Further episodes cancelled
Update: The game is no longer available to purchase on Steam.
Remember Afro Samurai 2? I’m sure our very own Chris Carter wishes he could forget after reviewing the game. He gave it the lowest score possible, citing bugs and terrible audio and gameplay.
All mention of the episodic title has been pulled from the PlayStation Store for PS4. The game was removed from the libraries of those who purchased it, and their money was refunded. No statement on exactly why this happened was known, until now.
Steve Escalante, the general manager of Versus Evil (the publisher of the game), spoke to CGMagazine about what went on:
“The game was a failure. We could not do, in good conscience, volume 2 and volume 3. So we’ve begun the process, it’s been a long process to figure it out because Sony has never really had to do this in this way, but we’re returning all the money. So across the board we’re putting out an apology saying ‘sorry about this.'”
Admitting fault, apologizing, and refunding money for a failed game is something rarely done in this industry. And while it is commendable, it doesn’t excuse them from releasing a terrible product, which Escalante denies: “If you look at the reviews, it wasn’t that the game was broken or buggy, people just didn’t like it.”
There are plenty of games people don’t like that are still available for sale today. Companies don’t usually refund based on reviews, that being said, Revenge of Kuma has an average score of 21 on Metacritic and Steam user reviews are only 3% positive.
“We pulled it down, because we didn’t want to exacerbate it anymore and then we’re refunding the money,” said Escalante.
Currently, Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma Volume One is still available on Steam, while customers who purchased it on PS4 should have been automatically refunded the purchase amount to their PlayStation Store wallet.
Versus Evil Explains the Disappearance of Afro Samurai 2 [CGMagazine]
