Overkill has apologized for the influx of microtransactions in Payday 2.
NewsTo quote Ron Burgundy, "That escalated quickly." About a month ago, developer Overkill Software added a microtransaction system to its heist shooter, Payday 2. The Black Market Update added a string of safes to the game, which could only be opened by buying special drills, which cost $2.50 each.
Once opened, players would find a random weapon skin, which would give the player a stat boost once equipped, or alternatively, could be sold on for a bit of extra cash. It's fair to say that the fan response to this new addition wasn't exactly positive.
Within days, Payday 2's Steam page was awash with negative comments and grim reviews. The game's Reddit page was similarly mired in angry typings. Then Payday 2's moderators, fed up with the assorted negativity, threats and all-round bad ju-ju, decided to go on strike.
In an effort to quell the growing audience revolt, Overkill's responded with an open letter, apologizing for the addition of microtransactions.
"The past few weeks have been some of the most challenging in the history of this community," the studio wrote on the game's Steam page.. "Players have been angry with us, media have written about us en masse and our volunteer moderators went on strike.
"For all the distress we've caused the past few weeks, I'd just like to take the time and say that we're sorry. We've done a lot of things right in the past, but these past few weeks we screwed up. We need to get better at many things, and we will do our best to improve as soon as possible."
Overkill's now set to contact players and moderators to rebuild a few scorched bridges, though the studio hasn't yet committed to anything as radical as removing the microtransactions from the game altogether.
"We need to get better at many things," the update goes, "and we will do our best to improve as soon as possible."
More news on this as we get it. Until then, there's a lengthy video about the whole affair, courtesy of Overkill themselves, here.
