What is wrong with using a template? I think they are called template for a reason. And renaming some files and config entries does not make a good game.
I admit I am not a big fan of the whole Early Access system but this one actually does not look like a quick money grab.
I am no C++ expert but isn’t there some overhead associated with a debug build. So maybe they could get some more fps by building in shipping mode? On the other hand, if the bottleneck actually are the draw calls there is probably not much to gain there.