Our Life: Now & Forever Roadmap
[The dazzling guest image is an alternate version of the art used in the month start post by caffeinana on Twitter!]
Happy belated new year!
I’m gonna let everybody know what’s going on with the project and our new plans for releasing Our Life: Now & Forever. I’ll start with what people most want to know: the changed release schedule for the initial launch of OLNF.
We will be releasing all of Step 1 & Step 2 November 2026 in Early Access. Step 3 and Step 4 are delayed until 2027.
That is definitely different from our original release plans.
This year things are changing significantly at GB Patch Games. From the start, I’ve written the scripts and lead programmer Shawna has implemented them. In 2025, we hired Mae to help program scenes in. Shawna has spent months preparing training material and changing the back end to allow others to join in with programming, while also keeping up with their normal script programming. In 2026, we’ll be hiring additional programmers and Shawna will be moving into a manager position to work with a whole team on adding scripts. Once that’s in place, the average amount of words programmed per month is going to double, from 25,000 words to 50,000 words. That’s what will allow us to release part of the game this year.
But why only Steps 1 and 2? We seriously considered releasing Step 2 and Step 3 without DLCs available for the initial launch instead. The problem is that it’d be risky. I’ll be finished with writing Step 2 in another couple months. I’ll spend the rest of 2026 working on the Step 3 script. However, if something happens to me and I can’t finish it by November, that’ll be it. The officially set release will have to be pushed back and 2026 will be another year with no launch. Adding new programmers to help with the script will increase how much script can be completed per month, but it also means we’re doubling the amount of content that needs testing. With more team members also comes more communication and coordination to make sure every part of the game flows how it’s supposed to. Even with monthly beta testing, there are so many possible variations that it’s difficult to iron out every wrinkle in that time frame. Launching in Early Access first will give us room to fix more issues and ensure we can add in promised features for the final release, while giving you a chance to explore the story in the meantime.
Basically, finalizing so many scenes that are this complicated just can’t be done without a ton of time or a ton of eyes checking it out. Because we had that poll where half of the audience said they’d prefer an episodic style release, I thought launching half the game in Early Access would be better than taking the chance of not putting out anything in 2026.
Now, I’d like to give you an idea of what I mean when I talk about the scale of this project. Our Life: Beginnings & Always, with four steps and six different DLCs, has a script that’s 1,260,000 words. The content from just Step 1 and Step 2 of Our Life: Now & Forever will be around 1,100,000 words. Almost the same length as the entire prior game. That’s excessive, but I never want to limit what players can do in a scene — over a million words for two out of four time periods is the result. Hopefully, it’ll be amazing in the future when it is done. Until then, there’s much to do.
The silver lining is that the early access launch is going to have over a million words to explore! It’s not some little demo. We’ll be adding new features too as they’re completed, such as the updated character creator and controller support. That’s outlined in the infographic, and we’ll update it throughout development.
Also, for Patreon backers with beta access, this won't change much for that perk. You'll still have access to each Step as it gets programmed and before it goes into early access/full release.
With all that said, thank you for supporting us throughout development. It’s been great seeing people’s reactions to every update over the years. We hope you’ll continue playing and being part of the community as these bigger releases begin rolling out!
Our Life: Now & Forever Roadmap Text Version:
Early Access Launch - November 2026
Step 1: 5 free + 5 DLC moments, intro, ending
Step 2: 5 free + 5 DLC moments, intro, ending
Room customization for Steps 1 and 2
16 CGs, 25 art cut-ins, 25 chapter cards
1,100,000+ words
Performance improvements for lower powered devices
Steam Cloud save support
Features from the feature list
Step 3: Adulthood - Mid 2027
Step 3: 5 free + 5 DLC moments, intro, ending
Additional CGs, BGs, cut-in art, and character sprites
Room customization for Step 3
Features from the feature list
Step 4: Full Release - Late 2027
Step 4 Epilogue + full launch
Additional CGs, BGs, cut-in art, and character sprites
Achievements (in-game & Steam integration)
Many new doll parts for the character creator
Additional room decorations
Remaining features from the feature list
Wedding Update - Early 2028
Wedding DLC, one long story
Additional CGs, BGs, cut-in art, and character sprites
Future Features (added as completed)
Updated moment selection UI
Updated character customization system
Voiced names and nicknames
Controller + Steam Deck support
Detailed playthrough information
Comments (47)
love love love it i definitely need have my life in order before 2028 so i can just sit down and enjoy this game and cry my eyes out of my sockets thx GB for everything for making such masterpieces
omg yay!! this is still a remarkably fast timeline!! im so excited!!
so excited! does this mean we will need to purchade the DLC each time the new steps are released?
There will be four DLCs that come out at different times. Whenever a DLC launches you can buy it to add more content to the game!
In November?! I'm going to be too excited for my birthday month, but I will wait with extra excitement!!
Looks good. We all can't wait for more.
I'm so excited, I can't wait to see all the new things!
Something I thought of recently: You know how at the start of step 2 you can decide on how Qiu and Tamarack interact with the MC? Right now, it's either how it was in step 1 or you can edit it how you want, but will the mechanic that changes it based on your actions be implemented when the entire step is complete, or is that one of those things that will come in a later update?
