Despite the recent uproar regarding the wealth of downloadable content offered by upcoming co-operative monster 'em up Evolve, Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive has gone on record as saying that such controversy is in fact – generally speaking – a good thing. Zelnick's statements come following an online backlash towards the sheer volume of DLC being sold alongside Turtle Rock's ambitious title. Following up from the latest fiscal report from Take-Two, in which healthy profits were announced, Zelnick added,
“And I guess, controversy, generally speaking, is a good thing. People can argue about the business model. I think we’re delivering a fantastic title that’s well versed with consumers who will pay for it. And all signs are extraordinarily positive.”
Zelnick went on to promote and praise Evolve for the numerous accolades it has already garnered, such as that fact that Evolve was the "only game in history" to be awarded with Game of Show honours at both E3 and Gamescom. Contrary to this, Evolve's creative director Phil Robb spoke out in an interview with Destructoid last year about the company's own approach towards downloadable content,
“Our plan is one we pushed for as consumers. Never split the community, no pay to win, all that kind of bullshit that are hallmarks of DLC plans specifically made to leech money out of people.”
However, a seperate interview with Turtle Rock co-founder Chris Ashton outlined his own attitudes towards DLC, stating that Evolve had been "built from the ground up" with a focus on DLC, "more so than any game before". Based on the evidence we've seen, it appears that not everyone involved in the project is pulling together in the same direction, with this varied perspective on DLC being a prominent example.
Evolve is due for release on February 10th, arriving on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows.
