'Starbound' release date news: Game leaving Early Access; official public release revealed

(PlayStarbound.com)Starbound is available to the public on July 22.

After what seems to be a long wait by fans, "Starbound" is finally getting an official release date, which will be on July 22.

The game has been in the Steam Early Access since December 2013 but developer Chucklefish Games has finally made the public release official via a live stream and an official blog post.

"Starbound" has been in development for almost five years and it started as a Kickstarter campaign. In 2013, the game arrived on Steam where millions of its copies were sold. However, considering it wasn't publicly released months or years after Early Access, fans started to think that the game was stuck in development. Over the last few years, the game developer has incorporated new features, which gave fans the impression that the game's development is nowhere near complete.

"Starbound" is being compared to popular titles like "Minecraft," in which players explore worlds, craft items and build. Both differ in their visuals since "Minecraft" uses 2D imagery as opposed to "Starbound's" 3D. In Chucklefish's title, players also have to survive the different worlds they're in by making sure they have upgraded space weapons.

The game's development will officially conclude in two weeks and Chucklefish promised that it "isn't the end." The game developer stated in its announcement that there will be continued updates and support for the game as long as possible. "We've got loads of cool ideas we couldn't fit into 1.0 but hope to put into future updates," Chucklefish wrote.

It remains to be seen what "creative ideas" the game developer has planned for the game in the future, but considering that "Starbound" is loved by many, it should be interesting. Fans will just have to wait in a couple of weeks as more information will be given by then.

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