Up until now, Affray has been building and releasing SCP: 5K via content updates. As an independent game development studio with no investment, this was the only option available to us. We did not initially have enough resources to finish the 1.0 version of the game, so we assumed that we would only be able to get to 1.0 with sales of intermediary releases.
However, over time this update-to-update release structure has bottlenecked development. It’s led us to increasingly focus on content aimed at new players (who are most strongly drawn to new additions), which pushed us toward larger, content-heavy updates. Every time we released an update we lost about a month of production time implementing, balancing, debugging/QA testing, and myriad other tasks to prepare for the update release. Ultimately, in focusing on developing SCP: 5K update-to-update, we had lost the uninterrupted development time required to refine key features and focus on developing content for 1.0. While we’re very proud of our previous releases, we needed to shift our production cadence.
Our solution came when we partnered with Balor Games. Balor Games understood that our update-to-update production cadence was not the ideal way to reach 1.0. They believed in our vision and, with their support, insight, and experience, we now get to make SCP: 5K the game our community members want and deserve. New SCPs! Core player feature improvements! Upgraded enemy behaviors and mechanics and more! 1.0 will be the biggest update to SCP: 5K ever: the completion of the Area-12 main campaign with nearly double the amount of playable content. Please check out our production roadmap link below for more details on all the new stuff!
This exciting news, however, comes with a bittersweet announcement. Now that we have pivoted entirely to 1.0, there will be no more intermediary updates before 1.0. We initially discussed the possibility of smaller updates before 1.0. However, due to the work associated with an update, there was no way to release any update no matter the size without taking significant time away from making the best 1.0 possible. We decided we must prioritize 1.0. Additionally, we would much rather have you experience everything together than in half-finished pieces.
“So when is 1.0 gonna drop?!?,” right? Great question! However, it’s one we can’t answer at this moment as we are currently working out the details with Balor Games. However, we have shared new work-in-progress materials on our roadmap (link below) and will continue to give you sneak peeks at what to expect in the final release throughout the process. We’ve already completed a significant amount of work this year and we’re very excited to give you a small taste. As we get closer to 1.0 and we have more finished material to share, our communication will become more regular and include more and better reveals and leaks.
Thank you so much for all your support of SCP: 5K over the years. We are thrilled to finally be focusing on the last few milestones on our way to 1.0!
Here is a link to our updated development roadmap: SCP: 5K Development Roadmap
We’ve built this “atlas” to serve as your guide through the rest of the SCP: 5K 1.0 development cycle. This interactive roadmap is structured around the new production milestones, with the successful completion of each milestone linked to leaks of new, never-before-seen content developed during that milestone. As we have just completed Milestone 2 out of 5, you can already see two milestones worth of sneak peeks. As we progress, we will be releasing more behind-the-scenes content. We will update you (and the roadmap) again when we complete Milestone 3. Expect more updates soon.
In Dave We Trust,
Affray Interactive Studio Leadership
Affray Interactive
Balor Games