🏗 August 2026 – Development Update

August has been a pivotal month for Steam Cities as we transition from final prototyping into early manufacturing and logistics planning. With the Kickstarter campaign now targeted for October 2026, coinciding with Spiel Essen, every step forward brings us closer to launch, but also highlights the challenges ahead.

Manufacturing Underway – With Hiccups

Production of the first manufacturing copies has officially begun. However, we encountered an unexpected setback: one of the manufacturer’s machines broke down, significantly slowing output.

As a result, only a few reviewer copies are currently available for shipment. This creates a logistical bottleneck, as we must decide how best to allocate these limited units while ensuring that key reviewers receive the game in time for meaningful coverage before the campaign goes live.

We are actively working with the manufacturer to resolve the issue and accelerate production. Our goal remains to have enough copies ready for a broader reviewer wave in late September, but this depends on how quickly the production line recovers.

Reviewer Strategy & Kickstarter Readiness

The limited availability of reviewer copies is now a critical path item. With only few units ready, we face a trade-off:

Send early copies to a small set of high-impact reviewers, risking limited coverage diversity.
Hold until more copies are available, risking delayed reviews and reduced pre-launch momentum.

We are also evaluating whether the current reviewer timeline aligns with our October Kickstarter launch. If reviews arrive too close to launch, they may not generate the necessary pre-campaign buzz. This is a key risk we are monitoring closely.

VAT Registration Progress

On the administrative front, we have initiated the VAT registration process in Ireland. This is a mandatory step for running a Kickstarter campaign that ships to EU backers, and while the process is underway, it remains subject to government processing times.

Key points:

Process: We are registering via Revenue Online Service (ROS) using the appropriate form for our business structure.
Timeline: While we hope to receive our VAT number in time for the October launch, this remains outside our full control and could impact campaign setup if delayed.

Tightening Schedule

The path to October is becoming increasingly compressed. Key milestones now include:

September-October: Resolve manufacturing bottlenecks, finalize reviewer copy distribution, and complete campaign asset preparation.
September: Secure early reviews and previews; finalize Kickstarter page, rewards, and fulfillment planning.
Early October: Launch campaign, aligned with Spiel Essen (22–25 October 2026).

Each delay in manufacturing or VAT approval reduces our buffer for campaign setup, marketing, and community engagement. We are prioritizing tasks ruthlessly to keep the October target viable.

Component Overview

As referenced in your video update, the full component list for Steam Cities includes:

Refined miniatures (now fitting the new box dimensions)
Custom inserts for organization and protection
Updated artwork and iconography
Player boards, resource tokens, and cards
Rulebook

These components are now in final production, with the new box size (340 × 340 × 80 mm) confirmed to accommodate everything safely.

Where We Stand – August 2026

Manufacturing has begun, but a machine breakdown limits us to a few reviewer copies for now.
Logistics and reviewer strategy are being re-evaluated due to limited copy availability.
VAT registration is in progress via ROS; timing remains uncertain but critical for EU compliance.
The October Kickstarter launch (aligned with Essen) is still the target, but the schedule is now extremely tight.
All prototype files, artwork, miniatures, and inserts are in final production with the new larger box.