Grim Dawn is now "content complete," launch slated for February

Believe it or not, there was a time when the dark fantasy action-RPG Grim Dawn was expected to launch in 2011. That obviously didn't work out, but development has continued, slowly but steadily, and today Crate Entertainment announced that it is "content complete," meaning that everything in the game—quests, items, difficulty levels, and the Big Finish—is now accessible.

The latest build increases the level cap to 85, giving players the chance to dig up more than 500 new unique items, including "Empowered Epics" and 240-plus pieces of Legendary gear. It also incorporates the Elite and Ultimate difficulty levels, and unlocks the second roguelike dungeon, "a pit of despair in the deepest reaches of the Void" called The Bastion of Chaos.

There's still a lot of work to be done, and to that end Crate said a new build, with balance changes, bug fixes, and "polish to all aspects" will be released early next year, leading into a planned exit from Early Access—that is, a full release—in February. A list of all the changes in the new build (of which there are many) is available at grimdawn.com.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.