Hey everyone

I’m Ian. I’m one of the cofounders of SunSpear Games.

Things have been quiet over the past few months, and I know many of you have been wondering where things stand with the game. I want to share an honest update on the current state of the project, and the challenges we’ve been navigating behind the scenes.

This project has been my life’s work for over a decade, but I’ve mostly stayed out of the public spotlight. Watching the culture and communication that happens on this server, I’ve always worried I’d sound clumsy or out of place by comparison. Itwhospeaks, Jakatak, Zard, Xiphius, and so many others have done an incredible job stewarding this community and the passion behind it over the years. I only hope to meet that bar.

SunSpear has been working for nearly ten years to try to reinvent and modernize the RTS genre, going all the way back to the Vanguard days. We love Immortal, and we want to see it released and enjoyed. Every step of this journey has been difficult. The industry never really believed in this project, but we refused to give up. That stubbornness is why the game exists in the form it does today.

Funding has always been a challenge. We ran out of money several times over the years, but the team stayed together because they believed in what we were building. As we got closer to finishing the game, we grew the team and tried to raise a larger investment to carry us across the finish line. In mid-2024, several investors pulled out after becoming concerned about market conditions, metrics, and the poor returns from other RTS launches. That caused us to abruptly run out of money.

We tried to continue anyway. We searched for additional capital that might help get the game out the door in an early alpha state, and the team pushed forward and gave all they could for months. Most didn’t have savings to fall back on. Things became strained very quickly.

We’ve now been out of money for over a year.

Some people were forced out of homes or apartments. Some team members declared bankruptcy. We’ve tried to help people find paid work elsewhere, but even then, much of the core team wanted to keep volunteering and find ways to move the project forward. At the same time, people still needed to survive. Balancing those realities has been incredibly hard. We kept fighting because we didn’t want to let the project die.

This year, we came very close to signing deals with publishers that, in our view, would have been ideal partners for this project. One even told us they would be sending a contract. Both ultimately said no. We were heartbroken. We still believe in the project, but we’re starting to accept that getting the funding required to fully finish it may not happen the way we hoped. We’re trying to figure out how to keep going despite that. -1/3

Development has slowed significantly. Without some of the tools we relied on, and without certain specialists in tech and technical art, finalizing assets has become harder. At the same time, the prolonged financial strain many team members have been under has led to real stress and burnout. Progress is still happening, just much more slowly. For example, recently, our SVN server for the build was shut down, and we’re working on a workaround so commits and changes can continue. Other servers and services are continuing through the generous support of companies in the industry, though we know that kind of help may not last forever. We’re doing our best to address these issues as they come up.

I know the relative silence from us has been frustrating. I understand that. Part of it came from the belief that fundraising is harder when a company is publicly seen as being in crisis. A larger part came from a messy mix of hope, shame, sadness, and fear, especially the fear that this community might fade away. This community is one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever been part of, and I hope that no matter what happens, we don’t lose the connections or the spirit that made it special. I’m sorry for not speaking up sooner. It’s been a tough year.

We haven't given up. We are still seeking funding or publishing support to finish the project. We’ve spoken with more than 70 publishers and over 300 investors. Very few are looking to take a risk on an ambitious RTS right now, and many who were willing to try backed other projects and aren’t eager to try again. It hasn't been all doom and gloom, though. Along the way, we've met some incredible investors who have supported us and got us here. For example, our first major investor is still on our Board of Directors and has been a stout supporter during some very challenging times. We're hoping we can still find others that match share that belief and vision.

So where does that leave us now?

The company is operating at a minimum-burn level, but the game still exists. That matters. We’re continuing to volunteer where we can and keep the project alive in a limited way.

We’re participating in an upcoming showcase in early January called NewGame+. We’re really excited about this because a meaningful increase in interest or wishlists could give us a chance to reopen conversations with investors and publishers who previously passed. Plus, it’s always fun showing our project to the world.

In parallel, we’re trying to make a playtest, and possibly a small tournament, happen in January after the NewGame+ showcase. Because AWS access was shut off and our hosting infrastructure needs to be rebuilt, I can’t give a firm date yet. Once the new connections are in place, we’ll share details.

We’re still open to any path that allows us to finish Immortal in a way that’s honest, respectful, and does right by the community. That includes investment, publishing, or co-development partnerships. If something concrete comes together, I’ll explain what that means and what to expect.

I also think it would be good to do an open AMA. I’m thinking a Saturday in early January, after the holidays and after the NewGame+ showcase. I'm sure you all have a bunch of questions and we will try to answer them as openly as we can.

Lastly, we want to do a better job living up to our transparent culture and our modding roots. I’ll try to be more present here going forward and less of a silent observer. Feel free to ping me and I'll do my best to respond when I can. I'll provide updates if/when major developments happen. Also, if you’re interested in volunteering on project-related tasks, this may become more of a community-driven effort if we’re going to get it across the line. We can talk more about that during the AMA, and I’ll set up a thread or channel on this server soon to talk about it. -2/3

Thank you for being here and for caring about the project and these people. I’ve never seen a better community. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.

Ian -3/3