Hello! This time, we'll be announcing Wave 4 launch date and changes that will be happening after Wave 4 in regards to gaining Closed Beta access. Let's get started!
Wave 4 is starting on 15th of May 12:00 UTC+0
With the smart watch testing now underway, we found some critical issues & crashes, but for the most part it's been smoother than we expected. The only thing now remaining is fixing these issues, some polishing touches and fixing the inaccuracies in steps graphs.
We expect that we can have all of this done before 15th of May, so that's when we'll open the Wave 4 at 12:00 UTC+0.
The wave will close on 8th of June at 23:59 UTC+0.
Getting guaranteed access to Wave 4
If you want to gain guaranteed access to Wave 4 and start playing immediately when it has opened, you can support us which gives you immediate access. Any new supporters during the Wave 4 will also gain access immediately. We will be accepting people who have applied to the Closed Beta from WalkScape Portal throughout the wave as well.
Changes for new supporters after Wave 4
There will be changes to the benefits and pricing for supporting WalkScape that will come into effect for new supporters after Wave 4. Existing supporters will not be affected by any of these changes.
Changes to new supporters after Wave 4
- All supporters, at any tier, will always be granted immediate access to the Closed Beta without needing to wait until we accept more players.
- Walker price is increased from $3 a month to $4.50 a month.
- Serious Walker price is increased from $6 a month to $7.50 a month.
- One time purchase on Buy Me a Coffee will be increased from $3 to $4.50. One time Beer option will be removed.
Pricing and benefits will stay the same for all current supporters and for any supporter who starts supporting before the end of Wave 4.
Why these changes?
Let's start off by saying that the prices for the Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee have stayed the same since I was still developing this game just on my own all the way from early 2023. At that time, I wasn't thinking that these prices would eventually be something we would run a business with and pay wages to multiple people.
These changes don't come lightly or out of greed, and I want to make it clear. I've tried to apply for government grants (Business Finland) now for four times, because if we would've gotten a grant we wouldn't have needed to touch the pricing. Sadly, my applications for getting a grant for the company have been denied each time, main reason being that we don't have any investors backing the project. And we don't want investors, because that could risk the integrity of the game - investors could start seeking for quick returns, and pressure us to make changes that could ruin the game. We've been offered investments multiple times, but I've turned them down each time because I know that as long as I stay as the sole stakeholder, there will be no risk of enshittification.
With the money that we currently get from Patreon & Buy Me a Coffee, we've been able to pay the wages and all of the other expenses, but we are breaking even. In addition between waves, there are often cancelled or charged back subscriptions, which means our income decreases. Due to this, I often have to cut my own compensation between the Waves.
This has been all good so far, but as everyone has probably noticed, things have gotten increasingly expensive in the last couple years. That hasn't just made it sometimes a struggle to have enough money in personal life to get by, but all of the bills our company pays have also increased.
Our goals with the changes
The goals we aim to achieve with these changes are:
- Gaining immediate access by supporting outside of a wave could stabilize our finances when there is no on-going wave.
- If we could turn a profit each month, we can start saving this money for Open Beta release. We expect that Open Beta launch will burn a lot of money (server scaling, transitioning from Patreon/BMAC to subscription model, marketing, etc.).
- If we could increase revenue significantly (from current $12k-ish per month to around $17k a month, after taxes, currency exchanges & platform fees) we could hire one more developer.
I want to stay fully transparent about anything related to these changes, and any future changes as well if there will be some. I will answer any comments, questions, suggestions or feedback you might have on this in the comments!
Until next time
That's all for today! I will answer any questions, feedback and suggestions in the comments and on our Discord server.
I want to also thank all of our current supporters, beta testers and members in the community for being patient with us. It's been a long road to Wave 4, and finally we're so close to it! I hope everyone new will enjoy the game.
Keep walking, and stay hydrated everyone!