Graphite Labs has notified their Kickstarter backers that Hive Jump has been delayed beyond Q1 2016.
Their sci-fi action platformer most recently appeared in last week’s Nintendo Direct, an indie sizzle reel taking a look at Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games set for the Nintendo eShop.
In explaining the reasoning behind the game’s delay, Graphite Labs shared that it “isn’t as far along” as they had hoped and that taking on additional client work has been necessary to carry on self-funding the project beyond their Kickstarter budget.
The developer’s complete message reads as below:
“Delays suck. We hate to hear of them and hate being the bearer of them even more. Unfortunately, Hive Jump’s release is delayed past Quarter 1 of this year. The cause of the delay is simply because the game isn’t as far along as we had hoped when we announced that date.
“We knew the large scope of the game would be challenging to execute on and that is why we listed that up front in our risks and challenges section of the Kickstarter page. We’ve continued to invest in this game well beyond our Kickstarter budget because we believe in the game and we want to deliver the best possible version of this game to you our beloved backers. But developing a game after the budget is exceeded slows things down considerably.
“We’ve explored other options – publishers, 3rd party funding, and other options to move this game forward more quickly, but the current situation is that we need to continue to self-fund. This means continuing our balance of client work alongside Hive Jump development. (That’s what allows us to keep going beyond the initial Kickstarter funds.)
“The good news is, based on our assessment of how much work there is left to do in the game, and how much work we’ve put in on average over the last two years, Hive Jump will launch in 2016! We hope to provide you with a more solid release window in the next update or two tops.
“Thank you for bearing with us through the ups and downs of this development lifecycle. As far as Kickstarter communities go, you jumpers are the best! You’ve been very patient and understanding with us so far, and we appreciate it deeply.”
