Hades II is going to the realm of Early Access next year, Supergiant Games confirmed.
On its website, the developer revealed the title is expected to release on Steam and the Epic Games Store in the second quarter of 2024. Steam's inclusion is a notable difference from its predecessor, which launched as a timed exclusive on the Epic Games Store before eventually crossing over to Steam and consoles.
The reasoning comes down to content: it's said to have "at least as much content from [Early Access] day one" as the first Hades did during its own Early Access period in 2018. Notably, it was Supergiant's first go at releasing a game in an unfinished state.
Within the two-year Early Access window, Hades went on to sell 700,000 copies. And days after its official Version 1.0 release, that number went up to 1 million copies.
Supergiant wants to use Early Access to its fullest extent
Early Access tends to benefit roguelikes, said creative director Greg Kasavin at the time, and the subsequent updates gave the narrative an episodic structure prior to Hades' official Version 1.0 release.
And because that release method was "vitally important" for the first game, Supergiant knew Early Access would be equally important for the sequel. It said its goal is to be far along enough in Hades II development that feedback won't feel redundant, but not so far in that said feedback is effectively pointless to take into account.
"Even though Early Access inherently means a game is not yet complete, we still want to do everything we can to make sure Hades II is worth your while as soon as you can play it in any capacity," Supergiant wrote.
As far as the full 1.0 release of Hades II, Supergiant admitted it didn't know when that would be. It will "keep building core content" during the Early Access period and refine or add upon the game's foundation.