Southfield cropped up earlier this year as the joyously chaotic meeting of a physics sandbox in the vein of Gang Beasts or Human: Fall Flat with a farming/management sim like Stardew Valley or Satisfactory. The colourful title had been due to release this coming Monday, but developers Radical Forge have now pushed back its launch date indefinitely in order to prioritise “the health and well-being of our team”.
Southfield sets players – either solo or together in co-op – loose on the titular island in need of some good ol’ fashioned agriculture, presenting them with a verdant green world where they can plant crops, tend to their harvest and gradually build their humble farmer’s abode into a thriving settlement. They’ll have to do so while contending with both the unpredictable nature of the crops themselves – which can cause effects from shapeshifting or electrocution to levitation or just straight-up explosions – the island’s shifting weather and groups of hostile Ruffians who will attempt to raid their farm during the night.
Having run a closed beta and offered a demo during Steam’s Next Fest event back in February, Southfield had been due to launch into early access on June 24th. Just three days from launch, however, Radical Forge announced that they had pushed back the planned release date in order to address issues caused by addressing performance problems found during the beta, as well as to look after the team.
“We have been working tirelessly to ensure that Southfield meets the high standards that our community deserves,” the developers wrote. “However, it has become clear that we cannot achieve this without compromising the health and well-being of our team.”
“With a small team, the last thing we want is to put enormous pressure on them to fix these issues for launch and beyond – safeguarding our devs is very important to us,” they added in a Steam blog post. “We also don’t want to release a game that isn’t ready.”
No alternative release date was given for now, with the Middleborough studio saying they would announce a revised early access date “ASAP”.
“Thank you for your continued patience and support during this challenging time,” they said. “This is an incredibly hard decision for us to make, but we are confident it will lead to us making the game something truly special and that reflects that passion we’ve felt since the announcement from you.”