Godus Wars has only been out for a day, and already an issue has arrived. Released as a free update to the Kickstarter backers of Godus, it launched yesterday on Steam Early Access following a year long, self imposed absence by developer Peter Molyneux from the press. With the new content came one new area to explore, however a second map was locked behind a $5 microtransaction. Players were quick to complain, and the Godus developers were almost as quick to respond, issuing a Community Update on Steam through 22cans CEO Simon Phillip today.
In it, Phillips defends the decision, saying he feels it is a good value given that Godus Wars is free to the “hundreds of thousands” of people who supported the game on Kickstarter. However he also says that he understands frustration of the game’s backers, saying:
Whilst we think that it does represent good value, especially considering that Godus Wars has been delivered as a free update to hundreds of thousands of users and the lower purchase price of the main game we understand previous Godus owners frustrations with this.
Therefore, based on your feedback, the extra content will be available to all free-of-charge[.]
The negative backlash makes sense, given that gamers rarely like to be nickled and dimed for bonus content. This goes double if the content already exists at the time of release. The speedy response from 22cans however is encouraging. So far the development path leading up to Godus has been a rocky one, with controversy surrounding its funding status and whether or not the game would ever be delivered at all. This has lead to a greater discussion about the merits of Kickstarter-funded video games and whether its ethical to ask the consumer to essentially pre-purchase a game that may never see the light of day. The fast turnaround on the map microtransaction may indicate they are eager to earn some good will with the community. After the embarrassment surrounding Curiosity winner Bryan Henderson and their failure to follow through on their promises, they need all the help they can get.
Godus and Godus Wars are available together in Steam Early Access for $15. For more on Godus Wars, be sure to peruse the Godus tag to get caught up on the latest news.
