Payday 2 Dev Apologizes for Microtransaction Debacle

[Steven Bogos]

Payday 2 Dev Apologizes for Microtransaction Debacle

Payday 2 developer Overkill has apologized for the way it handled things during the Black Market update.

Last month, Payday 2 developer Overkill upset its fanbase by adding microtransactions to the game [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/161161-Payday-2-Microtransactions-Not-Going-Anywhere] - something it had previously promised not to do. The blowback was quite substantial, leading to the game's two volunteer forum moderators to go on strike. Now, Overkill has apologized for the way it handled the situation... but has no plans to actually remove the offending microtransactions.

"Players have been angry with us, media have written about us en masse and our volunteer moderators went on strike. For all the distress we've caused the past few weeks, I'd just like to take the time and say that we're sorry. We've done a lot of things right in the past, but these past few weeks we screwed up," wrote Almir Listo [http://steamcommunity.com/games/218620/announcements/detail/85928399508949511], Overkill's global brand director.

He goes on to describe several of the ways the studio aims to make amends, such as meeting with the volunteer moderators and various other prominent members of the community.

"We've been reading your feedback and clearing bugs, but we haven't engaged you in discussions," Listo said. "This has alienated us somewhat, and for that we apologize. Starting next week, you will see the presence [of] 8 different Overkill members talking to you in discussions and taking an active role in the community."

At no point in his post does Listo address the actual reason behind all of the community anger: the microtransactions, suggesting that they will remain in the game and may even be expanded upon in future updates.

Source: Steam [http://steamcommunity.com/games/218620/announcements/detail/85928399508949511]

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[Ncrdrg]

Apologies are easy, fixing the problem is harder. What's the point of apologizing if you're not regretting the decision and have no intention to go back on it?

I suspect all this will do is annoy their fans.

 

[Dragonlayer]

"Players have been angry with us, media have written about us en masse and our volunteer moderators went on strike. For all the distress we've caused the past few weeks, I'd just like to take the time to say that you can purchase an official apology for only $4.99. You may also purchase the Apology Season Pass for $40, to gurantee access to our latest updated apologies as they come out, including 'I'm Sorry You're Upset' and 'I'm Sorry You're Too Greedy To Pay'."

Gotta love those developers!

The irony of this post is that I don't even mind microtransactions, provided they're not blocking off stuff critical to the game's completion or enjoyment, I just despise this kind of spinelessness.

 

[Pinky's Brain]

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

 

[Leg End]

Now, Overkill has apologized for the way it handled the situation... but has no plans to actually remove the offending microtransactions.

At no point in his post does Listo address the actual reason behind all of the community anger: the microtransactions, suggesting that they will remain in the game and may even be expanded upon in future updates.

Apology not accepted, nor even remotely considered. Fuck you Overkill, fuck you.

 

[Bindal]

Apologies are easy, fixing the problem is harder. What's the point of apologizing if you're not regretting the decision and have no intention to go back on it?

Because at this point it's not POSSIBLE to remove them anymore? Nor would they hurt if they're done right (which, right now, they aren't. At all.)

 

[Kevlar Eater]

This video represents their fauxpology in a nutshell. Though I don't play the game, I absolutely hate empty apologies. Oh, and Overkill's brainless e-defenders are even worse than the apology. I don't like questioning peoples' intelligence, but stuff like this makes me reconsider:

You don't have to buy the skins, they are optional. PD2 is Co-Op PvE, not competitive PvP. Get over it.
Overkill, don't bother apologizing to these crybabies. They won't accept it anyways.

well don't buy the dlcs if you don't want them... no one forced you to buy a $20 dlc so you guys pretty much brought this upon yourself. It was a surprise and sometimes surprises aren't to your liking. so stop whining and play the game.

There's far more than this.

 

[JLF]

Words are cost effective (cheap)! They can be very effective when one has trust.
Sadly nobody should trusts a company, other than making money.
So in other words if behavior does not dictate otherwise words are meaningless. But they do raise PR and sales a bit with minimal costs. So they do have some business sense even though not enough to make a real difference.

