WW2 shooter Battalion 1944, you may recall, ran a fireball of a Kickstarter in early 2016. It was fully funded in just three days and went on to raise more than triple its £100,000 goal, hitting multiple stretch goals including additional maps. Today, developer Bulkhead Interactive released a "pre-announcement" trailer which explores the game's development and artwork, and also teases the upcoming release of Battalion's first proper reveal trailer, which is coming January 9.
Luckily, Bulkhead came with more than a teaser for a teaser. They didn't provide an exact date, but the studio did say Battalion will come to Steam Early Access "not long after" the trailer's release. It will go for $14.99 upon release, which is lower than the Kickstarter's smallest pledge. As such, all Kickstarter backers "will be rewarded with unique-to-backers only skins and multiple cosmetics and vanity-focused loot crates."
Bulkhead also addressed a possible post-Early Access price increase, which has proven to be a thorny subject for some developers in the past.
"The market has changed so much since we first started work on Battalion 1944, and as players we felt like we wanted to see a fairer approach to pricing in-development video games," said director Joe Brammer. "In an effort to have a better relationship with our community, Battalion 1944’s run in Early Access will see it priced as a game that’s still in development, and one that requires a growing community to help design and refine it. We also really want to reward the existing community who have been behind us since the beginning, so with this approach we want to give something back to the game’s first loyal supporters."
Battalion's Steam page says it is expected to stay in Early Access for one year. When it enters Early Access, it will include "a base level of maps, features and content." The Steam page also pins down the studio's stance on pricing:
"Battalion 1944 will retail for a cheaper entry price during Early Access with the intent to raise the price at full release. This is to reward and encourage those who invest in Battalion for the long term during Early Access. All extra DLC content will be free."
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