I play the Warhammer series, so I can’t speak much to Pharoh (their newest game release). The apology actually covers a lot of what the drama is about. Higher priced DLCs with okay content, old bugs from the previous installments unfixed, terrible communication with the player base.

I like the apology. It’s specific and they are putting their money where their mouth is. As long as they follow up, I think they can recoup a lot of goodwill. I’m hopeful because I love what they’ve done with the warhammer series and I want them to support it for years to come. It’s great right now and it has incredible potential.

I mean, this is literally my strategy. I’m okay not buying games from companies who utilize revenue tactics I don’t agree with. Some will adopt in game ads and a lot won’t. I’m pretty confident in my stable of devs that probably won’t have to drop them. And if I’m wrong? Oh well. They don’t get my money.

You good. People complaining about business practices of a company who has become known for those exact business practices are wild. II personally just stopped buying from them because they’ve shown they no longer want me as a customer. I do feel like people like those in the article might do better to just stop buying from them. There are so many fucking great devs and games out there from indie to AAA, why would I continue to support a company who I feel is being unfair to their customer base.

This isn’t a pissing contest and no one is acting like this is unique. We saw the same excitement for the last 2 Zelda games, God of War, Spiderman, Elden Ring etc. (post more examples, I don’t pay as much attention to the industry anymore so I’m sure I’ve missed a bunch). Let’s celebrate them if that’s what you’d like to see more of. They’re all awesome and they all add to the evidence that there is a large population that still want to experience games this way.

To maybe take this a step further. I think console (or PC or Mac for that matter) exclusives are fine for sone of the reasons you outlined. I see a lot of hate for this primarily among redditors. I do not feel like a console company paying a game developer or buying a studio to develop a game exclusively for them is bad for the industry. Especially if they’re doing it well. I recognize that there are companies out there that are using this method and harming the industry.

Sony has been killing it in the exclusives department for years now and it’s honestly great to see. I have a buddy who works for one of their studios and it seems pretty good on their end too. They’re pretty hands off. The model seems to be to have talented developers put their vision on the Playstation and stay out of the way.

For context. I don’t need to play EVERY amazing game. Nor do have the time.