Abandon Ship, a kind of cross between Sid Meier’s Pirates and FTL, will now be released “early 2018” on Steam Early Access rather than this year.

“We’re committed to delivering an extremely high-quality experience and to ensuring even our initial release is as feature-complete and polished as possible,” wrote team lead Gary Burchell from Fireblade Software.

“So far the response from our play-testers has been exceptionally positive but why stop there? With a little extra time we can make the game even better.”

A new developer Let’s Play accompanied the update, showing 30 minutes of Abandon Ship in action.

It’s a charming beast – a painterly strategy set in the romanticised Age of Sail period of history (1571-1862). You control a handful of crew, close-up and side-on, during battle, giving them jobs as you determine the best way to take down the opposing vessel. During exploration the camera zooms out and you sail freely around a gorgeous world, which looks a lot like a framed old canvas map laid on a table and brought to life by magic.

There’s a supernatural element whisked into Abandon Ship, too, with Cthulhu-inspired tentacle beasties who climb out of the sea and onto your ship – sucker.

One to watch.