Hyper Light Breaker – Heart Machine’s fully 3D rogue-lite spin on its acclaimed 2016 action-adventure Hyper Light Drifter – has had its early access launch bumped back a bit, and is now targeting an early 2025 release.
In a post shared on Steam, Heart Machine founder Alx Preston said the team needs a bit more time to ensure the gameplay experience is up to the “polished” standard the studio is aiming for.
“We don’t want to ship a project, even in Early Access, that we’re not satisfied with on a number of fronts. Especially in the current state of the industry, we need to put as good a foot forward as we can,” Preston wrote.
The developer said the studio also wanted to ensure the wellbeing of its staff, with their mental and physical health a priority. This delay, Preston said, will “enable the team to offer better, more responsive support to community feedback during the Early Access period itself”, rather than seeing them burnt out having pushed for that earlier launch.