My Time at Sandrock Early Access Release Date Delayed
Caught Between a Sandrock and a Hard Place
The My Time at Sandrock Early Access release date has been delayed due to certification requirements, pushing back the expected launch of this game (and its beta) for an unknown amount of time.
My Time at Sandrock is the upcoming sequel to My Time at Portia, a farming RPG very much in the vein of games like Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon. The product of a successful Kickstarter, this game has built enough hype to get wishlisted more than 100,000 times on Steam and players were very much looking forward to playing the game sometime in 2021. Unfortunately, it looks like players are going to have to wait a little longer.
“We are currently facing a hurdle, which is that Sandrock needs to get a local rating certification required for us to be able to publish the game online,” read a Steam Community news post from Pathea Games. “We had hoped for the license to have been issued before May, but it’s currently looking like it won’t make that date. This means that we will not be able to release Sandrock into Early Access until we have this certification.”
Pathea Games does not explain what this “local certification” is. That said, it’s located in Chongqing, China — a country that has notoriously strict game regulations. ESRB ratings are not required for publishing a game on Steam, so this certification is likely something required by the Chinese government.
For now, Pathea Games will use the time to continue developing the game. There’s no word on how long it will take to get the necessary certification, but it plans on releasing the game on “short notice” as soon as it secures the necessary licensing.
This isn’t just for the public release of the game, either — Kickstarter Backers who purchased the Steam Beta Access Pack (or any other tier that entitles them to beta access) will not be able to access the beta, either. Pathea Games says that the NDA is still in effect for Beta players and that they’ll be the first people to play the game as soon as possible.
When is the My Time at Sandrock Early Access Release Date?
Unfortunately, there is not yet a new My Time at Sandrock Early Access release date. Pathea Games is unsure when it will secure the necessary licensing to release its game, so it is effectively delayed until that problem is solved.
“It is not clear how long it will take for us to get the license, but we are hoping for the best and we are preparing for the launch so that when we get it, the game can be released on short notice,” Pathea Games explained.
For now, all we can do is hope to see the launch of My Time at Sandrock in Steam Early Access sometime later in 2021. While you’re waiting, you may as well add My Time at Sandrock to your wishlist on Steam!