The Long Dark developer Hinterland Studio has announced changes to its plans following the completion of the game's story mode earlier this year with the release of Wintermute's fifth and final episode. Rather than shifting full focus to the previously announced sequel, Blackfrost, the studio says it will spend the next two years putting more attention on The Long Dark's survival mode.
In a Steam blog post, Hinterland explained the decision by pointing to broader instability in the games industry since Blackfrost was first announced. The studio cited disrupted business models, a complicated geopolitical situation, unclear next-generation console hardware plans, and a decline in how much time and money players spend on new games as they instead return to titles they already know.
As part of this shift, Hinterland plans to continue updating The Long Dark's survival mode with bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements, and the addition of items and maps from the final story episode. The studio will also release new paid DLC. One will follow a structure similar to its previous Tales From The Far Territory expansion pass, while the other will be different, though Hinterland has not shared many details since it is still early in development. According to PC Gamer, Hinterland is also considering raising the price of the standalone Survival Mode and the new DLCs to offset losses from sale purchases, while trying to balance this against rising costs faced by players generally.
Hinterland says Blackfrost has not been cancelled and some internal staff have simply been shifted off the sequel to support this other work, with no layoffs reported. A gameplay reveal for Blackfrost is still promised before the end of the year. However, PC Gamer reports that the game's planned early access launch has been pushed back to next year.
PC Gamer also notes that Hinterland remains an independent studio despite outside publishers reaching out about Blackfrost. The studio said it has not found a partner it feels is genuinely motivated by what's best for Hinterland or its players, and will continue to self-fund and self-publish the game.