Turtle Rock Studios co-founders Chris Ashton and Phil Robb have posted a rather frank message regarding the reception, and future, of Evolve on PC.
“When people first started playing Evolve at those and other conferences, it was magical,” they posted, “Sure, there was the AAA videogame hype surrounding our title. Yeah, we also had the flashy displays, the giant Goliath statue, and all the other things AAA games do to get people excited. And that stuff was cool. Really cool. But, what we lived for — what was cooler by far — was just seeing people play Evolve for the first time. We worked on it for years and then, suddenly, people got to experience our game, controller in-hand. There was genuine excitement — real joy — when people played. It was like nothing they’d ever played before and watching it happen was like no high we ever felt.”
“Then, when Evolve launched, the reception wasn’t what we expected,” they add. “Sure, there were some good reviews. There were also bad reviews. Yes, there was excitement. There was also disappointment – for players and for us. The DLC sh*tstorm hit full force and washed away people’s enthusiasm, dragging us further and further from that first magical pick-up-and-play experience.”
To remedy the situation, Evolve is free as a beta on PC as of today. The game is going to be reworked with many new improvements and fixes and anyone who purchased Evolve will be given “Founder” status in the new free version. “There is no monetization in the game” state Turtle Rock, and all the hundreds of dollars worth of DLC will not be free, but we presume there will eventually be some sort of in-game store.
This is the latest twist in the story of Evolve, which was originally signed to THQ before being picked up by 2K. The alpha and betas did not going too well, and when the game arrived it came with packs of day one DLC that cost more than the game itself. Evolve is also one of the few chart topping games that sold more copies on Xbox One than on PS4 during the first week of release.
UPDATE: The statement above is from the Turtle Rock website, however the Evolve website – which is run by 2K – has a countdown that expires in six hours. Turtle Rock have tweeted that the console versions of the game will also be going free-to-play at some point
Once we get through the Beta period on PC we'll be launching on all Platforms for free.
— Evolve (@EvolveGame) July 7, 2016
Source: TurtleRock
Dazbobaby
with a high of 171 and a low of 46 players in the past month, this game is already dead. FTP probably won’t save it.
http://steamcharts.com/app/273350
MrYd
Those numbers explain it all. A peak of over 27,000 in the first month, then 20,000 disappeared next month? Dropped from an average of 9,000 the first month to 1/6th of that 2 months later, and then just over 100 now?
F2P isn’t going to help much at all, is it? Bit late to realise the DLC situation was ridiculous now.
Also, the game was shit too, wasn’t it? (Based on the beta being terrible and completely ignoring it ever since)
Tuffcub
The Beta was indeed terrible, but we gave the finished game 7/10, so certainly worth a visit now it is free.
gazzagb
Steam’s refund policy probably contributed a lot towards that 20k that didn’t return.
It’s amazing it’s taken them this long to realise their mistake.
Amphlett
With 46 players last month (a whole month!), does anyone really care about this game or their free-to-play model?
Dazbobaby
I’ve got a few friends (PSN) who LOVE this game, but hate the way the whole DLC and patching was handled.
Youles
Not that it’s nice to see anything fail, particularly a new IP, but I’m almost glad that someone has shot themselves in the foot with this DLC model. DLC started off as adding additional bits, and now it’s been reduced to pre-order incentives, cosmetic items, game modes, and content that looks like it’s been deliberately cut from the original game – especially if it’s ridiculously expensive day one DLC!!!
Tuffcub
I think many a publisher saw just how badly the Evolve DLC plan was received and changed their DLC plans.
Youles
I hope so, it was quite ridiculous and damaging.
bunimomike
…and there’s the upside, TC. Someone has to make that first mistake. That cataclysmic mistake that the industry learns from. Sadly, for Turtle Rock, it was their mistake.
Going forward, the industry will be better for it… I hope!
Tuffcub
Actually it appears it was more like 2K’s mistake, Turtle Rock seemed rather against the stupid DLC plans.
bunimomike
Ah, my apologies. Still… lessons to be learned from this. Such a shame that 2K’s decision effectively damns Turtle Rock. :(
gazzagb
But the question is Mike, why has it taken 2K / Turtle Rock nearly a year and a half to learn from their mistake? If it was obvious for every other publisher and gamer, why were they blind to it?
The Lone Steven
Because erm…
“Feck you, give us your cash!” was on their minds? Or erm…
they refused to erm… er….
I don’t know. It’s like asking why Dr Jan Itor had a squirrel army or why some things on TV exist.
The Lone Steven
Or maybe, it’s because the game is kinda shit and was released at a poor time. The DLC wa the nail in the coffin. Here is a tip: Release a game that has a lot of content, no colours as DLC and when you do DLC, have it mean something.
Or go the Digitial Homicide route and sue the critics.
cam_manutd
There is a YouTube video showing the progressive evolve hype. Hell it won game of the E3 2014 show. It’s an interesting premise but looks short in content. I’ll give it a go now it is free.
Crazy_Del
The DLC was ridiculous with that game. I knew it was lacking content! Feel sorry for those who paid the season pass which probably was around £40 mark or even £30 on launch (I could be wrong) then I heard about the Division where the modes were free from time to time until the paid season pass was just colours and skins. Won’t be long till Street Fight will be F2P due to lack of content from launch
JoeBoi
Although the beta was awful. Gotta be worth a punt now its free.
Shame Turtlebeach haven’t made L4D3 yet.
JoeBoi
Or Turtle Rock lol.
Nate
As much as I wanted to love Evolve, it just wasn’t particularly fun. Hunting the monster all too often devolved into chasing after a marker in the distance and ignoring everything else around you. The combat was hard to explain but something just felt off, and even dull at times. It was never as exciting as you wanted it to be.
Starman
I actually liked this and only sold it due to the lack of players. F2P could give it the boost it needs. They should’ve released it as f2p originally, with the lack of content it suited that model, much like Overwatch does, or should have.