That will be a basic thing included in early access!
Thank you so much for the update!!! It is great to see GB Patch's process and growth! Loved everything that you have shared with us!! Please continue to take care of yourself and your team!! We all know the game is worth the wait!
Exciting!!!! Understandable that the release date was pushed back a bit due to how in depth the game is. Better an amazing game than a rushed one!! Plus I always look forward to the monthly beta updates, so once those end all the way in 2028 I’ll be a bit sad haha.
YAAAYYY Really looking forward to this!!!😋
considering I've already seen everything I can in olba and yet I still keep replaying it just because I love it so much, I am certain that steps 1 and 2 of olnf will be more than enough for me to go bonkers with. I'm excited for everything that is to come!
Thank you for the road map, GB! I hope the team takes care of themselves and knows how grateful we are for all of the hard work put into this game! I don't care if it comes out when I'm 90 years old I will still be excited!
I am looking forward to everything and it be worth the wait for the second half to come out. Our life Now and forever is a very wonderful game and is worth every moment of the wait because it truly a very cozy and fun experience. I hope everything goes as smoothly as possible and still everyone on the team should be proud for this is truly a wonderful game.
It’s definitely worth the wait. All of the little teasers, fan art contributions, Q&As, etc make the wait time go by. Plus, that’s all still work the team is doing for us. It’s awesome how committed and positive the community is. I am looking so forward to seeing how the story plays out. And I definitely would rather you have the time to keep the work consistent, because it’s been pretty incredible so far. Also, congrats to Shawna on the new position! And congrats to the team for growing enough to open even more positions. That’s so awesome. 🩷 Thank you for the update.
Looking forward to where everything ends up going.
The roadmap looks good, glad you guys are giving yourselves time to get everything done without crunching for the next year! The workload on this game is immense and its good that you're accounting for everyone on the team <3 The only thing that's worrying is the doll customization being pushed so late when it was a kickstarter reward (with people most likely submitting things they really want for their mcs) and also so integral to playing the game in the first place. It seems a little unfair to have that be such a late addition.
Yeah, that should've been something that's simply on the features list rather than specifically for a late build. There are around 300 player submitted doll parts. I think it'd be unfair for some players to get their MC feature included early by luck of it getting done sooner and others having to wait additional months, so I want to add them all at once. However, since there's such a large amount, I imagined it'd take a fair amount of time to complete. But we're gonna look for artists who can match the doll style to hopefully lessen the load of a single artist and if the pieces are ready sooner, they will be added sooner!
I’m excited
How Exciting well this game is more than worth waiting for it`s gonna be amazing. And i look forward to the step 1 and 2 launch:) I hope you and the GB Patch team are doing well. You all are doing a fantastic job but do remember to take breaks too:)
I'm so proud of you all working so hard for this wonderful series(I started with OL1, fell in love and came here). It's helped me through so much and I'll keep supporting you as long as I can 🩵🤍🩵
Not gonna lie this game keeps me going on hard days. I can’t wait for the release. I just know it’s going to be amazing!
Not gonna lie, seeing the amount of work that you guys are doing with this game just makes me feel more excited for it 🤩
The amount of work and detail in this game [and the previous one!] always amazes me. You can tell this is a labor of love for all involved.
I’m super excited for this!
I absolutely think the episodic release is worth it. After playing the N&F beta several times, replaying B&A (while I still love it to death) feels a little empty in comparison. That's not to say B&A is by any means empty, it's just........ there's So Much in N&F........... the amount of customization is unreal. I think things taking longer than originally expected is more than a fair trade off.
*rips shirt apart* YEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
SECONDING THIS
wooo go shawna!! that word count is truly remarkable gb patch is the goat 🐐 stoked with whatever you’re willing to give us!! this labor of love is worth waiting for!!!
The amount of work you guys are doing is insane. I’m just grateful I get to play along, I’m always excited to see new updates!! Thanks for everything you do ❤️
I absolutely love having something to look forward to each month, Our Life 1 has helped me a lot through some hard times and it will forever remain one of my favorite comfort games! I am so very excited for the full release of Our Life 2, all of the updates are exciting things I look forward to see.
I am so incredibly excited for this game, I can't wait!
Thank you for all your work!! Im so excited for everything!
Production speeding up is fantastic to hear! Having a release in 2027 feels like a wonderful dream!
I don't think I've ever been more hyped for a game!
I agree Dr. Doom
Incredibly excited 😆
Thank you for always work so hard 🤍🤍 I’m so excited for all of these update !! (*´꒳`*)
Thank you thank you thank you for always updating us! Hope you and the team stay healthy always mwah 🤍!
AAHH IM SO EXCITED!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Will there be voiceovers (voiced names) in the 2026 launch?
Maybe! We've got voiced names for Step 1 already but I don't know if everything will be ready for Step 2 this year.
I am SOO hype for thiss
I was wondering. Not going lie doing the math on how things would go this year. Glad we got the road map. Woot
looking forward to everything our life… of course i wish i could play it all right this second, but having something to look forward to is lovely in and of itself. wishing a good time to you all working on nf!
I feel like a Goldendoodle running and barking my head off right now 😭😂 And happy belated new year!