How Long Will Sons of the Forest Be in Early Access? Full Release Window

In Sons of the Forest, players are set on a mission to find a missing billionaire, but things go sour quickly, as you might have guessed. The survival horror title from Endnight Games releases on 23 February 2023, and recently, the "full release" was moved to an Early Access state to maintain the February 2023 release date.

With the Sons of the Forest map being four times (or more) bigger than the original and much more detailed, there's still some work to be done, bugs to fix, and more content to be added. Some fans might, therefore, be wondering how long Sons of the Forest will be in an Early Access state and when the full release will happen.

Update on 20 June 2023: We've updated this article to reflect the latest details on how long Sons of the Forest will remain in Early Access.

Sons of the Forest Early Access: How Long?

First off, the developers have explained why they decided to release the game into Steam Early Access instead of a full release on 23 February 2023, stating:

We set out to make the ultimate survival horror simulator, and feel it is now at a stage where it needs player feedback and involvement to help push this even further.

 

Our experience with releasing our first game ‘The Forest’ in Early Access was extremely positive. We got a lot of really good feedback and suggestions and were able to shape and improve the game drastically, rather than if we kept development internal. Having players involved at this stage will make this game even better.

It has also been confirmed that Sons of the Forest will be in Early Access for a period of six (6) to eight (8) months. That is the developer's hope, to be clear, and they also noted that the game will leave Early Access once they are certain it is the best version of Sons of the Forest possible.

Sons of the Forest Full Launch: Release Date Window

Based on how long Sons of the Forest will be in Early Access, as noted by the developer on Steam, that the game has a full release date window of between late August and late October 2023. We do suspect that Sons of the Forest will see a full release before the end of 2023 at the latest, but anything can happen during development, and nothing is set in stone.

While you wait for Sons of the Forest to release via Steam Early Access, why not check out YouTuber Farket's preview, discussing their experience during a playtest?

So there you have it, an estimate of how long Sons of the Forest will be in Early Access on Steam, alongside an educated guess on its full release date. We will endeavor to update this article if any more information becomes available.