With Supergiant Games' Hades 2 entering its Early Access period fans are wondering when the full game will be released.
Set in a beautifully realized take on the world of Ancient Greek myths, the underworld-bound rogue-lite follows up on the critically acclaimed first game in the franchise from 2020.
The sequel was first announced at The Game Awards 2022, promising gamers more foes to quash, greek gods to align with, and stunning character designs to google over.
[ Is Hades 2 Early Access on Switch, PS5, and Steam? Platform Release Details Confirmed ]
When to Expect Hades 2 Release Date
With the title now in Early Access, there are some hints are when the full game will see the light of day.
While fans have hoped the title would come sometime in 2024, that no longer looks as though it will be the case.
As confirmed by developer Supergiant Games in the Hades 2 Early Access announcement, the game will remain in its preview state "at least through the end of 2024:"
"We're planning our first Major Update for later this year! Please note while we'll be monitoring feedback and reports carefully, this Major Update will take some months following our initial launch. Beyond that, we expect to be in Early Access at least through the end of 2024 in order to build out the remaining content we have planned."
That means the hotly-anticipated sequel's release date won't come until any earlier than 2025.
The first Hades remained in Early Access for roughly 21 months starting in December 2018 on Epic Games Store exclusively. It was then released in Early Access on Steam in December 2019 before dropping the full game on PC and Nintendo Switch on September 17, 2020 (roughly nine months later).
Given the state Hades 2 has started its Early Access journey - one that seems to be much further along than Hades was in December 2018 - it can be assumed the game will not take nearly as long before its version 1.0 is released.
A better mark of delineation to start predictions from would be the Hades Steam Early Access release in December 2019 (nine months before launch).
If Hades 2 is going to follow a similar nine-month Steam Early Access window, that puts the full game release date somewhere in February or March 2025.
No official release timing for Hades 2 has been made public.
With rumors of Nintendo's new console coming before the end of Q1 2025 - and given Supergiant's preexisting relationship with the Japanese gaming giant - a full Hades 2 release could be held for a day-one release on Nintendo's Switch successor.
Supergiant made a particular point of emphasizing upon the game's Early Access release, that it could not "confirm which platforms" it would be coming to. While not a confirmation as such, some have taken that to mean the game may be coming to Nintendo's unannounced gaming machine:
"You may also want to hold out for the v1.0 launch depending on which platform you'd like to play on, as Early Access is only on Steam and the Epic Games Store. We expect 'Hades II' to eventually be available for PC, Mac, and console platforms (though cannot confirm which platforms yet)."
That is not to say the Nintendo Switch 2 will be the only place to play the full game when it is eventually released, but if a deal is in place, it could dictate when Hades 2 drops.
The game is eventually expected to come to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S as well, but whether it releases on everything at once remains to be seen. Hades took roughly a year to come to PlayStation and Xbox, coming to the platforms in August 2021.
Hades 2 Early Access is now available on Steam and the Epic Games Store.
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