Peter Molyneux is back with another swing at the god game genre he once defined. Masters of Albion drops into Steam Early Access today, April 22, 2026, at 1pm EDT. For $24.99—10% off if you jump in the first week—you get to play god with a hovering hand that builds towns by day and defends them at night, complete with lightning bolts, boulders, and peasant-flinging. It's billed as a reimagining of his classics, blending Populous-style divinity with town management that echoes Dungeon Keeper, all wrapped in that familiar Albion humor from the Fable days. No preloading, 20GB install, and a Founders Paint Pack for early buyers who stick around the launch window.

The man himself calls it the culmination of his life's work, the final god game. After Godus and its Kickstarter fallout, that claim lands with the weight of history. Community chatter on Reddit is split between cautious curiosity and outright skepticism—plenty of comments reference abandoned Early Access projects and carefully omitted names on the Steam page. Yet the trailer has racked up views, and the hybrid loop of cozy building flipping to survival defense has some players intrigued enough to wishlist it.

This isn't a finished product, and 22cans knows it. Early Access means the real test begins now, as players get their hands on the mechanics Molyneux has been teasing for years. The bar he set decades ago hasn't moved much in the genre, but expectations have. We'll see if the lightning bolts and peasant-flinging deliver more than another round of ambitious promises.