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Honestly I think Fatshark is somewhat unique in their obstinance. Even bigger studios and much more high profile games (No Mans Sky, Cyberpunk, etc) have had a bit of humility and turned the shop around. Then again, thereās Diablo 4 or the Battlefield games to point fingers at as counter examples. So who knows.
With DARKTIDE it feels crazy because itās not like the game is all bad. In fact most of it is quite exceptional. But to then have this one system be so cataclysmically awful with relative easy fixes floating out there, for them to not clue in and fix it is just mystifying.
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I would say specific to Fatshark, but with a caveat: other companies usually ignore the players because theyāre giants who can ignore bad PR and still turn massive profits. Even then, they can be brought to heel by review bombing and sufficient nerd rage.
Fatshark is somewhat unique in that despite not having remotely the market or resources of a AAA company, theyāre certainly acting like one.
In previous months Iād have made a comparison to Creative Assembly with regards to mounting technical debt, a refusal to change or adapt, and increasingly consumer-hostile practices, but they had to eat humble pie last month with how badly their latest game flopped and their giant project got cancelled, and are flailing for supportā¦which honestly is the same kind of thing Iād like to see from Fatshark. CA straight up monetarily compensated everyone who bought Pharaoh Total Warā¦ would be nice to see a similar attitude of contrition from the Fatshark execs.
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yah, fomo tactics work best if they actually consistently give things people want. I donāt feel like Iām ever missing out on anything by not checking melk or the shop. Nothing but tier 2 and 3 crap for a month and a half.
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Iāve had a few conversation on the matter. My five cents:
FS have no competition. Sure, there are other games in the broad genre, but theyāre no ātideā games. Thereās no other game, at the moment and generally, which competes for the same space. FS kinda did their own thing, and are similar in that regard to a company like Creative Assembly and the Total War series.
Before I get into the similarities, though - the tl:dr: without competition, the creative process often becomes focused inward and monotonous, company mechanics end up impotent and convoluted. And, evidently with DT - you end up āmanufacturingā a game, instead of ādevelopingā one.
Now, for some pontifications:
Imagine a company that built their own niche through several titles, which then acquires the rights to a massive IP, continues to build on top of that and arrives at a point of great success. Now consider that companyās poor track record with customer-facing communication, reports of difficulty with internal tools and the engine their niche was built on, a continuous shift in focus towards monetization and GaaS, alongside a very large investor andā¦ yeah.
Naturally, CAās path need not be FSās, and yes yes, different companies with different scopes, products and cultureā¦ Of course. Nevertheless, it wouldnāt surprise me whatsoever if FSās future looks rather similar. And for those who didnāt catch any of CAās most recent history - thatās not a good thingā¦
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