No industry remains the same for very long. The video game industry more than any other is in a constant state of flux. Gaming as a whole can change completely with one successful or unsuccessful game completely flipping the industry on its head. The changes visible in gaming even in the last decade, however, give serious cause for concern. Of the changes we have seen recently, one worries me more than any other.
Long ago, when there was no such thing as a “post-release,” quality control for a game studio was the difference between life and death. This has unfortunately fallen by the wayside. Game developers can completely change their game in a matter of hours with the power of patches and updates. This is in no way a terrible thing in itself. The ability to change a game and fix a missed glitch gives developers an incredibly powerful tool. Like any tool though if used in the wrong way it can cause more harm than good.
Releasing a broken game only to patch it or offer free DLC has become frighteningly common. Big developers and small time indie studios share the guilt in this worrying trend. Is it as bad as it all seems though? Am I overreacting? What follows is an examination of several games who pulled this little stunt and you can decide for yourself if the ends justified the means.
Friday The 13th: The Game
We begin with the inspiration for this article. Friday the 13th: The Game well and truly had the hype train fully loaded. A solid foundation in the form of the original films and seemingly fun game mechanics promised an enjoyable multiplayer game. At launch, however, the game was utterly unplayable.
Issues including bugs and unbelievably slow matchmaking times outraged the players who waited a long time for this title. Reviewers had a field day calling out the developers for this horrific release. Some sites refused to review the console version, branding the game unplayable.
Upon realizing just how widespread the anger towards them was, developers Gun Media and IllFonic released free DLC to fix the bugs and appease the angry gamers. On top of this bug fixing patch, the developers have promised another free DLC pack, which is due for release soon. The DLC will add a much-needed single player mode and there are rumors that Pamala Voorhees will be added as a playable character.
Friday the 13th: The Game is a showcase of developers caring more about deadlines than player experience. The developers announced they were going to release free DLC to apologize for their monumental screw-up and this seems to have worked to appease players. The reviews for the game are about average and players are still playing it.
It may appear that IllFonic got away with everything. Yes, their game will constantly be associated with its poor release. But this is becoming more and more valid as a tactic among studios large and small. How long before this trend becomes something to expect with every new release?
Assassins Creed Unity
You thought this trend would be limited to smaller studios? Well try this on for size. Ubisoft, one of the biggest game studios out there right now, have been guilty of this in the past.
The punching bag of gaming journalists everywhere, Assassins Creed: Unity was one of the early adopters of this slap-in-the-face-tactic. AC Unity was a horrific game. The game itself was plain terrible but without the free DLC given to players, it was a joke.
Riddled with bugs and issues at launch the game was nigh unplayable (some might say thankfully.) Developers were quick to offer all players access to DLC for free in way of apology. AC Unity will go down in history as the game that nearly killed Ubisoft’s flagship IP. No amount of free DLC can fix that. The game was a disaster and the free DLC did not hide this.
Halo 5 Guardians
Okay, so we’ve dealt with 2 examples in which this method is completely deplorable. Time to reign the horns in a little. Halo 5 was different, which is its biggest crime all in all. It’s so difficult to follow up such a ground breaking, genre defining series. You must try not to disappoint your existing fanbase while changing things up to draw in new players. 343 tried a little too hard and it backfired for the studio.
Following the disaster that was Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s multiplayer, 343 needed to secure some good grace from the Halo fans. What do Halo fans love most? Free maps were the answer 343 came to and they were seemingly right. Following release 343 gave players access to 15 maps completely for free. When you consider that a company could charge anything from $10-$20 for such a large DLC pack it really seems like a large sacrifice. But when you consider how thoroughly it won back a good number of fans it is a small price to pay for continued support in developing one of the largest series’ gaming has ever seen.
Halo 5 Guardians attracted a lot of anger from hard-core Halo fans. Those complaints were incredibly vocal and directed at some key areas and points which 343 had the ability to change post-launch. The fact that they could release the amendments for free and address the concerns of players surely shows free DLC can make up for a bad launch.
Conclusion
I would say that yes, using free DLC to apologize to players is perfectly valid. However, it is only valid when the developer makes an honest mistake.
Upon the release of Halo 5 it was still clearly a whole product. Game developers using free DLC to add things that should have been available since launch in any game is simply unacceptable. If your game isn’t finished, don’t release it. It really is that simple.
Did we miss any examples of this happening? Is it really that big of an issue? What new trends in video games keep you awake at night? Have your say in the comments below.
