UPDATE: While it originally appeared the final chapter was Kentucky Route Zero was imminent, we now have confirmation that a Switch port the game is coming later this month. Here’s a trailer for the new version of the game.
Kentucky Route Zero was planned as a massive game by its independent developers, Cardboard Computer, when its first act released in January of 2013. Those who bought it when only its initial act was available were promised free access to the remaining four updates, meaning that as soon as each additional act was released, those who already owned the game were able to download each new continuation of the story at no additional charge.
Being a small development team, Cardboard Computer put out each subsequent episode slowly and methodically in order to maintain a level of quality that has sustained critical acclaim for the game following each entry. Now there’s evidence that the fifth and final act will be released today, seven years to the day after the game’s initial release.
In a fashion befitting the game’s signature brand of weirdness, this information was initially available only via phone call. The phone number leading to this info, 1-858-WHEN-KRZ, is currently the display name of the official Twitter account of Cardboard Computer, after first being revealed back in 2018.
When dialed, the line reveals that Kentucky Route Zero is “preparing for publication,” before briefly placing callers “on hold” with some obligatory muzak. It soon informs those still listening of their estimated wait time in minutes. Staying on the line reveals that the number is gradually dropping and not part of a prerecorded message.
Some math-adept Kentucky Route Zero fans have naturally extrapolated a release date from that countdown, and based on their math it should launch today. Or, at the very least, they believe that new info should be announced. In addition to marking the seven year anniversary of the game’s initial availability to the public, this would bring to an end the longest gap between act releases in the game’s development. The first three acts were all released between 2013 and 2014, while the final chapter will be the first addition to the game since July of 2016.
The official Cardboard Computer website, on which the most recent update posted was in September 2017, promised something new “very soon.” Following the relative silence and mystery that has followed, the fifth act of Kentucky Route Zero should be a big one—if not in time required to beat, then absolutely in scale and scope. In any case, expect news of some sort very soon.
Source: PC Gamer
