Three months after quietly delaying extreme sports sort-of-sequel Descenders Next, developer RageSquid has returned with news of its revised early access release date – and you won’t need to get your calendars out, because it’s available on Steam, Xbox, and Game Pass right now.
Descenders Next was announced last August, promising an evolution of 2018’s acclaimed downhill biking hit Descenders. The pitch, essentially, was that RageSquid wanted to cram in as many extreme sports as possible over the coming years, but that it would be focusing two on two distinct boarding sports – snowboarding and mountainboarding – to begin with.
And now, following a number of pre-release test sessions and that delay to its originally announced April release date, Descenders Next is here, shadow-dropped onto Steam early access, Xbox Series X/S Game Preview, and Game Pass Ultimate (both platforms) as part of RageSquid’s so-called Descenders Day celebrations.
So what’s included in Descenders Next’s initial early access build? According to its Steam page, players can currently snowboard and mountainboard their way across four “big” biomes “packed with parks and trails to ride”. There are tricks to do, rep to earn, and it’s possible to save replays so you can relive your most impressive feats later on. That’s alongside three teams to choose from and a “heap of gear to customise your character”.
RageSquid says it expects Descenders Next’s early access development to continue for two years, and there are plans to add more biomes featuring a “host of crazy downhill worlds”, alongside new sports, new multiplayer modes, fresh customisation options, and modding support. And it anticipates more updates “well after early access finishes” if all goes well.
Descenders Next costs £24.99 on Steam and Xbox Series X/S (there’s a 10 percent discount on Steam until 4th August), and there are no plans to bump the price up after early access. And if you’re curious to see what all the fuss was about last time around, you can currently grab the original Descenders for £4.87 (that’s 75 percent off) via Steam.