1666: Amsterdam enters early access on 25 August

Panache Digital Games, co-founded by Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Désilets, has confirmed that its long-in-development title 1666: Amsterdam will launch into early access on 25 August for Windows PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. The release caps a development cycle stretching back to the early 2010s and follows the game's formal unveiling at Summer Game Fest in June, though it arrives under a cloud after a free demo drew sharp criticism for weak gameplay and writing despite an intriguing premise.

The narrative adventure spans two eras, 1666 and 1999, casting players as a witch investigating Amsterdam's secrets alongside a cat companion possessed by the consciousness of a man summoned from the future. Controversy over the studio's use of generative AI in some in-game portraits and marketing assets prompted Panache to state that neither the early access build nor the finished game will contain any AI-generated content. The early access version will offer the "first piece" of the roughly 15-hour campaign, with the studio expecting the early access period to last about a year and include several major updates.