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Wizardry: The Five Ordeals Game Launches on Steam Early Access on Friday

The official Steam Early Access page for 59 Studio and Game*Spark Publishing's remake of the Wizardry: The Five Ordeals spin-off game announced on Sunday that the game's Early Access release is now slated for Friday. The announcement also noted that the game's scenario editor will not debut alongside the Early Access release, but the developer is aiming for a late 2022 release for the editor.

To alleviate the editor not releasing with the Early Access debut as planned, the developer plans to publish a tool at a later date that will allow makers of older scenarios to adjust their scenarios for the new Steam release. The developer is also allowing conversions of older original scenarios by contacting the company.

The game was originally slated to release on Steam's Early Access on June 18, but it was delayed.

The game is a spin-off of the long-running Wizardry game series and originally released in 2006. The Early Access release includes all the features of the original 2006 game and all official scenarios for the game are playable up until the ending. The developers are remaking the game using the Unity engine. The new version will include four UI modes (including two new ones), a built-in scenario selector, gamepad support, and other enhancements. The scenario editor and user-created scenarios are still under development. The developers plan to make adjustments and improvements during the Early Access period, and will keep the game in Early Access for about a year. The release is available only in Japanese, but English localization is planned.

XSEED Games released Acquire's Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls game on PC via Steam and the Humble Store in January 2020. The game was the first Western release for a Wizardry game since 2001. AnimEigo co-founder Robert Woodhead co-created the original Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord game in 1981.

Drecom announced in October 2020 it had acquired the copyrights and domestic and foreign trademarks for the game series, and planned to develop a new title in the franchise. Drecom's acquisitions include domestic and foreign trademarks for "Wizardry," as well as copyrights for “Wizardry 6,” “Wizardry 7,” “Wizardry 8,” and “Wizardry Gold.” The company is working on an upcoming smartphone game for the franchise, tentatively titled Wizardry VA. The game will launch in 2022.

Source: Steam via Hachima Kikō