State of Core Decay - 2025

Ivar Hill

It's been a while since I wrote one of these, so figured I should make a quick post to keep the public updated on how the project is going!

In a word, slowly! :D But it is going forward, with the current focus being a full migration of the project from an older version of the Unity game engine to the newest Unity 6. Alongside general refactors, this will result in a game that is far, far better optimized and much more stable, but it's also not the flashiest of work so there hasn't been all too much to show lately in terms of screenshots or videos. Hopefully in the near-ish future I'll have some more visually exciting things to showcase as well!

I have also seen some questions regarding crowdfunding platforms such as Patreon or Kickstarter to fund the continued development of the project. This is a bit legally complex due to how the project ownership is structured, so in the short term at least it's unfortunately not an option - but it might still be something that could happen later along the line!

Once I have some more concrete updates to share I'll try to put together a new proper dev blog entry, since it's been quite a while! Until then, happy to answer any further questions or hear any shared thoughts in this thread :)

IAmShaegar

Ivar Hill Always good to hear from you, Ivar!

Hopefully we (the community) will be "allowed" to help you keep the lights on sooner than later, as the publisher (is it Saber?) seem to be unwilling/uninterested to do so themselves (while burning money to produce slop like Turok: Origins).

If my understanding of the situation is correct, you do own the Core Decay IP, but as 3D Realms/Slipgate Ironworks (now under Saber) invested quite a bit (e.g. acquiring ALLCAPS to "augment" the development capabilities) before the Embracer-Savvy deal soured, they can claim partial ownership of this particular project's lines of code, assets, and so on, they paid for, right?

My question is: in theory, would it be possible for another publisher (say New Blood or Apogee), or you yourself even, to buy out Saber's share of said ownership agreement?

(PS Stay safe out there, things are getting too dystopian in the ol' US of A)

IAmShaegar

Ivar Hill Here's another: If I'm not mistaken, you had plans for a public demo. Would it be possible for, instead, bringing the game into a paid Early Access program? Perhaps introducing the game on a chapter by chapter basis?

Ivar Hill

While I can't comment too much on specifics, I can confirm that 1) I do indeed own the Core Decay IP, and 2) I can indeed move forward with development either by myself or alongside another publisher, assuming a suitable agreement is made. Saber has of course invested into the project and rightfully deserve their due, but everyone wants to see the game happen since that'll benefit everyone :)

In essence, I'll continue to work towards a demo and/or early access release, and if I find the means to accelerate development beyond what I can do myself along the way, all the better. In that regard there are no legal obstacles, though the game will remain a personally funded project in the shorter term.