An indie game that’s been in Early Access for the past five years is taking its 20K+ positive reviews to launch. You never know quite how long a game will sit in Early Access before it gets to launch, as it can take a few months to several years. The latter is the case for one of the highest-rated Early Access indie titles on Steam, which is finally shifting out of its development phase and into a full release, delighting all of the players who’ve stuck with it since it first arrived in 2021.
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On March 12, 2026, Timberborn left Early Access and entered its full release. Since first arriving on Early Access, Timberborn has received seven major updates, bringing it to version 1.0. As of writing, the game holds nearly 21,000 positive reviews on Steam, where it’s tagged as “Overwhelmingly Positive” by the community. Since entering Early Access, Mechanistry has sold more than 1 million units, helping to keep the game funded as development continued. It’s finally out and ready for a wider audience, so if you haven’t grabbed your copy yet, it’s time!
Timberborn has been released
If you haven’t played Timberborn, it’s a city builder and colony sim, but it’s also so much more. The official description reads as follows: “Humans are long gone. In a world struck by droughts and toxic waste, will your lumberpunk beavers do any better? A sandbox city-building game featuring ingenious animals, vertical architecture, water physics, and terraforming. Contains high amounts of wood.” It’s a post-apocalyptic world where beavers rule following humanity’s demise, and everything about it is wood and beaver-themed, so expect plenty of innuendo. This makes it a truly fun and unique entry in the genre and one that any fan of sims and city builders will enjoy.
The game began its earliest phase of development back in 2018, when players were invited to playtest Timberborn as it progressed. It took a few years to reach Early Access, and once it did, the game only grew in popularity among enthusiasts and early adopters. As development progressed over the past five years, the devs took a ton of feedback from Early Access players who played the game’s core elements. It was fully playable at this stage but needed additional work to leave Early Access and enter release, which has finally happened.
There are tons of clever games out there, but few are as imaginative and as fun to play as Timberborn. Don’t take this as an official review, but it’s certainly a game that I’ve enjoyed, and it will appeal to many more fans of the genre. There are multiple maps, four factions, tons of things to create and construct, and a whole new world to explore, so don’t you think that “It’s about dam time you joined the beaver revolution?” Timberborn is now available on Steam, or if you already own an Early Access copy, be sure to update it to version 1.0 before diving back in.
How excited are you for the official release of Timberborn? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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Image courtesy of Daybreak Game Company -
Image courtesy of Wizards of the Coast
