Just got this email and I couldn't be happier. Also, huge congrats to Brad on the birth of his new baby boy.

It’s been two years since we started on our quest for the MASSIVE CHALICE, and we’re excited to say that our journey is nearly at an end! After many months of designing, building, reading through our early access feedback, and playing the game for hours on end, we’re finally in lockdown. That means the team is in the final stages now; working purely on bug fixing, performance, and polishing things up, in between sending builds off to Microsoft for certification. Release date! With all that in mind then, we’re super happy to announce that MASSIVE CHALICE will be officially leaving early access and launching on June 1st, with the Xbox One version appearing around then! What’s new for 1.0? Whilst we’ve got a lot of fixes and polish heading in your direction, version 1.0 won’t just be about making the game shinier, we’ve also got some final features to send your way too. After listening to lots and lots of useful feedback on the mid to endgame, the team has spent a considerable amount of time rebalancing the game to be more fun, fair, challenging, or punishing, depending on how you look at it. Thanks to everyone who helped us with this fine tuning, we got some invaluable feedback from you guys. Controller support for the Steam version will also appear in 1.0, enabling you to play from the comfort of your couch with the same polished control scheme and UI navigation as the Xbox One version. We’ve added achievements into the game for all those completists out there, but probably most excitingly of all we’ll also be enabling access to Backer Relics, like the one wielded by this chap below... Launch Day Teamstream June 1st! We’ve had a lot of fun with the Teamstreams throughout this project, so one more for the road seemed like the right thing to do. Join us on June 1st for one final MASSIVE CHALICE Teamstream, time to be confirmed, but please do prepare for silliness. Join us here on launch day:twitch.tv/doublefine MASSIVE KNOWLEDGE, the Documentary That’s not all we have in store for launch day though! The 2 Player Productions gang have been filming the entire development of Massive Chalice, and their documentary series will be available to watch starting on launch day. Huzzah! The documentary is called MASSIVE KNOWLEDGE and will give viewers a unique insight into the team that made the game, what they do, how they got here, and how you could follow in their games industry footsteps. Box design Those who backed at a certain level will be getting a super special boxed copy of the game, with a cover designed by Cory Schmitz. We’re hoping for these to go into production later this month, so it’ll be a little while before these arrive on your doorstep, but this is what it’s going to look like. On the left, we have the normal box. In the middle the special slip case exclusive to Backers. Combining them both creates the special MC Backer box, seen on the right! The Horns of Birth! A cause for celebration indeed! Finally, I’m sure you’ll all join us in congratulating Brad and his wife Cate, who are now the proud parents of their first child and heir, Gibson! Along with the team being very much heads down finishing up the game, and the publishing team launching Broken Age and Grim Fandango mobile recently, this is a key reason for the recent quietness on our end! We promise not to shut up for a while now though. Thanks you guys!

Great, looking forward to it. I haven't paid much attention to it outside of the first info but it seems cool, it's Double Fine and it's from the Double Fine that made TRECHED/Iron Brigade. Which was pretty sweet.

I was pretty excited for this when they announced it, but decided against contributing to the Kickstarter. That box design makes me regret it though, it looks rad as hell.

I'm happy to see that they're finally getting around to releasing it, the teamstreams were pretty great to keep up with, and what I played at PAX last year seemed real promising.

Couldn't remember but I checked and I'm glad I backed for a boxed copy. Although honestly I'm more excited for the documentary at this point, not because I'm down on the game but because I'm so up on the DFA doc.

Oh right, that stinker.

I can't wait to play it, I was thinking about playing xcom again but this will definitely cure the itch!

I'm so looking forward to this. After Divinity: Original Sin and Banner Saga, which I'm still playing through simultaneously, I'll probably be burnt out on tactical RPGs. None-the-less, this is has been one of my most anticipated games since hearing Brad Muir describe it sometime on Giant Bomb.

Love the aspect that it's essentially never-ending

Where'd you get that idea? I haven't played Massive Chalice since the very first early access build, but unless they've drastically changed the strategy layer, the game has a very strict time limit of 300 in-game years.

