Trophy Games Development A/S is pleased to share a significant update regarding the highly anticipated open-world country-life sim, The Ranchers. As a cornerstone of our premium publishing strategy, we are now able to confirm the roadmap for its market entry.
Steam Next Fest Participation
"The Ranchers" has been officially selected to participate in the upcoming Steam Next Fest in February 2026. This event is one of the most important marketing windows on the Steam platform, providing hundreds of thousands of players the opportunity to play a public demo, livestream gameplay, and further increase the game's wishlist count.
With over 350,000 wishlists already secured, our participation in Next Fest is expected to significantly amplify this momentum, ensuring a high-impact conversion funnel ahead of the official launch.
Early Access Launch Date
The Early Access launch for 'The Ranchers' is set for Q2 2026 following the exposure from Next Fest, and is expected to follow an anticipated feature in the Triple-I showcase.
This date has been strategically chosen to ensure the game meets the high-quality standards expected of a premium title while allowing the development team at RedPilz Studio to incorporate final feedback from the February demo. The Early Access period will serve as the primary revenue-generating phase for the PC version, followed by a full release with more features.
"We have seen incredible patience and enthusiasm from 'The Ranchers' community. By locking in Q2 for the launch date, we are providing our investors and players with a clear path toward the release of what we believe will be a genre-defining title in the life-sim category." — Søren Gleie, CEO of Trophy Games
As mentioned in the 2026 guidance, it does not include the release of Ranchers. There is an inherent uncertainty in projecting a PC premium title, which would make the guidance less clear. As soon as we reach any significant insights in the sales forecasts, we will of course update our investors.
The game can be found and wishlisted here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1501310/The_Ranchers/