 

[Bindal]

Though I don't play the game, I absolutely hate empty apologies.

Well, that's the funny thing - the apology came out on Friday evening, so there COULDN'T be anything coming as of yet for the players, yet people still expected it.
Addionaly, Overkill did start doing things (their mods are now participating in the meetings and had to sign an NDA for that, Australian Heisters that had to wait for their Jacket Code get a free rare mask on top) and people still complain anyway. So no matter what Overkill would do, everyone would complain.
And that's not surprise, either, because that's all most people do, complain.

Oh, and Overkill's brainless e-defenders are even worse than the apology. I don't like questioning peoples' intelligence, but stuff like this makes me reconsider:

Well, unless they're that kind of stupid, agreed there.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

We are sorry but not so sorry that we are going to do anything about it.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

So they apologised, but aren't going to do anything about it? I guess we know what their apology is worth.

 

[fix-the-spade]

If I was one of those two volunteer moderators, I'd be demanding a salary right about now.

Overkill seems to want to charge for everything, so they should pay for everything too. Of course it would be the end of their involvement with Payday 2's forums, but I think that's already happened at this point anyway.

 

[Bindal]

So they apologised, but aren't going to do anything about it? I guess we know what their apology is worth.

Except they are, by removing the stat-boosts and replace them with a cosmetic or semi-cosmetic alternative (right now, StatTrak is the primary alternative), which they hope to be able to replace existing skins but will replace in any future safes. If they can do it, of course.

 

[Naldan]

They could have avoided all this and still had microtransactions:

Just implement them into your successor.

Bam. My audience would love me, at least more than Overkill's audience loves Overkill.

 

[Erttheking]

An apology is nice, but unless they actually go back and fix what they did, then "Words are wind."

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Let's be honest here though; Overkill is likely not responsible for the micro transactions and are probably not authorized to change them in any way, because the economical decisions regarding Payday 2 are almost certainly the purvey of producer 505 Games. Since the addition of micro transactions coincide with the renewal of 505 Games and Overkill's contract regarding Payday 2 it is likely that it was something that 505 Games demanded in return for continued financial support for Payday 2 development.

What Almir is doing is damage control for a situation that's beyond his control and Overkill is obviously working overtime to mitigate the fallout of a decision that they were unable to influence in the first place. The micro transactions are still shitty and Overkill promised something that they obviously weren't able to promise, but I find it hard to fault them as much as I fault 505 Games.

 

[Zulnam]

"We're sorry for making you angry.

We will proceed by continuing to do the thing that made you angry. But it's okay 'cause we said we're sorry."

Nowhere else do you see the bond between corporate and government more clear than when they apologise for an unpopular decission.

 

[RealRT]

Overkill, apologies are words and you have already shown that your word is worth jack and shit and jack left town. Also, apologizing for shitting on my couch is pointless if you keep doing that, you morons!

 

[RealRT]

Apologies are easy, fixing the problem is harder. What's the point of apologizing if you're not regretting the decision and have no intention to go back on it?

Because at this point it's not POSSIBLE to remove them anymore? Nor would they hurt if they're done right (which, right now, they aren't. At all.)

Yes it is possible. Just take them away and refund the money to all the bloody morons who bought them. Problem solved. And yes, they would hurt. Microtransactions have no business being in paid games.

 

[UsefulPlayer 1]

This sets a pretty bad precedent. If they get away with this, that basically sends means "Hey we can say whatever the fuck we want and fear no repercussion because the gaming community is fucking stupid."

Saying "There will be no microtransactions!" is a pretty big deal. It would be like Guild Wars 2 saying "Sorry, we will be adding monthly subscriptions now." People buy Guild Wars with the expectation that they can enjoy all of the monthly game updates without a monthly subscription. I expect people bought Payday2 with the same expectation, but now it is behind a paywall.

I hope the Payday 2 community makes as much noise as they can and continue to do so. It is about sending a message, where is the accountability? Isn't this what the Federal Trade Commission is for?