Stargate Timekeepers will now be released in two parts; the curse continues

Found of the GOG listing:

“Disclaimer: Stargate: Timekeepers will be released in two parts. Season 1 Part 1 will be available on day one, and Season 1 Part 2 in April 2024. By purchasing this game you’ll have access to Season 1 Part 1 immediately and to Season 1 Part 2 after its release in April 2024.”

Originally set to be released in late 2022, Timekeepers has fallen victim to many delays. It’s last advertised release date was December 12th 2023. When we got close to that date it got delayed to some time in January, but only listed as “coming soon”.

I went to check if it was out yet, and I notice it has been marked to be released in parts now. Apparently this was in the December delay announcement, but it is the first time I have realised it’s being released in incomplete parts. The second part is set to release in April.

The concerning thing is not so much the multiple parts. This is a semi-common money grab tactic, where the developer can pull money while drip feeding the game out, with no obligation to actually finish the game (this happened with Stargate Unleashed: Only two episodes were ever released, and episode two only made it to iOS before it was cancelled). In this instance the second part is a free update. The reason this concerns me more is that it is clearly a delaying tactic so they can complete an unfinished game at the same time as taking money for the game. They’ve had so many delays that I think they are running out of money and are yet to have a finished product they are able to sell.

In the Gateworld article (gateworld.net/…/stargate-timekeepers-launch-delay…) author Darren says “The bug in question prevents players from progressing through the later stages of the game […] The publisher opted to fix the bug now, rather than release the game and have players unable to progress beyond a certain point until the patch is released.”

So already with the plan to publish the first half of the game to buy time to finish the second half of the game, the developers find a bug that makes it clear the first half of the game wasn’t ready to be released anyway. Gateworld suggesting that the Dev chose an option to fix a game breaking bug before release, rather than release a game that can’t be completed, is being a bit too generous. If your game has a game breaking bug, it shouldn’t be released, period.

Stargate SG-1 began in 1997. It is 2024 and we have yet to see any of the many video games actually make it to fans in a finished state (or maybe one depending on how you count Resistance). The video game curse of Stargate continues.

For those keeping score:
Stargate SG-1: The Alliance, cancelled 2005, First person shooter based on the event of the show
Stargate Worlds, cancelled 2010, MMO, Set in the early seasons of the show and exploring the Furlings
Stargate Resistance, released 2010 but servers shut down by 2011, Arena Deathmatch style 3rd person shooter
Stargate Unleashed, 2013 cancelled after 2 episodes, Mobile phone adventure game, Only the first episode available on both Android and iOS.
Stargate Network, a well received fan game that looked better than all of the above, Ceased and Desisted by MGM when Timekeepers was announced.

If anyone has any first hand experience regarding Resistance, let me know. I don’t really understand what happened with that one, whether it could be considered a successful release or not.