A longtime milsim FPS Squad player was caught off guard yesterday by developer Offworld Industries. announced (opens in new tab) The game, which once promised not to sell paid DLC, will actually start selling paid DLC in its next update. Offworld starts small with two packs of paid emotes to accompany his one set of free emotes that every player automatically receives.
“Emote is an animation that can be used to express yourself, interact with each other, celebrate an in-game situation, or brighten up some downtime. We hope that the positive aspects will be strengthened,” the announcement post said.
According to Offworld, the first batch of emotes is the beginning of a new form of support for Squad that is “exciting to try out”, but for some players Squad’s foray into microtransactions will be a betrayal. As a fan I am certainly surprised—I celebrated (opens in new tab) Offworld is determined to buy Squad multiple times as a one-time purchase on this website, but times are changing.
“If it’s a cash win, I’ve got $60 out of the game,” he said. FDM_01 (opens in new tab) The current top post on Squad’s official subreddit. “I will retire right next to BF2”
To its credit, Offworld directly addressed the unexpected policy change in communications, stating in uncertain terms that, contrary to old promises, the Squad needed new revenue streams to stay healthy. Is not.
Snake_peak_of_squads_future_cosmedic_update from r/joinsquad
“We understand that paid content in games can be controversial and Offworld’s previous leadership stated that paid DLC would never be added to Squad. We wanted to let you know about this change before the early release of v4.2.” The post reads.
I love playing squads and the devs need funds.
92nose on Reddit
“Looking to the future, we see a long and healthy life for Squad. Squad has a large and engaged player base. We have many more updates planned and will support the game beyond 2023. While many of these planned updates will be free, we also recognize that we need a way to continue to fund the development of Squads, and paid content like emotes will not be included in its development. It’s one of the ways we help fund and continue our work to improve the game.”
The Squad subreddit is buzzing with reactions to the emote announcement. Some are understandably pissed, as evidenced by his one top-voted post by users. Salicio (opens in new tab): “DO NOT BUY EMOTES!!!” Others have embraced Offworld’s reason for the policy change.
“I love playing Squad and the developers need funding,” wrote 92 nose (opens in new tab).
“I buy emotes because I want to support the developers. We are a small studio and have been releasing free updates for years with great new content. They deserve to make money for their efforts.” , it is not unethical to add purchases, it is purely cosmetic and does not affect gameplay.” jmac1066 (opens in new tab).
For some players, their beef lies not in the decision to have microtransactions but in the slippery slopes they could represent. Clean and realistic military aesthetics flashy soldier skin (opens in new tab)Santa hats, immersion-shattering media crossovers?
“Don’t forget the LED spinners on the wheels and neon purple tracers on the M2. At just $4.99 for 50 chevrons, it’s a first-time buyer deal,” commented. forever 1873 (opens in new tab).
it’s a trap from r/joinsquad
If it turns out to be a cash grab, I got $60 out of the game. I will retire right beside BF2.
FDM_01 on Reddit
There’s no immediate indication that Offworld wants or plans a full Fortnite, but I can’t help but share this particular irony. A military FPS that had the unified style of a terrorist operator descended into grotesque and sticky hell. rick and morty (opens in new tab), Nier Automata, and the recent WWE crossover skins. Years ago he wished he had sounded the alarm when Ubisoft handed his one operator a goofy pizza his helmet, but instead, it’s just a dumb skin I said to myself and bought it.
It’s true that since its early access release in 2015, Squad has stood out as a well-supported, zero-microtransaction FPS.In the last year alone, free updates have added new factions, weapons, maps and amphibious vehicles (opens in new tab)The only significant price increase occurred when it released from Early Access in 2020, going from $40 to $50. I can understand why the old model of Squad would become unsustainable. Milsim is inherently a niche genre, and at some point there will be a limit to the number of new users who want to purchase the game. In an environment of $30-$70 skin bundles on top of $10 battle passes, it’s impressive how a reasonably popular FPS like Squad has held up for so long.
With that said, there is one comment in the Offworld emote Q&A.
“Will you start charging for maps and factions in the future?
Our approach to the future of Squad is to make it as inclusive as possible. Creating maps and factions takes a lot of time and effort, but we hope the entire community enjoys the fruits of our labor. ”
That’s, uh, not exactly “no.”
