SOE has addressed the issue of the paid airdrops for H1Z1. They are offering refunds to unhappy customers who preordered the game, but have also attempted to explain their actions.
No less than SOE head John Smedley revealed they would be giving out refunds, no questions asked, and that it would be going straight through them instead of Steam. If you wanted a refund of the game, you need to email a request for a refund to [email protected] before Monday.
Now, the dev on whom a lot of these broken expectations hinged on has also spoken out. In specific, he innocuously mentioned in one of the H1Z1 streams that it would not be possible to buy guns or ammo. This was taken as a sign that the game would not be pay to win.
He explains now that he disregarded airdrops at the time, and that they would be adding it in in the future. He really only meant that you would not be able to pick up a gun and ammo for your loadout like you were buying from a store, even as part of your starting loadout.
He also clarifies that airdrops were a later addition, but one that made the game better. Ultimately, he says the H1Z1 team is dedicated to making airdrops fair for everyone involved, and outlined how they planned to do so here.
Again, it seems that they could have better managed fan reactions and expectations if they communicated their plans clearly and in a more timely manner. At the very least, they definitely could have revealed their plans much earlier than the day the game went live on Early Access.
