This is a posted announcement made tonight in the Identity Discord. Hello Identity Community! It's been a long time, far too long, since I gave you a direct update on Identity and its progress. I wanted to take a moment to fill you all in and answer the more common questions I receive. As usual, you can feel free to reach out to me if you have questions as I always do my best to respond to everyone I can. I know that the main question on your mind is, "when are we going to see a new update?" That's a difficult one to answer, but I do hope fairly soon. Funding for Identity started a bit slow but really picked up steam after we released our apartment customization video, showing the depth of detail we're aiming for in the Identity game systems. We were quickly then able to expand from a single developer to half a dozen a few years back. We built some awesome systems for the back end of things, replaced them (obsolete from new UE developments or middleware just going out of business), and built up again. With the release of the Town Square module, we were able to show you the surface level of what we'd been working on. Unfortunately it wasn't long after that funding slowed very quickly and thus development slowed as the team shrank. We hit a bit of a vicious circle here, where in order to improve funding and development time we'd need to give you some awesome updates to build trust. At the same time, we had to feed our families and we couldn't do that without the funding. We decided that we could start some smaller projects in-house to raise money for Identity, and that actually has gone quite well. We'd mentioned we had other projects, but we never really discussed what they were. It was a combination of doing some work for other game studios to pay bills and also a couple internal projects which were funded externally. I can't describe what these projects were because of legal stuff and the timing, but I can say they went well and after some delays we do have a signed commitment for their acquisition which means, finally, Identity funding is on the horizon. I wouldn't feel comfortable asking for any funding from the community. You guys have paid enough. In fact I will say right now that you shouldn't make purchases until we post more updates; not because it'll be unrealized but because after all these delays it makes sense to me that we need to prove ourselves again. On that note, it is our plan that we will freeze sales of Identity on Steam in the near future until we make a release with enough substance to warrant its sale there. The delays in development, the failures in funding and, while I'm always open with those who ask, a failure in communication. That's on me -- I've been so nose down in constant effort to sustain my family and Asylum (we've retained employees from Identity even through this difficult financial time) that my mind has been mostly elsewhere most days. We've always several things on the go, with Identity being the priority and goal for the company. That brings us to today. Like I said, some funding is on the horizon. We'll do what we can to fund this next push ourselves. While working in our off-work hours and with some volunteer hours, Identity has already been rebuilt entirely in Unreal Engine 5. I'm not talking a port, I mean a remake of most key systems with more recent technology. Some things, like the inventory system, needed a rebuild. It's crazy how much tech has changed in a few years, and we wanted to be on top of that. In our internal build right now, we have most of the base functionality rebuilt. There are only a couple things left before it's ready to release. It's now a full blown UE5 MMO with an improved network structure where we've tested over 400 simulated players on a server. My goal is that, preferably even before securing funding, we can soon push out a new update for the first time in ages. There will be changes, though. For one, we're going to shift to using our own launcher and moving away from Steam as a dedicated store. You will still find Identity there, but we'd like it elsewhere as well. I never liked how Steam forced us to list the Town Square branded as the full game. That confused a lot of people who weren't already followers within the community. If you've been following my writings, you'll of heard that we're going to drop modules and jump right into the full game. I'd like our next release to bring you vehicles, weapons and the open world. They won't be in a final state, but we're going to release updates as quickly as we can. Remember, we're all still working right now as volunteers but that should change soon enough. I think after all the wait, it's better that we provide you with progress as it comes and not have you wait for huge update releases. I'm going to do my best, as busy as I am right now, to keep an eye on the community. Again, I'm always open to questions and even conversations with anyone. My private messages are open. I get a lot though so it can sometimes take a bit to respond, but I'll get there.

Any idea when the next developer blog is coming? cause the month is about to end, and did @Beach_Ball came back to the community?

There are npcs that sit on the balcony and smoke. And add cigarettes in the game

I feel stupid about that question, but I never read about this anywhere, so I wanted to ask.

So basically I was thinking. We are so close with the task list. We are right there! All I want now is the whole entirety of the fan base to come together and have a nice conversation about what we should expect. This is why until the TS module comes out I will be hosting these Weekly hope topics. Everyday something new will be brought to the table. For today I want to talk about people about "Will people be disappointed with the TS release?" and "Are you willing to sit through all of the modules?". Hope you all hav a great time talking as a community. Have at it!

I'm probably not the only one wandering this, but when is the next dev update or post? I believe there is one like once a month or that's what I thought. I'm always excited to see a new dev post, or update and see the progress the team has made. I can't wait for the release of this game, and I understand that nothing comes fast. But keeping the backers in the loop is always greatly appreciated.

When will the next update be in when?

Alright guys, I wanna know a few ideas for some updates you would like to see added during development or for post-release DLC updates when this game is out, similar to what you will find in GTA. (beach Bum, Cunning Stunts, Heists etc.) And yes, I know this is early thinking but I wanna give the devs plenty of thinking time... This can also include things to do similar to say winters-veil in WoW where there are new events also added. Or like Sims where there is new everything since the game is similar. So imagine a World of Warcraft, Mixed with Grand Theft Auto and Sims DLC. Here are my Ideas: LARPers Unite: A Live Action Role Play event has rolled into town, saturated in a farmers field. Dress up in your favorite medieval attire and compete for the role of King... Or Queen with a huge selection of time matching weapons including; Swords, Shields, Maces, Bows and plenty other pieces from the time. Make your own guild of friends and battle for the top spot through forest or field or swamp, battling your way to victory. Place your coat of arms and banner on your property wall and show your trophy and crown off as decorative pieces on your shelves. Also included are new themed clothing (T-shirts and hats), housing options (Cobbled wall wallpaper) and new customization options. (Open to suggestion) Age of Collectors: Are you bored of the same old days, building up your money with nothing to spend it on. Are you a rich entrepreneur with an empty of mansion with no treasures to decorate it with... Look no further! With this update, you can purchase pieces from all over the world, even some that are so limited, people would kill... For it. Fill your apartment with both decorative and interactive pieces including armors from around history, ancient vases and statuettes, weapons and guns from all ages including the western classic, the Winchester Repeater and hundreds of other items ranging from coins to a Picasso worth millions. But be careful, you will need to hire security and set up cameras to prevent pesky thieves stealing your goods to fence off for a pretty penny. The harder the risk the bigger the reward but the more planning needed. I Would love to hear everybody elses ideas for possible additions.

You know what, I'm happy with this response. As someone who was very skeptical the team was trying to pull a fast one, it's given me renewed hope in the team and the game. They're able to admit their mistakes and finally be honest about the release date. Good on them. I'm looking forward to seeing the video. I'm sure it will be exactly what we all expect it to be. What are your thoughts? P.S. I will once again be visiting the forums daily and attempting to contribute meaningful content to pass the time.

So as were not having many updates could they be waiting for the first module release which should be this august my predictions if not then we wont see more then 1 module this year but lets say its coming this august could a lot of news just hit us. Because it very weird since the new year they havent release as many pictures as they did before the new year leading me to think that a wave of news is coming like the steam sale but dont get your hopes up as i dont really know and this is just my speculation so what do you guys think