Sons of the Forest nabs X-Men’s Shawn Ashmore as early access ends

Sons of the Forest is set to exit its early access stage, with version 1.0 finally given a set release date in early 2024. Alongside this announcement, Endnight Games also revealed that the game will feature Shawn Ashmore, famed for his roles in the X-Men series, voicing the character of Timmy.

In a tweet on X, formerly Twitter, Endnight Games finally announced that Sons of the Forest will have its version 1.0 release on February 22, 2024. The casting of Ashmore is something of a coup for Endnight, with the Canadian’s credits including high-profile roles such as Bobby Drake/Iceman in the X-Men films, Jack Joyce in Quantum Break, and Lamplighter in Amazon Prime’s The Boys.

Those who have played the game’s predecessor, The Forest, will be well aware of the potential significance of Timmy in Sons of the Forest’s storyline. Timmy is the son of Eric LeBlanc, the protagonist of The Forest, who is missing for the vast part of the game’s narrative. The casting of Ashmore in the role of Timmy means that the character will likely play a pivotal role in Sons of the Forest’s narrative.

Sons of the Forest’s early access launch in February 2023 was received exceptionally well, recording an impressive 2 million sales within the first 24 hours. The game shares a similar premise to The Forest as an open-world survival horror simulator. Players are stranded on a remote island filled with dangers, including cannibals. This time, however, players won’t be on the hunt for their son, but for a missing billionaire.

Despite being in early access, Sons of the Forest can already be played single-player or with friends, however, there’s seemingly plenty in store ahead of the game’s full release. Version 1.0 promises to bring new gameplay features, major expansions to Sons of the Forest’s story, and some more general polish to the game.

Concluding their announcement, Endnight Games expressed gratitude for the support received during the game's early access phase, thanking players of the early access build for the game’s pre-release success. The capture of Shawn Ashmore by Endnight is a testament to the high quality and strong reception of Sons of the Forest’s early access release, and we can’t wait to see what more is in store when February rolls around.