The game was announced in March 2014 with a tentative release date of 2015.[5] At GDC, Campo Santo housed a public playtest, and Ng hosted a panel on the design and aesthetic of the game entitled "The Art of Firewatch".[20] In June 2015, the team visited E3. There, they confirmed that they would be bringing the game to PlayStation 4, but that this would be the only console version.[21] However, an Xbox One version was later released in North America on September 21, 2016, featuring an audio tour and a free roam mode.[22][23] Due to ratings issues, the version was delayed in Europe until September 30[24] and in Australia and New Zealand until October 14.[25]