Videogames sure have gotten complicated
Turtle Rock studios co-founder Phil Robb took to the company’s forums to address concerns about upcoming four-versus-one asymmetrical multiplayer title Evolve‘s numerous pre-purchase options and plans for downloadable content.
In response to concerns that Evolve‘s content might be withheld at launch — to be parceled off one piece at a time through downloadable content — Robb had this to say:
“A lot of folks seem to be under the impression that we’ve got all this content done and we shave off a hunk to sell separately. That just isn’t the case. When Evolve hits the shelves, none of the DLC will be done. Behemoth won’t be done. None of the planned DLC hunters or monsters will be done.”
Regarding the studio’s plans for downloadable content, Robb explains that, “As we got closer to finishing Evolve we ended up with designs for a bunch of monster and hunters that we just didn’t have the time and money to make. Instead of [throwing] them all out, why not put together a budget to make them as DLC?”
In an attempt to ease concerns that the additional content planned for Evolve might fracture the community, Robb assures readers that the “number one rule for DLC is never split the community.” All new maps and game modes will be provided free of charge to owners of the base game.
Robb says that he understands that not everyone wants to purchase DLC so the team made sure that even if you didn’t buy anything extra you can still play alongside those people who did.
“If I buy a new monster or hunter, and you don’t, we can still play together,” he explains. “You may not want to buy it, but your original purchase of the game will be enhanced by it anyway because you can still get into games with people who wanted to buy them. Hell, you can even set the DLC characters and monsters up as opponents in solo games.”
The last topic Robb discusses are the various pre-purchase packages that are currently available for the game, one of which will set you back a whopping $99. “The bundles are options, nothing more,” he says. “IF you plan to buy all that stuff anyway then you can get a bundle with all that content at a discount.”
In closing, Turtle Rock’s co-founder defends the studio and its publisher’s decisions by stating, “We’ve done everything we could to keep this stuff as open to choice as possible and despite how it may look to some, there isn’t anything here that forces people to spend more money than they are comfortable with. We feel like all of the Evolve bundles that 2K announced just offer people choices, and having choices isn’t a bad thing.”
Turtle Rock. Your promise [Evolve forums]
