Access

Hawthorn Village Council Playtest

Playtest build

The three-phase playtest process, who gets into each phase, how access actually works, and the known issues — written from NEARstudios’ own process posts.

Last reviewed September 13, 2026

Short answer

How do you get into the Hawthorn playtest?

Playtest access runs through the Village Council, and only a tier that includes a Steam key gets you in. Support below the cost of the key grants the private Village Council Discord channel instead.

The August 2026 run used three storybook-themed phases — Draft, Preview and Proof — each adding a wider group of backers. NEARstudios has said it may reuse the same structure for Early Access updates.

On this page

What the playtest is

Name: Village Council Playtest
Structure: Three phases: Draft, Preview, Proof
Who: Kickstarter backers, Ko-Fi and PayPal supporters, pre-orders
Hard requirement: A tier that includes a Steam key
Significance: First time anyone outside NEARstudios played the post-Proof-of-Concept build
Feedback channel: The official Hawthorn Discord
NDA policy: Not published

Why this playtest mattered

NEARstudios said this was the first time anyone outside the studio had gone hands-on since it branched away from the original Proof-of-Concept over a year earlier. Everything the studio built in that year — the expandable map, dialogue, quest and storyteller systems, assignable jobs, villager stats, private co-op — was being tested together for the first time.

The three phases

Phase	Who is invited	Window	Purpose
Draft	Scriveners, Forerunners, and equivalent supporters	Scheduled 10–31 August 2026, with one week of exclusive access first	First external hands on the post-Proof-of-Concept build; feedback shapes everyone who follows
Preview	Royal Settlers, Philanthropists, Trailblazers, and equivalent supporters	Scheduled 17–31 August 2026; announced 17 August	Broader testing, verifying fixes, and continuing to track feedback
Proof	Legends, Stewards, Homesteaders, and equivalent supporters	Corrected schedule said 24–31 August, but the official post announcing it is dated 31 August — see the note below	The largest gathering of players, finding the last hidden issues before the next stage

The studio leans into the framing deliberately: “Every great storybook begins as a draft and passes through several edits before it reaches readers”. Each phase brings more players in, and the feedback from each one is meant to shape the experience for whoever follows.

Support is counted as combined contributions across Kickstarter, Ko-fi and PayPal, so supporters who gave through more than one route are not penalised.

How access works

Two rules decide whether you get in, and both come straight from the studio:

You need a tier that includes a Steam key. This is stated explicitly and applies to every phase.
Below that level you get the Discord, not the build. The studio said any backer supporting below the cost of the Hawthorn key receives access to the private Village Council Discord channel.

Invitations go out by email — the studio asked backers to check junk folders. It also warned that it was still working on getting codes out to Ko-Fi and PayPal backers, so patience is genuinely part of the process.

Tier definitions and how to support the project are on the Crowdfunding & Access page.

The living manuscript

Rather than waiting for the window to close before improving anything, NEARstudios described the three weeks as a living manuscript: as feedback arrives it fixes bugs, improves gameplay, tunes systems and releases updated builds throughout the playtest.

In the studio’s words, “the Draft becomes the Preview. The Preview becomes the Proof.” For players that means the build you start on is not necessarily the build you finish on — which is worth remembering before you report something as broken.

Known issues

Two issues were flagged publicly during the August 2026 run:

Wrong dates in the first invite email. The studio acknowledged that the first batch of emails to Scriveners and Forerunners went out with the wrong dates and times, and published the corrected schedule.
A rare save-file corruption bug. In rare instances saves could be corrupted. The team had already increased the number of save files kept per character, so players should not lose all progress, and it asked anyone affected to send both their current save and their last intact save.

Before you report a bug

Because updated builds ship continuously during the window, note the date you saw the issue and whether it persists after an update. The studio pulls reports from the official Discord, so that is where to post — see Community hubs.

A date conflict we are tracking

Proof phase: 24 or 31 August?

The corrected schedule published on 10 August 2026 states that the Proof Playtest phase runs 24–31 August. However, the official news index dates the post “Village Council Proof Playtest Phase Starts Today” to 31 August 2026. Those two do not agree, and NEARstudios has not clarified which is correct. We are leaving both on the record rather than picking one.

This is a small example of why this wiki dates everything against the page it came from. When a schedule changes mid-flight, the honest answer is to show both statements and say which one is newer.

Playtest FAQ

How do I get into a Hawthorn playtest?

Join the Village Council through Kickstarter, Ko-Fi, PayPal or a pre-order on the official site. Only a tier that includes a Steam key grants playtest access; support below the cost of the key gives access to the private Village Council Discord channel instead.

Is the playtest the same as the public demo?

No. The public Proof-of-Concept Demo is a free prototype focused on village building. The Village Council playtest is the current build, with the new map, quests, dialogue, villager stats and private co-op sessions.

Is the playtest under NDA?

NEARstudios has not published an NDA policy for the playtests. The studio actively asks players to report bugs and share feedback in the official Discord, so do not assume you may discuss it — check the terms in your invite email and the Discord rules.

Will playtest progress carry over to the full game?

Not stated. Assume it will not. The studio has already branched away from the Proof-of-Concept build and replaced the save system since.

What should I do if my save is corrupted?

NEARstudios asked affected players to send both their current save file and their last known-good save where the town and items are intact. The team increased the number of save files kept per character, so total progress loss should be unlikely.

Are there more playtests coming?

The studio described this three-phase structure as how its major playtests — and potentially its Early Access updates — will roll out going forward, so further phases are likely. Dates are announced on the official news index.

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