While Firewatch, which comes out tomorrow, is currently only being released on digital platforms, it turns out the game comes with a cool physical bonus (via Venturebeat).
In the game, the player character can pick up and use various tools and objects throughout the game. One of these tools is a disposable camera (it’s set in 1989), with which the player can take pictures of the world throughout the story. Campo Santo, the studio working on Firewatch, has set up a website that will develop and send you physical prints of the photos you took in-game for $15.
It’s an interesting bonus to offer, and considering the rave reviews, it seems many players will feel a strong enough emotional connection with the game to spend the extra $15 (the game itself costs $19.99). Most games try to earn more average revenue per player (a term used to describe the money a developer/publisher can make per player) by selling limited editions or collector’s editions with physical objects. Big blockbusters from Fallout 4 to smaller games like Life is Strange do this. Campo Santo’s take seems less like a bundle and more like an interesting novelty. Many players like to take screenshots of the gorgeous gaming worlds they visit, and this feature takes that idea and creates physical mementos out of that.
It should be noted that this feature is only available for PC players, and that the photos usually take 3-4 weeks to develop.
In case you didn’t already know, Firewatch‘s story takes place in the Wyoming wilderness during 1989, where you play as a man named Henry, who has taken up a new job as fire lookout. The only communication Henry has with the outside world is through a handheld radio. Things start to get a little strange for Henry when he’s out there all alone – and not in a good way. We got a look at four 45-second trailers last week, along with the news that there are currently no plans to bring the game to VR.
