Survival Townbuilder 'Romestead' to Release into Early Access on May 26th

Carve your name into the marble of a new Roman Empire and rise to the challenge when one of the most played Steam Next Fest games releases this May!

Watch the release date announcement trailer here.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 9th April — Today, Three Friends, the indie publisher formed of industry veterans behind Valheim and Minecraft, have announced the Steam Early Access release date for their upcoming survival townbuilder Romestead, developed by Swedish studio Beartwigs. Revealed as part of the Triple-i showcase, Romestead will launch into Steam Early Access on May 26th, off the back of securing over 250k wishlists and being the #10 Most Played Demo in the February Steam Next Fest.

Romestead thrusts players into a gorgeous and diverse pixel-art world where they must work alone or with up to eight friends to rebuild Ancient Rome from rubble, challenging and felling the legendary beasts that roam these lands. To do this, players will have to build altars to and worship the ancient Roman pantheon of gods and earn their favor through offerings and mighty deeds as they rebuild and fight for survival.

When Romestead enters Steam Early Access in late Spring, fans of the demo can look forward to a number of exciting additions and improvements waiting to be explored. Building on the success of the demo with its extensive townbuilding, worship system, and legendary boss fights, the Steam Early Access release of Romestead will include:

• More helpful citizens as your people can now help you with more tasks in your settlements, such as the Carpenter being able to help you complete buildings

• More bosses, more biomes, more dungeons including the brand new Volcanic biome that brings a fiery challenge to those who dare to face the two legendary foes slumbering within

• Trading between settlements with the introduction of the Trading Post building which extends the town automation with empire-wide automations using player created automated Trade Routes

• A new Decoration Mode for personalising your towns using an inventory-free system for collecting, placing, and customising furniture and decorations from chairs and tables, to lamps, plants, and statues

• Better inventory management with the ability to expand player inventory and the addition of sorting functionality making it easier to keep track of your loot

• Official support for Xbox and PlayStation 5 controllers with the option to remap a number of buttons for those who prefer to sit back and relax as they rebuild their empire

With Romestead, developer Beartwigs seeks to reinvent the retro art style with their very own bespoke Candide Engine, and to redefine the survival crafting genre by focusing on cutting out the tedium. This includes, among other things, removing tool and weapon durability so players can focus on their goal without interruption, and improved inventory logic that removes the need for micromanagement.

“The players’ response to the Steam Next Fest demo was one of the most rewarding moments in Romestead’s development to date,” says Sam Bloom, Co-Founder and Developer at Beartwigs. “We’re equal parts nervous and excited about releasing into Early Access, and we cannot wait for players to get their hands on the new tools and features!”

Players can wishlist Romestead today on Steam to be notified when it enters Early Access on May 26th. Assets for this announcement can be found here.