Hidden Path cancels Early Access game Windborne

Defense Grid developer Hidden Path Entertainment has cancelled its Steam Early Access sandbox game Windborne.

In an update to players the studio said it had run out of money for the project, which was first released in February 2014. It claimed to have reinvested “every dollar” earned from the title back into the game, but could no longer continue to make progress with current revenues. The developer claimed total development costs were “ten times more” than money made from the game.

The company had attempted to secure extra funds to finish development but has been unable to do so.

Windborne will still be playable for those who already bought it. Each user will also receive five Steam keys for free to give to friends. Owners of Windborne Order of the Dragon will also receive three copies of Defense Grid 2 Steam Special Edition and three Defense Grid: Containment bundles. No refunds will be available however.

Despite its cancellation, source code for the game will not be released. Hidden Path hopes to one day return to the project and complete its development.

“We learned quite a bit going through early access,” read a statement from the studio.

“Early Access also changed tremendously during our development process of Windborne. There were not a lot of cases out there to pull from so it was a ‘learn as you go’ process. First and foremost, we learned that communication is key, and not just communication but very clear and concise communication. Early Access as a means to fund the completion of a game is not something we would advise to anybody. This was not clearly outlined when we entered into EA, it has since been changed to illustrate this.”