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After Delays, RollerCoaster Tycoon World Coming to Steam Early Access Very Soon

Not much longer to wait.

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After some delays, RollerCoaster Tycoon World--the first new entry in the series for PC in more than a decade--will launch through Steam Early Access on March 30, publisher Atari announced today.

On that date, the in-development version of the game will be available to buy for $50 here on Steam. Atari says the game will remain in Early Access until it's ready--and it sounds like that could be a while.

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"Yes, there really is much more work we want to do," Atari said. "This isn't about just bug fixing but also adding new functionalities that the game needs. As Early Access progresses, our timeline for release will become clearer."

Atari went on to say it acknowledges that not everyone may be happy with the Early Access approach, so it is allowing refunds through March 31 for anyone who has already preordered through Atari.com or RollerCoasterTycoon.com.

"This gives you a day to try Early Access, no strings attached," it said. "If you preordered via Steam or another retailer, they will be able to facilitate refunds as needed. If you don't want to participate in Early Access, we understand, and you are in no way obligated. We hope you will come back when the game is launched."

The Early Access version of RollerCoaster Tycoon World is, of course, not complete. There are three in-development modes included with the Early Access launch--Campaign, Scenarios, and Sandbox. There will be 10 different types of coasters, over 30 different flat rides, 4 different themes (sci-fi, adventure, generic, and adventure, a full--but not totally balanced--simulation, and terrain editor. The Early Access version also lets players try out the game's user generated content system featuring Steam Workshop support. You can read this blog post for a full rundown of what to expect in terms of content.

You should also expect some bugs and other hiccups.

"We have spent a considerable amount of time testing the game, but at this point it is inevitable you'll be running into some issues as you build your parks," Atari said. "Trust that with each quirk or glitch you find and report, it means that there will be one fewer in the final version of the game. So yes, in this current build you will still find bugs, balance issues, missing features, frustration points, and maybe some crashes."

RollerCoaster Tycoon World, which is developed by Nvizzio Creations, is also getting "several" free updates throughout 2016, Atari announced today. This will include content like a piece-by-piece coaster building system, "dark rides," transportation rides, a weather system, and more. You can get all the details on RollerCoaster Tycoon World's planned post-launch content here in this community post.

A physical version of RollerCoaster Tycoon World has also been announced, and will be available in "many countries, but not in all of them."

The game was originally scheduled to launch in 2015, but was pushed to early 2016 partially due to feedback Atari and developer Nvizzio received from fans about its latest beta.

RollerCoaster Tycoon World isn't the only new rollercoaster game coming this year. Frontier Developments is making its own game, Planet Coaster, which is scheduled to arrive on PC at the end of the year.

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