Was Shroud's New Game Ready for Launch?

Trent Murray | Sep 4, 2024

It was a big moment for the new era of influencer-driven game development yesterday as Shroud-supported shooter Spectre Divide launched into a crowded tac-shooter market. While the game was able to reach a peak of over 30K players on day 1, the release also came with several emergency fixes.

Players immediately identified issues with matchmaking that ultimately required the game to be taken down to push a fix. While many games now launch with day 1 patches, this wasn't the last tweak Spectre Divide needed to make within its first 24 hours.

⚠️Store Pricing Reductions⚠️

🔸We've heard your feedback and we're making changes.
🔸Weapons & Outfits will be permanently decreasing in price by 17-25%.
🔸Players who purchased store items before the change will get a 30% SP refund.

See more here: https://t.co/kcDcN8T8Ax

— Spectre Divide (@SpectreDivide) September 4, 2024

The audience also noticed within the first few hours that the game's free-to-play business model seemed a bit overvalued. Players took to social media to complain about prices for weapons and cosmetics, ultimately leading Mountaintop to permanently reduce prices and issue a 30% refund on its in-game currency.

Related Article: Spectre Divide Launch Patch Notes: New Map, New Movement

The studio's explanation highlighted the risk that independent developers accept when lanching a free-to-play title. "Being a new, fully independent studio," Game Director "BopNSwap" wrote in the price change announcement post. "We took a swing that we thought would best set us up to support the game. Turns out we swung a bit high..."

The full price changes are as follows:

• Cryo Kinesis Masterpiece bundle with a Melee weapon 9000 SP -> 7000 SP
• Medusa Prestige bundle 4500 SP -> 3400 SP
• Eternal Guard Prestige Weapon Skins 1500 SP -> 1200 SP
• Mako Elite Weapon Skins 1000 SP -> 800 SP
• All Masterpiece character skins 1800 SP -> 1500 SP
• All Prestige character skins 1300 SP -> 1000 SP

While Shroud has not commented on these launch day challenges on social media, a Reddit post suggests that he defended the pricing during a livestream.

Spectre Divide is currently available on Steam with a total review rating of "Mixed". Many of the negative reviews naturally mention price issues, but it remains to be seen if these fixes are enough for gamers to revise their reviews.