An Update for the Patron Bonus Schedule

Hey everyone!

First and foremost, we wanted to thank all of you for your patience throughout the last two months. The Mass Effect Bonus is out (!!) and the Making of the Aether patron bonus will be available in the coming weeks. We fell behind schedule, but the response has only been understanding and kind.

As we’ve often said, we consider ourselves extremely lucky to have an audience that realizes the show is entirely run by three people. When we need more time for bigger episodes or projects, we know with confidence that you will all want us to take the time we need. We can’t thank you enough for this.

That said: We also don’t want to make a habit of falling behind! Life will often come in the way, and there’s no avoiding certain setbacks, but now that we’ve been operating under this new schedule for a few months it’s become clear that the release cadence is a bit unsustainable.

Specifically, we’re referring to the monthly patron bonus episodes. As you know, our normal schedule has always been new “regular” episodes on Wednesdays and then a monthly game or topic-specific bonus that’s available for everyone. When we announced that we would be taking the Patreon more seriously to help finance the show, we decided to also add monthly patron-exclusive bonus episodes to the schedule.

After much discussion, it seems that with our current schedules, committing to the patron bonuses monthly is slightly beyond what we’re capable of consistently putting out on time. So we’ve decided to change things up a bit:

We still intend on making patron exclusive content, but for now the episodes will no longer be monthly. The idea right now is to aim for every other month or whenever inspiration strikes. The other side of this is that we don’t want to make any patron episodes too similar to the core show, but also don't want to force them into existence in a way that feels lacking in creativity or verve.

To recap: Patron episodes will no longer be every month, but will still be something we create and take seriously. And it goes without saying you will always have access to previous patron episodes if you back the show at any point.

As we continue to try new things with the show and with patron content, please let us know what you’d like to see from us! Now more than ever, we’re extremely open to feedback. The goal is to make content for you to enjoy, that we enjoy making, without stretching ourselves too thin.

At the end of the day, it’s pretty amazing we can even have this conversation. Your support means more than you realize. And as always, thank you for listening.

Love,

Brendon + Stephen + AJ