Axiom Verge 2 launching on Switch and as an Epic exclusive on PC this "spring"
News of other systems hopefully coming soon.
Axiom Verge 2, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to developer Thomas Happ's acclaimed retro-styled Metroid-a-like, will be making its debut on Switch and PC - in the latter case as an Epic Games Store exclusive - some time this spring.
Axiom Verge 2 - which was already four years in the making when it was announced last year - builds upon the original's elegant blend of familiar nostalgia-tweaking Metroid staples and clever twists with the likes of new characters, enemies, powers, and an entirely new world.
Somewhere in Antarctica lies "what appears to be an ancient, alternate Earth, complete with mountains, lakes, deserts, and the ruins of a civilisation," according to Happ, "but you get the feeling that something else is lurking just past the fringes of reality, waiting to pull you in."
Axiom Verge 2 will, after a short delay last year, be coming Switch and PC this spring, and Happ has explained his decision to launch exclusively on the Epic Games Store in a post to his blog.
"I'd be lying if I said the only reason I decided to go exclusive on Epic was because I'm a fan of the platform and all the wonderful people who work there (though I am, and they are)," he wrote. "When I first started development on the original Axiom Verge about 10 years ago, it was my side hobby. I had a well paying job with benefits, and my dog and I lived a very low maintenance lifestyle. I wasn't really expecting Axiom Verge to pay the bills."
"To say that life is very different for me now would be an understatement," Happ continued, "Axiom Verge is my job now. I have a wife and child who depend on me and the game. I love that I get to work on my hobby all day, but at the same time, I'm always aware of the responsibility I have to my family. I don't want to go into too many details about the nature of the arrangement I have with Epic other than to say that I've been able to put my stress about how the game will perform out of my mind for a bit and just focus on making the game I want to make. Making games can be fun, but it can also be stressful. With this deal in place, game development started feeling like a hobby again."
Happ confirms Axiom Verge 2 will be making its way to Steam "eventually" - although doesn't disclose the length of Epic's exclusivity deal - and has teased a release on additional platforms too. "I've been lucky that I've had great support from Sony and Microsoft over the years," he concluded, "so I hope to be able to talk about my plans on those systems soon."