The Steam launch of "Character Limit" looms thanks to a final push to get the game ready. However, while it's "done" enough for people to play, there's still the problem of actually releasing it.
It is safe to say that developing a word game like this wasn't meant to take a year. The first installment of this series was posted on July 28, 2025.
The math is easy to figure out how long it's been since I started.
To be fair, I am talking about a project that I have done most of the work on, in my spare time. One that is also my first attempt at a commercial release, which means it's been a considerably learning and mistake-heavy experience.
But, again, it's been a year-long effort, and I really should eventually move on to something else. I did previously hope for a summer release for Character Limit, after all.
I was procrastinating too much instead of working to the game's release after getting the demo done. My partner decided at the start of July that there should be an actual release date to aim for, and I stupidly agreed.
She decided that the release date should be July 20, which gives "ample time" to get things done. Which would be, unless you consider how Steam handles releases.
You must submit a finished build to Steam for review, which can take about five business days to complete. If there's anything wrong, it's fed back to you to correct, and then resubmit with another five-day wait.
Furthermore, Steam also locks down your disclosed anticipated release date 14 days before release. That gives you enough time to submit, get rejected, and submit again, in theory.
I tried arguing that the initial date she wanted wasn't enough time. She basically gave me six days to get a submission done and posted to Steam, in the hope that it only takes two tries.
She relented and gave me one more day, and an anticipated release date of July 21st.
Gee, thanks.
A crunchy finish line
That week was a busy one for me. I was able to get many of the final features done that I wanted in the initial release, while also cutting stuff that could easily be added in a later update.
Post-launch content is a concern for games. Now I just happen to have some on the whiteboard that I can implement after everything ships.
What did get done was still a lot. It included fixing bugs with the stats screen, making sure language changes worked smoothly, and shifting bug fixes from the demo over to the main game.
The Daily Play mode was also added, which lets all players take on the same letter order each day, only once per language. There's even a button so you can share your game with others on social media.
Steam achievements and leaderboards work, but they were last-minute additions...
The challenge modes were also given their own page on the menu system to make things tidier. A bunch more modes were also thought up and shoved into place, including the somewhat stressful "10-Second Tango" that forces you to find a word every ten seconds.
I even managed to spend an evening setting up a ton of things on Steam, including leaderboards for the main modes, a set of achievements, and even Steam Cloud saves.
This was something that was effectively a period of "crunch" in game development circles. Hard work to get everything over the line at all costs.
A questionable schedule
The 14-day deadline passed with no changes, as I was sure it was close enough to completion that it would pass muster with Steam. After all, the demo went through fine.
It was submitted with some trepidation, but with the hope that it would be looked at and returned with a message like "Perfect game, no bugs."
Alas, on July 17th, I had an email from Steam, saying that there was an issue with what I had submitted.
It wasn't the Windows version failing to open. Nor was it the macOS edition, which required a ton of Xcode finagling to get it notarized.
Steam objected to a checkbox in its own system, which I had left enabled.
The game's not ready because this checkbox was ticked. Oops.
The checkbox allowed Steam Cloud saves to work only for developers for testing. As this was enabled, Steam rejected the game and informed me that it would need to be updated and sent again for approval.
The problem wasn't the game at all. It was something in its store system that I didn't uncheck.
Ideally, I would be writing this with the approved game, only needing to focus on hyping it up and having a good launch on Tuesday. As it stands, the game is going through the same five-business-days approval process, with a deadline of three business days.
I don't know if it will make the launch date in Steam's system, but I really hope it does.
If it does miss the launch date, it won't be the end of the world, but it will be extremely annoying. The massive amount of work to get it finished seems like a bit of a waste of time, all because of a small mistake that shouldn't really need a lengthy review again.
As much as I am angry and kicking myself over the issue, it's something that I can justifiably be upset at Steam over too.
Surely it's a thing that they could've said could be changed without needing a full review, and therefore wouldn't interfere with release too much.
Alas, not.
iOS is still on target
As part of working out what should or should not be included for the deadline, I decided that it would be best to stick to launching on one platform first. That means focusing on getting the Steam launch done and putting iOS and iPadOS on the back seat.
Given the amount of stress and effort of the self-inflicted crunch period, I'm glad there wasn't that extra work.
The priority post-launch is to keep the Steam game working and fix anything that breaks. For iOS and iPadOS, this is good as broken or iffy elements will be fixed beforehand and iPhone users won't see them.
As for what needs to be done to the game, it's actually a lot of stuff that applies to Steam's platform, but for Game Center instead. That means adding Game Center leaderboards, as well as Game Center achievements.
Thinking ahead, the game is already using an intermediary system for achievements and leaderboards, with it handling the Steam and Game Center stuff separately. This can potentially allow other platforms to be added in the future, if they have similar systems.
Other than that, it's a case of providing the game to a bunch of testers to make sure it's all working fine on every possible Apple mobile device screen.
At best, this could mean an iOS launch sometime in August. Hopefully before the busy fall iPhone season comes into full effect.
And hopefully without any of the crunch, either.
