvements
The Future:
Just because we're moving out of Early Access does not mean that this is the end of the road for Bookshop Simulator. We wanted to keep the Early Access period relatively short and not languish in Early Access for years. We've still got things in the works that we'll be working on and bringing to the game.
We want to thank everyone that has joined us during the Early Access period. Your feedback and support has been amazing! We're looking forward to showing you guys everything in 1.0 and appreciate you all for joining!