Payday 2’s Crimefest update implemented microtransactions and dramatically altered the game’s reception on Steam. Previously, the development team made assurances that microtranactions wouldn’t appear in Payday 2, and it seems they have had a change of heart. This has caused outrage throughout the incredibly passionate Payday 2 community and resulted in a fractured user-base. The game’s producer tried to alleviate people’s concerns during an AMA on Reddit. However, he spoke quite disparagingly about the game’s incensed fanbase and said:
“We understand that there is a lot of fury, anger and disappointment with us adding this. From an economical standpoint however, completely based on statistics, we can already see that the Black Market update is working as we intended. Going forward, we hope we can convince the parts of the community that resist this change that this was the right decision to do to ensure the stability of OVERKILL as an independent developer and the future growth of PAYDAY 2.”
This is a diplomatic way of saying the update has been a financial success and they’re not overly concerned with the negative reception. Therefore, this is quite an eye-opening response and bound to upset many of the game’s community. On another note, the developer has to be extraordinarily careful to look at the long-term perspective. If they annoy the player base too much, they will leave and result in a dwindling online community. Only time will tell how this pans out, but the developer’s current attitude is far from ideal.
