What a year huh detectives? This year we launched into early access, back in April, which simultaneously feels like aeons ago but also about a fortnight ago; I think that's because it's been amazing to see the game's success but also we have been working hard to cover a lot of ground. 24 Patches later and we're getting there! But there's still stuff to do. [h2]Highlights of the Year[/h2] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35172403/83efbd6b09b32704fac6fc9937ca74969bd2e767.png[/img] [h3]Steam NextFest[/h3] Early in the year we participated in Steam NextFest. This was the game's first public release. It was super nerve-wracking, and at the time the game was still extremely buggy, but regardless we saw that people really enjoyed our idea and it was fantastic to see how people engaged with all our hard work. It was a massively positive experience as it was the first sign that our niche, low-budget game was going to attract an audience. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35172403/532162e33c063e0c59fea0a4b0f41513bf3fd73f.png[/img] [h3]EA Launch[/h3] The period between NextFest and early access launch in April was a crazy busy month and we worked really hard to fix as many reported issues as possible. We implemented our public in-game bug report system to try and get valuable data; it worked (although sorting through them is a job in itself!) Regardless, with your help, we were able to fix many bugs this way, and we continue to use the same workflow going forward. [h3]Content Updates[/h3] We were and continue to be excited about bringing new content into the game. The year ahead will be no exception; we've got new things in the works we think you'll enjoy and that should add a lot to the Shadows experience. We're going to continue to focus not only on the 'bigger' things that you might see as update headlines, but we're very keen on adding more detail to our world. Bringing the world to life through finishing touches and detail, like the in-game TV for example, has been collectively one of the most fun things to work on, and creates atmosphere in spades. We're going to continue to do that. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35172403/5e2bb290988cfa119e2a411d0c7fa54bb7f9f7fe.png[/img] [h3]Teaming Up[/h3] One of the things the success has allowed us to do is work with more people. ColePowered will remain and very possibly always remain a very small team; this is because I much prefer creating stuff to being a manager. However, it's also great to work with others and this year we've worked with a new guest writer (Premee Mohamed), a couple of different programmers have contributed massively to the codebase (Josh & Austin) and we've also received contractor help with admin tasks and achievement art (Layla & Billie). Next year will be more of the same. [h3]The Steam Awards[/h3] To recap our biggest surprise, you've nominated us for a Steam award! This is a huge deal for us and we couldn't be prouder. If we can count on your vote, head on over to https://store.steampowered.com/SteamAwards [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35172403/c1f02e5417f440e456357365a6094893f7f32a8e.jpg[/img] Over the year ahead we will continue tackling the bugs and address QoL issues that have been reported (thank you to everybody who has submitted them). We will also be continuing to add new content to the game, really excited to share our plans with you soon! Have a fantastic holiday season detectives! See you in the new year!