inXile probably could’ve released a slightly tweaked version of Wasteland 2‘s early beta and called it a day, so well done Brian Fargo and co for staying in the trenches while feedback bombs rained down all around. Now though, after months of overhauling, underhauling, betweenhauling, caterwauling, and gatorcrawling, the beta’s end is finally in sight. Wasteland 2 – the full thing, LA and all – will be out in August.

Brian Fargo made the announcement on Wasteland 2’s Kickstarter:

“We are very happy to announce the ship date for Wasteland 2: the game will be coming to you at the end of August of this year!” “At this stage we’re internally feature complete, but not feature locked. What that means is that every feature is in our dev builds but we’re still testing functionality, gameplay balance impact and even quality. If a feature is not good enough, we’ll cut it, but if fan feedback and internal review indicates it’s vital, we’ll double down on it. But the main focus for the new few months lies with balancing, optimizing and of course mercilessly hunting down bugs.”

So the beta’s not going anywhere just yet, and to celebrate this fine occasion, inXile has released an update that gives Arizona its final hunk of landmass. In other words, beta players now have access to a full half of Wasteland 2’s, er, wasteland.

I’ve mostly steered clear of the beta ever since I first tried it out last year, largely because I want to be able to play the full, proper experience unspoiled. Alec did a cracking diary series about goats and I guess other things too, though. Are there any more consistent Wasteland 2 players in the crowd? Do you think it’s evolved nicely over time?