[8] Despite strong initial successes, the development of Hiveswap experienced numerous logistical, chronological, and financial setbacks.

[9] On September 4, 2012, Andrew Hussie announced a Kickstarter to raise funds for a video game based on his MS Paint Adventures webcomic Homestuck.

[13] The campaign also reached certain "stretch goal" amounts, whereupon Hussie added Mac and Linux support onto the proposed game.

[10][16][17] In December 2013, new details, a projected release date of June 2014, and concept art were posted on the game's Kickstarter blog.

[7] On December 26, 2015, updates were posted on the project's Kickstarter page stating that the game was going to be using a 2D system rather than using the 3D graphics shown in the teaser trailer, asset reel, and other footage.

[22] On April 13, 2017 (Homestuck's 8th anniversary), another trailer for the game was released, this time showing parts of Alternia as well as more gameplay.

The story picks up where Hiveswap Friendship Simulator ended and it follows MSPA Reader (the playable character) as they interact with the kids and the trolls from the original webcomic Homestuck, such as John Egbert and Karkat Vantas.

On October 4, 2020, Tumblr user Gio would publish a blog post detailing independent research done on the development and release of Hiveswap.

[27] The blog post would attempt to compile a number of different events that led to the extended development time and budgetary issues, among other controversies, concluding that mismanagement and unprofessionalism within the Homestuck franchise is heavily underestimated.

He would later publish another blog post[28] on January 21, 2021 further analyzing and disputing the accusations of embezzlement and fraud[29] levied against the initial developers of Hiveswap, The Odd Gentlemen.

"[34] Hiveswap Act 2 would be released to mixed reception, with reviewers calling the writing bloated and gameplay tedious.