NotGames Updates Not for Broadcast Release Roadmap

According to a new post on the Not for Broadcast Steam Community page, it seems NotGames has some sweeping announcements to share as far as NFB’s development is concerned. The studio has mentioned in the past the exact extent to which the dastardly COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected their ability to develop the game. However, it seems that lockdowns and other restrictions are beginning to ease in the U.K.

To that end, NotGames has presented fans of Not for Broadcast with a rather lengthy (and fairly detailed) roadmap that leads from the game’s present state all the way up to its planned exit from Steam Early Access. I’m here today to go over the details provided in that roadmap, as well as offer a few of my thoughts on certain aspects mentioned therein. The first point labeled in their post states that a gameplay update is planned to be released sometime this spring or summer.

This gameplay update will apparently contain adjustable difficulty modes, including a “story mode” meant for players who primarily want to see how their in-game actions pan out in terms of the bigger picture. Furthermore, this update is also planned to feature so-called “assist modes,” customizable gameplay mechanics, full controller support, optimized load times, the ability to delete videos and additional languages you don’t need taking up your valuable hard drive space, as well as new accessibility options.

There’s quite a bit to unpack in everything I just listed off. For what it’s worth, I’m especially glad to see that NotGames plans to implement full controller support and the aforementioned accessibility options. Since we at Phenixx Gaming are vocal advocates of making gaming more accessible to everyone, I’m sure I’m not alone in that sentiment. I strongly suspect that some portion of Not for Broadcast’s player base will have an easier time with the game once it’s playable on a controller. Alternately, they may otherwise benefit from whatever accessibility methods NotGames has up its collective sleeve.

What has me most excited, though, is the mention of optimized load times. Admittedly, I currently have the game installed on a dying external hard drive. I know that’s not great for loading games quickly, but I still hope NotGames can manage to speed up NFB’s load times at least a bit to help compensate for that. I’m also intrigued by the possibility of customizable gameplay mechanics.

For example, I’m not a fan of the reworked “broadcast interference” mechanic which was introduced in the update that added the game’s second full episode. I’ll explain why that is in detail when I have time to sit down and review that second episode in its entirety. For now, I just wonder whether or not this update will include a way to make that specific mechanic less hectic, for lack of a better word.

Moving on, that brings us to the second listed update NotGames mentioned in the post. This content patch concerns the game’s challenge mode, and its release is currently slated for sometime this summer or autumn. I would imagine this update’s release depends on how quickly the NotGames team can wrap up development of the previous additions to the game listed on their roadmap. This patch will reportedly add several new challenges and other updates to NFB’s challenge mode. I haven’t experimented with any of that quite yet, so I can’t really report on this matter in much detail.

Finally, there’s what NotGames is calling “the big finish.” According to the community post, the team plans for the game to leave Steam Early Access sometime in January or February of 2022. The update that brings Not for Broadcast up to version 1.0 will also include fifteen new in-game advertisements for your viewing pleasure, three final broadcasts of the National Nightly News, and to quote NotGames directly, “the culmination of your choices and your story.”

I personally can’t wait for this “big finish” update. If you’ve read any of my past articles on Not for Broadcast, you likely know all too well that the game’s story and wonderful sense of humor has me completely hooked. I can’t wait to see how everything comes together in the end. For now, though, that’s everything NotGames had to share with their community for the time being. I’m sure they’ll announce more in terms of concrete release dates whenever they can. Until then, to slightly paraphrase National Nightly News anchor Jeremy Donaldson, I wish you all a peaceful night.