Jeff Kaplan, the former director of Overwatch, has provided an in-depth look at Kintsugiyama's upcoming open-world survival multiplayer game, The Legend of California. Set in the Gold Rush era of the 1840s, the game is described as a true first-person shooter with a large sandbox environment where players can engage in a variety of activities.
Players will be able to establish ranches anywhere in the world, trade with others, mine, fish, and ride horses. The game will feature both public servers with up to 100 players and private server options. Public servers will allow for player-versus-player combat, including the ability to kill other players and their horses. However, player-built structures will be protected, preventing destruction of each other's creations, a feature that Kaplan, a self-proclaimed Rust player, noted he unfortunately cannot implement.
To maintain a sense of progression and replayability, The Legend of California will implement monthly server resets. While the geographical layout of California will remain consistent, dynamic points of interest known as 'strongholds' will change location. Player progress on companies and ranches, as well as their gear, will reset. However, any unlocks achieved by players will be persistent across these resets.
Kaplan also discussed potential future additions to the game, acknowledging a long list of features he wishes to include. Holiday events, pets, and horse breeding are all on the roadmap. Even ambitious ideas like toys-to-life integrations are being considered, though Kaplan humorously noted that the development team is "cheap and poor" and these features are unlikely to be present at launch.
The team intends to support The Legend of California with ongoing updates, though Kaplan is deliberately avoiding the term "live service" due to its negative connotations. The game is still in its early stages, with at least two more alpha testing phases planned before it is ready for early access. The exact timeline for its release remains unconfirmed.