Five years of silence, and now this. Jeff Kaplan, the former creative director behind Overwatch, has not only revealed his new studio and debut game but is already putting it in players' hands. The Legend of California, developed by Kintsugiyama, will run its first public Steam Alpha playtest from March 26 to March 30.
That's a remarkably fast turnaround from announcement to playtest. Kaplan revealed the game earlier this month through a short YouTube video, which was followed almost immediately by a 10-hour developer livestream on Twitch. Kintsugiyama clearly wanted people to actually see what the game looks like before forming opinions, and that instinct seems to be paying off.
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From announcement to alpha in weeks
The studio posted on the game's Steam news page: "The enthusiasm we've seen since The Legend of California was announced has been overwhelming in the best way possible, and we appreciate that so many of you have shown up for the game so early on."
Here's the catch: signing up doesn't guarantee a spot. Kintsugiyama has been upfront that this alpha is intentionally small. "The playtest itself will be very small, so that means that not everyone who signs up will be invited to play," the studio confirmed in the same post.
That's standard for early playtests, but worth knowing before expectations run too high. The upside is that a much larger beta is scheduled for this summer ahead of the game's Early Access launch, so there will be another opportunity to get in.
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What kind of game is this, exactly
If you missed the initial reveal, The Legend of California is an open-world, action-survival shooter set on a fictional "Island of California." Kaplan is stepping well outside his hero shooter comfort zone here, building something that looks closer to a Western-flavored survival experience than anything in Overwatch's DNA.
Kaplan has also been vocal about the business model direction. He's pushed back against free-to-play, famously describing that model as needing "8 billion players and 2 thousand devs cranking out f***ing keychains like a sweatshop." That kind of candor, combined with the decision to skip a prolonged closed-testing phase and go straight to a public alpha, paints a picture of a studio that wants to build in the open.
The game is targeting Early Access, with the alpha and upcoming summer beta serving as the runway to get there. Details about the Western survival shooter confirm this phased approach to launch.
The alpha runs March 26 to 30. Head to the game's Steam page to throw your name in, and keep an eye on the studio's announcements if you miss the cut. The summer beta should give plenty more players a shot before Early Access opens up. Make sure to check out more:
