Shadowrun Returns launch pushed back to May, June 2013

Kickstarter funded tactical role-playing game Shadowrun Returns will launch later than expected after developer Harebrained Studios announced a new release window of May or June, 2013.

During its initial Kickstarter funding the studio planned for a scheduled launch in Jan. 2013, with releases on PC, iOS and Android devices; However, following a highly successful campaign which saw a 470 percent increase on the studio's original $400,000 funding goal — jumping to nearly $1.9 million via Kickstarter and PayPal contributions — the project grew in scale.

"As we announced a few months ago, we've backed off our original delivery date of January 2013. It might've worked for the scope of the game we originally envisioned but as our ambitions (read that "features list") grew, so did the time we needed to deliver! Plus, we made a big move from our original top down camera to an isometric point of view and that took serious R&D time. Right now, according to our estimates, we're looking at May or June.

"We've spent the majority of our time getting our game engine, art pipeline and base gameplay up and running and we've covered a lot of ground to get a lot of systems in place. Our engineering team has been crunching off and on for months to maximize the amount of time our designers will have to create our story."

According to the recent Kickstarter update, the team has since adjusted its work schedule, created a gameplay prototype called Run 'n' Gun, built a secret lab environment populated by Lone Star guards, re-designed its combat interface to run more smoothly, revised and debugged base combat AI, among numerous other fixes.

"After many weeks of hardcore debugging, iterating, and reworking, we're happy to say that we've "found the fun". We're happy with Run ‘n' Gun and feel confident that we're building the rest of the game on a solid foundation. Beyond all the design meetings and system write-ups, our designers have created more than a dozen additional scenarios that exercise the editor, the AI, the interface, the combat systems, and our skill as players."

Shadowrun Returns is now half-way through development. The team will next work on the magic and tech-based abilities, conversation system and narrative.