If you haven’t paid close attention to the just-in-service space in recent years, it’s been a bloodbath. It’s a feast-or-famine adventure, with developers either delivering serious crashes (see Helldiver 2) or drowning in turbulent waters, like the recently released, oft-derided Concord. For every successful game, there are 3 that do well and 5 that fail. Entering the field once is risky, but entering again after a failed first attempt? It was an act of bravery, and perhaps an act of financial masochism.
That’s the stance of Sharkmob, a studio founded by a number of industry professionals, including many of the big names behind The Division and Hitman series. A few years ago, the Swedish office presented Vampire the Masquerade to the world. An ambitious third-person battle royale game, the game’s heavy emphasis on verticality and a variety of unique vampire powers make it stand out from its peers. The game ceased development more than a year after its release. Now they’re back with Exoborne, a sci-fi extraction shooter that’s obviously ported over a lot of Bloodhunt, but also has some fresh ideas and a neat extreme weather component.
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At Gamescom this year, I watched a hands-off gameplay demo of Exoborne along with other members of the media. The game looked interesting enough and hit all the marks of a good retreat shooter. This weather system gives clever players the opportunity to move quickly around the map, as well as a powerful push to move away from a fixed playstyle. But as good as it looks, Bloodhound casts a growing shadow. That’s why I asked CMCO and Sharkmob’s Narrative Director Martin Hultberg what the team learned from their first attempt.
“Bloodhunt is a game that we all love, but as you said, it didn’t really work in the long run,” Hultberg said. “It’s a very competitive industry, and online gaming It’s definitely one of the more competitive areas. Knowledge…so we’re taking all that knowledge and applying it.
But really, it’s not just about the game, it’s about everything else that happens around it. I’m sure you can watch a lot of games and think about the challenges they face and so on. But for us, it’s a lot of lessons to learn. Love the community involvement and getting involved early! We are operating all of these tests so that we can respond as early as possible at a stage where we are already fully committed to development.
One of Bloodhunt’s biggest flaws is the rollout of content. Sharkmob was produced for several seasons at a time, but it left a lot of people underwhelmed in terms of new things players could play each month. So I asked about longevity and what plans are in place to ensure that Exoborne can keep players with Hultberg, and let us know what their plans are, and what changes Bloodhunt is trying.
“Those are one of the details that we’re not discussing right now, but this is a live game and there will be content drops after launch. We have a roadmap around this internally and we’re looking for ways to do that. That’s one of the lessons for Bloodhunt as well.” – How to plan content so that you have a sustainable rhythm for your time – not more important – but equally important is how to get content in the community and how to package updates about – how do we not rely on one time. Get content.
It is worth noting that one of the more significant changes in strategy this time is the shift towards high-end models. Bloodhunt is free to play, but the game hasn’t been as popular as hoped. Exoborne will be a premium game, sold for an upfront fee. There’s no discussion of what the price will be, but given Concord’s recent situation, there’s a real debate as to whether it’s a good move. Hotberg suggested several advantages of this approach.
“I’m going to make my point here – and other developers may have good arguments as well. There are a few reasons. One, what we found with Bloodhunt is that Bloodhunt is a free-to-play game. This allows you to ban Someone, they’re going to come back again and again, and if it’s premium, then you have to pay something to get it, so if we ban you, you’re going to lose a lot of scammers.
Hultberg continued, “Of course, the other reason is that in order to be able to sustain growth, you need cash flow. Free-to-play games are cool and great in many ways, but it’s hard to recoup the initial cost with this business model. That’s Why we’re going premium – ultimately it gives game developers money to create content, it helps with cheating, it’s also the space we’re most comfortable working with, and almost everyone in our studio comes from a premium gaming background. Free-to-play games require specific skills, and you have to develop that skill over time.
I did ask what the sweet spot would be for pricing this kind of game, especially when there are already alternatives to free-to-play games. Hultberg was tight-lipped but gave his answer.
“I hate to speculate on this, it’s not my strong suit. But you’re right, it’s something you need to consider because the competition is very fierce and there are a lot of really good free games out there, as well as charging standards Pricing or some mid-priced premium games, anyway, like you said, it’s about finding the sweet spot.
It will still be some time before “Exoborne” is suitable for ordinary players to play. It is currently in closed beta, and the Sharkmob team hopes that through these tests, the public product will attract a large number of eager players. Obviously, time will be the test of it, but it’s reassuring to hear that the lessons of the last attempt have been taken to heart. That’s all you can really do, isn’t it? In game development, in life. What a thoughtful way to end an article about a video game with an evil tornado!