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We've received some inquiries regarding our policy of not offering or promising Steam keys to our itch.io customers.

A few customers have insisted that since other developers offer Steam keys to their non-Steam customers, that we should do so as well -- or that we should at least promise Steam keys in the future for our existing itch.io customers, once Aven Colony goes live on Steam.

However, Steam's terms of service are very clear that it's not acceptable to issue or even to promise Steam keys for a game that's not currently available for distribution on Steam.

Additionally, we've received direct clarification from Valve regarding this matter and have been assured that we CANNOT promise future Steam keys with a purchase.

From a Valve representative: "We have some exceptions for this with regards to crowdfunding, but if a customer is making a retail purchase for your game with the expectation of receiving a Steam key, it’s not okay to not also have the game available for Steam customers."

In short, we will release on Steam in 2017, and we recommend that customers who want to play the game on Steam wait for the full Steam release of Aven Colony in 2017. In the meantime, we will comply with Valve. Whether or not Steam keys become available for our existing itch.io customers at that point is Valve's decision and not ours.

Just a quick question, I have been waiting for a game like this forever, anno 2205 is the closest thing in going to space but this game is the one I have been waiting for as far as city building games in science fiction form, and looking at the video and pictures this is perfect for what I am looking for, I want to purchase it, but I also purchase things on Steam, so my question is, if I pay for this now, is there a chance I might have to pay for it again in Steam or will the full version be available without going through steam since the game is bought, I am anxious to play this game, but I just want to make sure of what my options are. Thank you so much for responding

Posted by: alien410

 

Just a quick question, I have been waiting for a game like this forever, anno 2205 is the closest thing in going to space but this game is the one I have been waiting for as far as city building games in science fiction form, and looking at the video and pictures this is perfect for what I am looking for, I want to purchase it, but I also purchase things on Steam, so my question is, if I pay for this now, is there a chance I might have to pay for it again in Steam or will the full version be available without going through steam since the game is bought, I am anxious to play this game, but I just want to make sure of what my options are. Thank you so much for responding

   

Heya Alien410!

Yes, right now we urge you to think of itch.io and Steam as two separate platforms.  So, if you want to play it on Steam, the best thing to do is wait for the full Steam launch.  There's always a chance Valve could allow us to give our itch.io customers Steam keys at some point in the future but right now, they have explicitly requested that we NOT do this or even promise it, so the best thing to do is wait for the full Steam launch.

Hey there,

Super excited for this game, I heard/read somewhere it will cost more when released on steam. Is this true? If so, could I get an idea on how much more? Thanks!

Posted by: refflexx

 

Hey there,

Super excited for this game, I heard/read somewhere it will cost more when released on steam. Is this true? If so, could I get an idea on how much more? Thanks!

   

The final price point on ALL platforms is expected to be $29.99.  We're currently offering a lower price on itch.io during the beta since the game is still in beta.

I'm waiting for this to come out on steam , faster it comes out, the faster ill add this game to my collection, looks awesome so far .

any news about steam keys ? I would buy it when it becomes on steam.

Without steam key I will not purchase this game, but I will buy it with steam key! Why don't you guys release the game on steam as early-access game? Personally I don't understand why you guys have so much issues with this. Frontier had Planet Coaster released on the Frontier shop, once they released it on steam, we all received a steam key. 

without the steam key, would i still get the updates from you but not steam?

Similar games which have launched with different ways of distribution had never much issues getting onto steam eventually. There shouldn't be an issue getting steam keys later on for people who already bought the game. Steam wants people to use their platform.

Posted by: Paul Tozour

 

Posted by: alien410

 

Just a quick question, I have been waiting for a game like this forever, anno 2205 is the closest thing in going to space but this game is the one I have been waiting for as far as city building games in science fiction form, and looking at the video and pictures this is perfect for what I am looking for, I want to purchase it, but I also purchase things on Steam, so my question is, if I pay for this now, is there a chance I might have to pay for it again in Steam or will the full version be available without going through steam since the game is bought, I am anxious to play this game, but I just want to make sure of what my options are. Thank you so much for responding

   

Heya Alien410!

Yes, right now we urge you to think of itch.io and Steam as two separate platforms.  So, if you want to play it on Steam, the best thing to do is wait for the full Steam launch.  There's always a chance Valve could allow us to give our itch.io customers Steam keys at some point in the future but right now, they have explicitly requested that we NOT do this or even promise it, so the best thing to do is wait for the full Steam launch.

   

How do they even have control over that; when you release the game on steam you are able to generate keys all you want. They do this for devs to give keys to YouTubers, for giveaways, etc. It's clear you went with itch.io because you all don't want to play Steam a portion of the sales.

I really wanted to play this game, but I don't purchase any game that is not available on Steam/Origin/Uplay (trusted purchase/download manager) I've never heard of itch.io. And I prefer steam/origin/uplay to manage updates.

Thankfully there are other way to obtain this game to play until a steam release is made available or we are GUARANTEED steam keys after release if we purchase from itch.io (w/e that is) 

This is a good game in danger of being ruined by some poor management decisions.  There's not even a working link to where someone can buy the game on avencolony.com.  The page hasn't hasn't been updated in months - it lists features that have been in the beta since November as yet to be added.  Mothership, seriously: get your game on Steam and GoG like you actually want to succeed, OK?  I don't care if your CEO's half-brother runs itchy.ass or whatever it is - almost nobody is gonna risk dealing with unknown wannabes.  As it stands right now the only distribution platform you're going to be popular on is Bittorrent.

Posted by: bandicoot

 

This is a good game in danger of being ruined by some poor management decisions.  There's not even a working link to where someone can buy the game on avencolony.com.  The page hasn't hasn't been updated in months - it lists features that have been in the beta since November as yet to be added.  Mothership, seriously: get your game on Steam and GoG like you actually want to succeed, OK?  I don't care if your CEO's half-brother runs itchy.ass or whatever it is - almost nobody is gonna risk dealing with unknown wannabes.  As it stands right now the only distribution platform you're going to be popular on is Bittorrent.

   

Hi Bandicoot!  Thanks for the kind words.

I'm the guy responsible for those "poor management decisions" 🙂

The bottom line is this: the game is in beta.  It's not finished yet.

When it's finished, it will be on Steam (in addition to other platforms).

We're not putting it on Steam until it's done, because that's not our goal with the beta.  We're not trying to maximize the number of customers right now.  We want to maximize sales when we release along with making the best possible game at release.

Our goal with the beta is to get feedback from our customers.  That's something we can do easiest on itch.io with just a few thousand customers.  And Steam Early Access isn't a good fit for that, for reasons we explain in the FAQ.

So, if there's a reason it seems like we're trying to discourage you from buying the game right now, it's because we are -- we want people who want a finished game to wait for the full Steam release.

That will get you the best possible Aven Colony experience, and will ensure that you can play it on Steam as you want.

Also, bear in mind that there are huge, major game features that we haven't even announced yet.  So, it would be a bad idea for us to go into Early Access until we're ready to announce those and reveal them in the game.

Posted by: SweetNuts

 

How do they even have control over that; when you release the game on steam you are able to generate keys all you want. They do this for devs to give keys to YouTubers, for giveaways, etc. It's clear you went with itch.io because you all don't want to play Steam a portion of the sales.   

Err -- what?  No.  It has not wanting to do with the Steam % royalty cut.

We plan to launch on Steam when we launch the finished game.  For us to release an unfinished game onto Steam would be a disservice to our customers, and we're not willing to do that.

We talk about our reasons for not going into Steam Early Access in the FAQ.