Temtem Devs In Hot Water Over Passive Aggressive Response To Dye Cost Complaints
Shots have been fired over at the Temtem Discord over its new monetization model. When the monster-taming MMORPG officially transitioned from early access to full release earlier this month, Crema Games introduced both free and premium battle pass tracks as well as two types of premium currency that can be used to buy a rotating set of cosmetics from the cash shop.
Unfortunately, some players didn’t take too well to both the battle pass and microtransactions since they already paid for the game in the first place, several of whom resorted to quitting and even review-bombing the game.
Community Manager Tsukki promptly released a statement on Discord saying that, “We want to clarify that this wasn’t a sudden decision made to trample new players, and that it has always been in our plans and communicated properly. It was officially talked about as early as 2020, and had been mentioned in passing before that.”
“Our intention has always been to avoid p2w, and to make any premium item as optional as possible. Anything and everything paid in Temtem is cosmetic only,” the community manager continued. “We have made it so purchasing one battle pass will give you enough currency to purchase the next one for free, and that’s an endless loop of battle passes. We have always tried to make it as optional and little invasive as possible, and we offer it as an extra way to support us further if you really like the game.”
“Our intention with monetization is not to be greedy, but rather ensure Temtem has a long life and is well-sustained. If you don’t want to buy the battle pass, or Temtem, or support Crema anymore, we’ll respect that. But we’d like to ask you to please not harass or attack our team, or the rest of the community over this. At the end of the day, we’ve tried to make a great monster-taming online adventure, and we’d like for it to be evaluated on its ability to deliver that,” Tsukki concluded.
More recently, the dev team is once again under fire over the price of cash shop dyes, which has again divided the MMO’s community. Some suggested buying other items while others advised to players to simply not buy anything and wait for the next rotation. As you’d expect, there are also those who are calling to stop supporting Crema and the game in any way and those who believe that purchasing the game is support enough.
The situation was further aggravated by Game Director Guillermo Andrades’ passive-aggressive response to the issue. “I prefer to not [dyes again] in the cash shop than to make them cheaper, if that answers your doubts,” he posted on Discord. “With the game purchase you have already supported us enough. If you don’t like any items or you think everything is overpriced then don’t support us XD.”
Either way, the debate on whether microtransactions are necessary in buy-to-play games has been a hot topic for years now and will undoubtedly remain one for years to come.
