Hades 2, Though Larger Than Its Predecessor, Completed Early Access in Half the Time Thanks to Clear Development Goals

Hades 2’s creative director, Greg Kasavin, shared insights on how the sequel managed to spend less time in Early Access compared to the original, despite being a much larger game.

As Supergiant Games’ first sequel, it was a surprise to see Hades 2 launch into Early Access before its full release. The original Hades debuted in December 2018 and took nearly two years to fully launch in September 2020. In contrast, Hades 2 hit Early Access in September 2024 and transitioned to full release just a year and four months later.

In a conversation, Kasavin explained that the team launched Hades 2 into Early Access later in its development cycle, allowing them to present more content than what was available for the first game. “We had a clearer sense of what needed to be in this game before our Early Access development could begin,” he noted.

Kasavin emphasized the importance of timing when it comes to launching a game into Early Access. “You want your game to be far enough along that it can be played and enjoyed without a lot of caveats, but you don’t want it to be so complete that you can’t incorporate player feedback.”

Interestingly, players learned about Hades 2 much earlier than they did about the first game, with Supergiant announcing it in December 2022. This approach allowed the studio to gather feedback before the Early Access launch, giving them a better understanding of player expectations.

Notably, Hades 2’s new ending was developed in response to player feedback, which was not part of the initial plan from Supergiant.