Three days before launch, one of the most wishlisted games on Steam warns players not to expect ‘a huge survival game’ with ‘hundreds of hours of main progression’

Another month goes by, another highly-anticipated survival game is poised for a big launch. But Solarpunk, which has over 1.2 million wishlists on Steam, has issued a warning to players before they buy it on June 8: make sure you know what you’re actually getting.

“Is Solarpunk for you?” developer Cyberwave asked in a post on Steam. Because if you were expecting a massive, sprawling survival game like recent hits Windrose or Subnautica 2, this might not be the game for you.

“We’ve been developing the game as a two-person team for the most part, and with 1.2 million people on the wishlist, the pressure is incredibly high, we’re worried that some people might be expecting a AAA title,” Cyberwave said.

“We know that some players might look at the wishlist number and expect a huge survival game made by dozens or hundreds of developers. That is not what Solarpunk is. Solarpunk is not a giant studio production. It is not trying to compete with the biggest survival games in scope, content amount, or system depth.

“Solarpunk is a calm, cozy, focused survival craft sandbox made by a tiny team with a lot of love,” the developer said. “So before release, we want to be very clear about what Solarpunk is, and what it is not.”

The dev went on to set expectations for Solarpunk, promising “a calm survival craft experience focused on peace, creativity, and slow progression” and noting that “after around 20 hours, most of the main content is explored and the game then switches the focus to your home base, farm, decoration, and personal goals.”

If you’re looking for PvP, there is none. The game doesn’t have a huge open world, but rather “a limited set of handcrafted islands and two biomes.” And don’t expect a story driven experience: “Solarpunk has no story campaign and no narrative quest progression.”

There’s more, lots more, the developers would like you to know before you start playing, and there’s even a nearly 10-minute long video explaining what the game is and, just as importantly, what it isn’t.

“We do not want anyone to buy Solarpunk for the wrong reasons,” Cyberwave said. “We want you to buy it if you are excited about a peaceful survival craft game where you build a cozy home base, farm, decorate, explore handcrafted islands, and spend relaxed time alone or with friends.

“And if you expected PvP, a big story campaign, endless exploration, deep combat, huge public servers, or hundreds of hours of main progression, that is totally okay too. In that case, Solarpunk might simply not be the right game for you.”

At the same time, the small studio is grateful to have gotten so many fans and followers. “Thank you for giving this tiny project so much attention,” Cyberwave said. “Thank you for wishlisting, playing the demo, backing us, watching videos, sharing feedback, and believing in Solarpunk. It means more to us than we can properly put into words.”