We’re incredibly excited to announce that our newest playtest is officially underway for our Scrivener and Forerunner backers from Kickstarter and equivalent backers on Ko-Fi and PayPal, featuring our latest build for Hawthorn and everything we’ve been crafting over the past year.
This marks the first time anyone outside of NEARstudios has gone hands-on with Hawthorn since we branched away from our original Proof-of-Concept over a year ago, and we couldn’t imagine sharing this milestone with anyone other than our wonderful community, starting with our Village Council (the backers who have made this project possible).
For months, we’ve been filling the forests with new life, expanding the village, adding and refining systems, introducing new characters and creatures, and weaving together countless little details that make Hawthorn feel alive. Now it’s time to open the gates and invite our players into Hawthorn.
Every great storybook begins as a draft and passes through several edits before it reaches readers, Hawthorn’s development will now follow a similar path. We are leaning into the storybook vibe because Hawthorn started as a series of unpublished short stories and it was initially inspired by classic fairytale books.
This is one of our biggest opportunities yet to put Hawthorn into our Village Council’s hands, gather feedback, fix bugs, and continue shaping the world together.
Three Phases of Village Council Playtesting
Going forward, our major playtests, and potentially even our Early Access updates, if this process proves successful, will roll out in three storybook-inspired phases, each representing another step in preparing Hawthorn for its Early Access release.
Each new phase brings more adventurers into the world, allowing us to gather broader feedback and putting the game through its paces while continuously refining the game between each chapter.
Phase One — Village Council Draft Playtest
Begins Today
Invitations for the first phase is sent to:
– Scriveners
– Forerunners
– Supporters whose combined contributions across Kickstarter, Ko-fi, and PayPal reach the equivalent level.
As some of Hawthorn biggest supporters, these backers will be the very first explorers to venture into this newest version of the game.
For one week, they’ll have exclusive access before the next phase arrives. More importantly, their feedback will help shape the experience for everyone who follows.
Phase Two — Village Council Preview Playtest
Next, we’ll welcome:
– Royal Settlers
– Philanthropists
– Trailblazers
– Equivalent supporters across Kickstarter, Ko-fi, and PayPal.
With more villagers entering the world, we’ll broaden our testing, verify fixes, continue tracking feedback, and keep polishing the experience as Hawthorn grows.
Phase Three — Village Council Proof Playtest
Finally, we’ll open the gates to:
– Legends
– Stewards
– Homesteaders
– Equivalent supporters across Kickstarter, Ko-fi, and PayPal.
By this stage, Hawthorn will welcome its largest gathering of players yet.
With hundreds more eyes exploring every woodland trail, every village path, and every cozy corner, this final week will help us uncover those last hidden issues while giving us our most valuable round of testing before the next stage of development.
A Living Manuscript
No story is perfected in a single draft and neither is a game.
Rather than waiting until the end of the playtest to make improvements, we’ll be treating these three weeks as a living manuscript.
As feedback arrives, we’ll be fixing bugs, improving gameplay, tuning systems, and, whenever it makes sense, releasing updated builds throughout the playtest so everyone can experience Hawthorn as it continues to evolve.
Think of each update as another edition of the story.
The Draft becomes the Preview.
The Preview becomes the Proof.
And with every bug uncovered, every suggestion shared, and every adventure experienced, the next edition becomes a little better than the last.
From the very beginning, Hawthorn has never simply been our game. It has been something we’ve built alongside this incredible community. Every memorable adventure reminds us why we’re making this world in the first place.
Thank you for believing in Hawthorn and for helping us bring this woodland tale to life as adventurers helping write its Prologue.
This is the Hawthorn Village Council Playtest process. We will work out the kinks as we go but that’s just part of the journey.
We’ll see you in Windermere Village.
With gratitude,
The Hawthorn Dev Team