On Patreon it stated it been in work since 2016 wich is 6 years not a decade.
That is the furthest back their Patreon goes rather than development, did you not find it weird that their first post had a demo at version 1.06?
Not sure exactly how long it's actually been in development, although it is over 6 years, which is why I was a bit vague.
Lets be real tho many games specifically triple AAA games takes years or decade to release their game. Why cant this game? Especially when its several years ahead on graphics compared to adult games.
I would just note that being "ahead on graphics" isn't that much of an accomplishment, the assets certainly require more work to produce but mostly it's just a case of which system specs the developer is targeting. Most devs target lower end systems so they can appeal to a wider audience but a lot of smut games are starting to buck that trend now as a way to stand out among their peers.
I could put together a quick demo, and even include multiplayer, in UE5 and have it look on par with most AAA games just using their marketplace assets and stuff like MetaHumans. Bit more work for a smut game as you need functional genitalia and some additional physics systems but it's not boundary pushing stuff.
Like sure milking is bad, but like its not like the creator is asking for your life earnings. Its like 30 bucks wich is little, many games cost like 50-70 usd. Wich date has Helius mentioned beside 2021-2022? Also what you mean by "rest of us know better" ? What do you and others know that we supporters dont know?
Is $36 a lot? No. Is it a lot for a game with a single map, a handful of animations you have to grind for and no gameplay systems other than walking around and positioning said animations? Yes.
The financier in me also compels me to highlight that $36 paid in 2016 is worth ~$45 now in real terms and probably >$50 by release even if they get it out in the next year.
In regard to what we know taboge9459 just posted a good summary of one aspect of the concerns, but there is a lot more. I would suggest reading through this thread (or at least a chunk of it) if you want to know more as the history is too convoluted to concisely detail.
As for the release dates they actually "released" the game at one point, without ever implementing the campaign mode or most of the promised features (so similar state to how it is now), then abandoned it and that build is no longer even available for download. That's why they have "origins" and "operation lovecraft" as distinct entities on their site. They're basically the same game and Helius just tried to reset the clock on development. Again if you trawl through this thread or their Patreon you will however find other examples of changed roadmaps, moved goalposts, missed promises etc.