Ancient Forge – 6th Anniversary
Devlog #3: What to Expect in Early Access
2025-04-16
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2025-06-14
Today at Ancient Forge, we’re celebrating 6 years of forging the games of tomorrow!
Exactly one year ago, we celebrated our 5th anniversary. The past year brought us many lessons, born both from great successes and even greater challenges. With dreams as bold as those of the biggest publishers, our small studio aimed to conquer the world by crafting the best management games, while also chasing new ambitions with a brand-new RPG.
But the ongoing crisis in the games industry knocked on our door too, forcing us to retreat and regroup. In a strange twist of fate, it was in that difficult moment that we were reminded of the greatest value in this industry—a true passion for games.
From this very passion, Hotel Galactic was born. One of the most beautiful games inspired by Studio Ghibli. If there were a Steam category for the most stunning visuals, this title from our talented artists would definitely land in the most beautiful games of 2025 and most anticipated upcoming releases.
Sometimes, what saves us from losing our way is simply going back to the roots. And with that mindset, we started this year by wrapping up other projects and focusing on one game into which we’re pouring our entire hearts.
What’s coming next for Ancient Forge?
First of all, we can already see the summer edition of Steam’s demo celebration on the horizon – Steam Next Fest: June Edition (June 9–16) and we aim to be one of the best demos of the event!
Our public demo has already received nearly 1,200 reviews with an Overwhelmingly Positive score (95%), placing Hotel Galactic among the best upcoming indie games of 2025 and one of the most anticipated cozy titles of the year!
The Hotel Galactic release date will be announced soon. June also marks the season of Summer Game Fest and Wholesome Direct 2025, and we’ll be present at one of these shows with a big announcement!
In just a few months, we’ll be celebrating the Early Access launch of Hotel Galactic on Steam together. For now, we want to take a moment to thank all of you for your support and ongoing excitement for this magical management game. It’s the kind of game we’ve always wanted to play, and we hope you’ll feel the same when you play it too!
Of course, we’ve got a lot of exciting plans for the Early Access and beyond. Before version 1.0 arrives, you’ll see more and more of our passion. One day, we hope to stand proudly among Ghibli-inspired legends like Spiritfarer and Ni no Kuni—and simply make you proud.
This year’s “Ghibli AI” trend reminded us just how important it is to stay humble and honor the original visionaries, like Miyazaki himself. And with pride, we can remind you once more that Hotel Galactic is free of any AI-generated content, whether image generators or ChatGPT. The Ghibli filter and this whole movement have reminded us of the importance of respecting the creator’s vision—and that Miyazaki taught us to be artists, not shortcut-seekers.
What’s next after the Early Access launch of Hotel Galactic?
We’re definitely planning continued support for the game, as well as console ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox. There are still many exciting ideas for how we want to expand Hotel Galactic!
On the horizon, there’s also the topic of reclaiming the rights to our very first title, The Tenants, a hit landlord simulator. We hope that next year we’ll be able to tell you that the game is back in our hands, and that we, as a team, are returning to its development. New ideas are already growing, and your ongoing interest in this management title makes us even more excited to return to its world.
Six wonderful years of making games are behind us—and many more lie ahead! But this year, we’ll finish together with you, under the banner of Hotel Galactic.
To more amazing games! For you and for us,
That’s our wish for Ancient Forge’s 6th anniversary!
-Ancient Forge Team
