Solo development studio DelosX announced that the Early Access for its historical turn-based strategy game 'Salt and Soil: A Frontier Family Sim' will launch on Steam on November 10 (KST). The game will be released on PC and will support 10 languages, including Korean. The full launch is targeted for the first half of 2027.
'Salt and Soil' depicts a family building and running a farm in the United States from 1607 to 1900. One turn represents one year, and players decide the direction of their family's life and farm management through a year-end family council every year. Historical events of each era—such as crop failures, wars, the Gold Rush, and the opening of railroads—impact the family's life and choices.
Developer Roman reviewed the in-game events and setting based on feedback from historians and archaeologists, as well as research databases. Great effort was put into historical accuracy, such as reflecting actual railroad opening dates on the map and correcting errors regarding the population and facilities of early Jamestown.
The U.S. railroad network in the game was implemented with permission using the historical database of Jeremy Atack, an economic historian at Vanderbilt University. Railroads connect to the farm according to their actual opening years, introducing new agenda items to the family council and bringing new buildings to the farm. Originally starting with implementing the Central Pacific Railroad line needed for the Gold Rush scenario, it expanded in scale to reflect major North American rail lines from 1830 to 1900.
For Jamestown, the setting of the first chapter, feedback was received from archaeologists at Jamestown Rediscovery, who have been conducting excavations at the site. Based on this, the number of settlers during the winter of 1609–1610, known as the "Starving Time," was corrected from 500 to approximately 300, and a market set in 1608 that did not exist at the time was removed. Jeremy Atack and Jamestown Rediscovery are also included in the game's credits.
Dr. Joe Hall-Patton, a researcher of American Western history who runs the YouTube channel 'The Cynical Historian,' played two game scenarios and commented on historical events during an approximately six-hour broadcast. After the stream, he shared his thoughts with Roman, stating, "I really enjoyed it because I could feel how much thought you put into bringing out a meaningful event every year."
Playtests also showed positive feedback regarding the historical background. In two rounds of playtests conducted in August and September with 500 participants each, 68% of survey respondents cited "historical events and the frontier atmosphere" as their favorite element of the game.
Prior to its Early Access release, 'Salt and Soil' is scheduled to participate in Steam Next Fest from October 19 to 26.