I loved what I played when it first came out in early access, but I've been holding out now until the finished product. Looking forward to see how they've iterated on what I already thought was a really fun game.

@kevin_cogneto: Must have mis-remembered the info. Does it have a win-state?

@hypnotoadbrwowrowrow: Yes it does, the object of the game is to last 300 years. After that there is a final battle and you win. There is a fail state, if the capital gets 3 corruption strikes. There might be a "Long War" equivalent option but I don't think it is in there.

Then that must be what I'm thinking about: the objective being to last 300 years, rather than some objective that's obtainable at any point... if that makes sense the way I said it..

Really excited for this. Even more excited now that it's free on Xbox: One.

Can't wait. I have 44 hours into this game already :( Hopes there's a lot of new things.

Edit. I stopped playing a few patches ago so I don't doubt there's new stuff

Having played it on Early Access, i hope alot has changed for the full release.

I'm not quite sure what this game is (haven't payed attention), but i'm glad to get it for free on XB1.

Fantasy X-com tactical with light Crusaders Kings overworld strategy over a long period of time.

Really looking forward to Controller support, been holding off waiting for that.

Is this not going to be on the PS4?

Looking forward to checking this one out. Was waiting for release.

Double Fine has yet to really hook me with any of its projects so far, but this looked promising a few months ago. Looking forward to it.

Nope, which is why I have to pretend it doesn't exist. Wait, what were we talking about?

Heh...I just noticed that you posted the last comment a month ago in that thread I linked to.

Now that it's out, what do people think?

My initial knee jerk reaction has been negative so far honestly. (tho i've only played a couple battles)

The main issue for me is that I find the whole aesthetic off putting. It has similar artstyle base as something like Endless Legend but where in that game it's cleanliness sorta works, while remaining bright animated and vibrant, here I find the whole game seems - lifeless and dead. Both on the field of battle and in the strategic element, I really really cannot get past how lifeless it all feels. Just it's hard to describe but it makes me not want to play it. On top of that you have the faceless cadence. I just feel no compelling reason to fight a vague enemy for a barren lifeless land.

From the mechanics and design standpoint it feels limited. Not shallow necessarily. Just limiting. The tiny over world area, the number of class perks, tactical movement, alchemist bomb charges, hard endgame timer. Even the research. Make crossbow better! - that's not enticing bro.

And the characters from the looks perspective all just look so similar and indistinctive. Gameplay wise the game instantly tells me they're gonna pass on with old age. Feeling of attachment = nil.

I remember seeing the demo they gave the GB staff a long time ago and thinking to myself: "this is a neat proof of concept, that would need to be extrapolated on massively" and it feels to me like the game overall moved on very little from that initial concept.

Having a really hard time getting into it atm. Which is too bad I was kinda looking forward to digging into a new interesting tbt game.

As I said somewhere else, I'm loving it so far. Went in on normal ironman and not struggling too much but able to enjoy the costs of silly missteps that I've made. Accidental inbreeding leading to a whole stock of crap heroes, trying to commit an old lady to a hospital inadvertently causing a third strike on a region.

Just ticked past a timepoint where the attacks are getting a lot more dangerous as well which is keeping it interesting.

@tennmuerti: You should keep playing, the real meat of the game is managing the bloodlines. Trying to get good traits and have children with decent XP while still having an effective fight force keeps you on your toes. The research is strange, I found researching the healing potion and the upgraded armor to be a good strategy, this is because of the relic system. Also you are supposed to get attached to your characters but more importantly their bloodline. I would say keep playing it is a good strategy game but if you are looking for a Xcom successor this game is not it.

This part surprised me this morning when I went to the Games with Gold page. Really impressed with the way Microsoft has been handling this program.

@tennmuerti: I've played for a few hours. It seems alright, but the actual tactical stuff doesn't necessarily blow my mind and of course the Normal difficulty seems like it was designed for people whose only experience with tactical games was playing the new XCOM reboot on normal. (so basically for babies).