Developer Digital Sun and publisher 11 Bit Studios have announced that the early access release of Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault has been postponed by one month to 19th November 2024.
The RPG shop-sim adventure was originally scheduled for a 23rd October launch. In a statement shared on Steam, the companies cited an “overstuffed” October release schedule as the reason for the delay. “October has filled up with so many other great releases that we feel it has become too crowded for us,” the statement explained. “And as every wise shopkeeper knows, even the most precious gem can be overlooked in an overstuffed showcase.”
In the interim before the new launch date, Digital Sun plans to conduct closed playtests for the game. These sessions will be available on Steam and the Microsoft Store, with specific details expected to be announced soon. The game’s original 23rd October date would have placed it in direct competition with the launch of several other titles, including Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted, Once Upon a Katamari, and Double Dragon Revive.
The decision to move the release was influenced by a wider schedule of significant game launches throughout October. The release calendar for the month includes a number of major titles, such as Ghost of Yotei on 2nd October, Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 on 2nd October, Digimon Story: Time Stranger on 3rd October, Battlefield 6 on 10th October, Little Nightmares 3 on 10th October, Pokémon Legends: Z-A on 16th October, Jurassic World Evolution 3 on 21st October, Ninja Gaiden 4 on 21st October, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 on 21st October, The Outer Worlds 2 on 29th October, Arc Raiders on 30th October, and Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake on 30th October.
With the shift to November, Moonlighter 2 will now launch five days after Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which is scheduled for release on 14th November. The rescheduling of Moonlighter 2 reflects a recent trend of developers adjusting launch dates in a dense market. This practice gained attention following the surprise launch of Hollow Knight: Silksong, which prompted other games to shift their own release dates.
Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, creative director for Hell Is Us, described the Silksong launch as “a little callous.” He stated his belief that the surprise release negatively impacted sales for his sci-fi adventure game. The early access for Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault was first announced in August. The title is a sequel to 2018’s Moonlighter and evolves the gameplay from a top-down perspective to 3D worlds.
