Starting its life as a project on Kickstarter, the post-apocalyptic survival title The Long Dark has been in an Early Access state for several years to let players learn its intense survival gameplay, with the game officially set to debut later this summer.

In an update from developer Hinterland Studio on the game's official website, the studio announced that The Long Dark will exit its Early Access/Game Preview state on August 1st, 2017 with the official debut of the game's Story Mode, which will release across five "episodes" in the game's story, called "Wintermute."

The first two episodes of The Long Dark's "Wintermute" story mode will debut on August 1st, while the remaining three episodes will be released over the course of 2017 and "into 2018," marking the game's first "Season." Alongside a trailer showcasing the story mode in action, Hinterland also released a brief teaser description for the campaign:

The first two episodes of WINTERMUTE are about bush pilot Will Mackenzie and Dr. Astrid Greenwood, and what happens when they get separated after a mysterious geomagnetic event causes them to crash deep in the Northern Canadian wilderness. In Episode One: “Do Not Go Gentle”, Mackenzie tries to survive the savage wilderness long enough to find shelter, hoping for the comforts civilization might bring. He quickly learns the world around him is not what he expected. In Episode Two: “Luminance Fugue”, Mackenzie begins to understand the true nature of the disaster he finds himself in, all the while searching for signs of Astrid. He also begins to learn the answer to the question, “how far will you go to survive?”, as he navigates relationships with the other survivors he meets along the way.

Specifically, Hinterland explained that the first two episodes of the game's story mode will consist of about 6-10 hours of gameplay across the first two episodes, though the times may range due to the game's open-world nature.

In addition to the news regarding the game's Story Mode, Hinterland Studio also revealed that another Sandbox update will arrive later this month for the title before Story Mode launches later this year, with the update called "Faithful Cartographer." The full list of what to expect from the update can be found below:

  • Complete Save System Overhaul
  • Completely New UI
  • Cartography Gameplay
  • Throwing Stones
  • Throwing Flares & Torches
  • Carcass Quartering
  • Struggle Weapon Selection
  • Improved First-Person Presence
  • New Artwork
  • New Graphics Settings
  • Bug Fixes and Optimization

The Long Dark will debut its Story Mode on August 1st, 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, and Linux - for a closer look at the Story Mode, you can check out the game's brand new trailer below, along with several new screenshots: