Action-management clone ’em up The Alters has been delayed into 2025

They’ve, ahem, altered the release date

Image credit: 11 bit Studios

Edwin and I have a sort of running ‘joke’, in that whenever we’ve got him down to review something, the game gets delayed. Sometimes, it gets delayed multiple times. We’ve taken to calling it “The Curse”, such is its power to utterly obliterate video game development, by virtue of it being a phantom that floats into PC vents and fries motherboards. I think the curse has evolved then, as we hadn’t even discussed 11 bit’s upcoming third-person management adventure The Alters… but Edwin had played it at this year’s Geoffcom. And yes, it has been delayed.

In an in-character post on Xwitter, the devs said that the game would arrive in “Q1 2025”, as opposed to sometime later this year. Essentially, they want to “polish each phase of the project” and “ensure that every aspect of your journey is as seamless as possible”.

Dear Mr. Dolski,

We regret to inform you that, after thorough review, your upcoming mission in search of Rapidium has been postponed from [REDACTED] to Q1 2025.

While we understand this delay may not be the news you were expecting, rest assured that we are using this extended… pic.twitter.com/ALFaeTxG1G

— The Alters (@altersgame) October 2, 2024 When Edwin did get his mitts on The Alters earlier this year, it stirred the Gears Of War-liker within him – despite the fact it’s about an offworld miner creating new versions of himself from branches of his past, then living with those alternate clones. He thought The Alters’ opening salvo was similar to Cliffy B’s magnum opus, despite the fact The Alters isn’t so much about carving alien meatheads into pieces with a chainsaw gun, but more third-person adventure with a management focus.

“The encompassing level design harkens back to yer Uncharteds”, Edwin said in his preview, before he touches on the game’s crafting and building focus. “There’s still a War-Of-Miney side-scrolling management layer at the heart of it all… there are crafting and building menus to wrangle with, and resource counters to stay on top of.”

And if you, dear reader, are wondering whether the offworld miner can have sex with himself. Edwin’s interview piece on the topic covers that (fourth) base.