Game News Unforetold: Witchstone cancelled

[Infinitron]

Tags: Spearhead Games; Unforetold: Witchstone

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1064120/view/4161959930707614811

An Important Message From Spearhead Games

It is with great sadness that we address you today regarding difficult decisions that we had to make concerning Unforetold: Witchstone. The past few weeks have been challenging, as the combined impact of financial prospects that did not materialize have put us in a difficult position.

Hence after careful consideration, we have come to the regrettable conclusion that we must stop further production on Unforetold:Witchstone indefinitely as of March 8th 2024, after the release of Hotfix #7.

It further saddens us that due to these financial circumstances, we have had to make the tough decision to lay off the majority of our team. These developers created worlds unseen from nothing but with sheer will and collective imagination – a testament to the heart and soul poured into this studio. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to them for their passion and hard work.

We also want to assure you that we are doing everything in our power to support everyone affected. We have hired companies to help with personalized career coaching, emotional support, networking, and job placement assistance.

We call on the games industry in Montreal and around: if you have space, give our incredibly talented people a chance and you will be amazed.

As we move forward, we ask for your understanding and patience as we navigate through this transition period and find ways to rebuild again. We will do our best to keep you updated on any developments. As such, our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts will remain as is. However, the Discord server will be shutting down as of March 8th 2024.

And finally, to our phenomenal team, our passionate players, and every single person who found a home in the universes we created in the last 12 years — a heartfelt thank you. So long, until we meet again.

- Atul Mehra and Malik Boukhira, co-founders​

 

[Shaki]

Haha, early access buying retards, get scammed

 

[The Wall]

Game Devs' biggest bottleneck 20 years ago and today: project and financial management

 

[jaekl]

No big loss, it was yet another purple game which are universally terrible.

 

[Zeriel]

Game Devs' biggest bottleneck 20 years ago and today: project and financial management

In other words, themselves.

 

[AndrewCC]

Just now realised, they were the devs behind Stories: Path of Destinies and Omensight. Sad to see them go, but I think this game was a bit more of a bite than they could chew.

 

[Dishonoredbr]

Shit is rough.

 

[Kamaz]

Interesting. I saw some gameplay and thought it was pretty neat with this dialogue / interaction system at times. And I was a bit curious about the world, setting. But it has very few reviews (just 69!) so the sales have def. been not satisfactory unless team is 1-2 individuals with 2nd job.

 

[The_Sloth_Sleeps]

Well this was unforetold.

 

[lvl 2 Blue Slime]

Ugly, soulless cartoony graphics.

 

[Tyranicon]

Like I said in the other thread, they need to either remove the game or put it on a permanent discount as a curio.

Announcing you're closing down and the game will never be finished is sad and regrettable. Leaving it in EA forever at full price is just bottom feeding behavior.

 

[Shaki]

Like I said in the other thread, they need to either remove the game or put it on a permanent discount as a curio.

Announcing you're closing down and the game will never be finished is sad and regrettable. Leaving it in EA forever at full price is just bottom feeding behavior.

They did on on purpose, and they're not taking it down lol. They literally released early access a month ago, you're thinking they didn't know they're going down? They basically scammed idiots who buy early access, sold them 20% of a game for a full price, knowing very well it's never going to be finished, to squeeze some money out of them before closing the door.

 

[Mortmal]

Ugly, soulless cartoony graphics.

Same here, stopped at that point too already. World of Warcraft-like graphic style, and then you look at the character creation screenshot, it looks very basic with only 4 classes, pretty much reminding me of Solasta's interface. It oozes generic stuff, and it's likely to have those "kill x rats" quests without even starting it. Then, the cherry on the cake: it's early access. Unless there are massive sales, it's bound to be abandoned. And even if they do sell, most of the time updates come at a glacial pace like Valheim.

 

[tritosine2k]

They missed the golden soulslop opportunity ™

Where you cajole consoomers with unprecedented verticality and tactical arpg comboot

 

[Tyranicon]

Like I said in the other thread, they need to either remove the game or put it on a permanent discount as a curio.

Announcing you're closing down and the game will never be finished is sad and regrettable. Leaving it in EA forever at full price is just bottom feeding behavior.

They did on on purpose, and they're not taking it down lol. They literally released early access a month ago, you're thinking they didn't know they're going down? They basically scammed idiots who buy early access, sold them 20% of a game for a full price, knowing very well it's never going to be finished, to squeeze some money out of them before closing the door.

Early Access is not supposed to be crowdfunding, Steam itself strongly states that EA should not be used to solely fund development. That's what kickstarter is for.

Developers who launch into EA should already have the funds and intention to fully complete the game.

Of course, in practice it's a cluster fuck, but even for EA, abandoning a game less than two months later is lol territory.

These guys really should've just had a kickstarter and used the EA content as a demo.

 

[lukaszek]

Developers who launch into EA should already have the funds and intention to fully complete the game.

wasnt following, but if

They literally released early access a month ago

wouldnt steam withold&return that money?

 

[Tyranicon]

Developers who launch into EA should already have the funds and intention to fully complete the game.

wasnt following, but if

They literally released early access a month ago

wouldnt steam withold&return that money?

Unlikely. Steam rarely interferes outside of really extreme cases such like The Day After or whatever that shit was called. It is more likely that this game will get delisted since it's no longer in active development, it's devs have openly stated as such, and it's incomplete.

 

[lukaszek]

Steam rarely interferes outside of really extreme cases such like The Day After or whatever that shit was called

ahh, its the only case i knew and made an assumption that it is a norm

 

[HumanMech]

Ed Cuckwood is that expensive, eh?

 

[La vie sexuelle]

First, they posted a few screenshots for a few years, then they remained silent, finally they pop up with new gameplay and a promise that everything is getting better, and finally, just three months later, the project ends.

I'm not surprised though. Even the announcement of a fully interactive RPG from such a small studio sounded like an impossible goal. No one who can see the basic interconnections in life would dare to do something like this. Developers were probably people who were told from childhood that passion and a big heart will take you wherever you want. Well, no.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

Also from them:

Follow-up related to our recent statement

In light of our recent announcement, we've noted significant concerns regarding the Steam price tag, refunds, etc., and we want to acknowledge that our initial communication could have been more transparent. This oversight is something we fully take responsibility for.

To address the concerns raised, our team is actively in communication with Steam to gather all necessary information regarding pricing and refund policies. We are still awaiting some details, but rest assured, as soon as we have comprehensive information and receive approval to communicate it, we will promptly share everything with all of you.

Thank you for your understanding as we work through these challenges together.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

I'm sorry for posting udner post, but I must - quote from newest Greenwood book, "Death Masks":

The night was darker than a blind woman's womb.

What possible treasures late Witchstone had for us?

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

Like I said in the other thread, they need to either remove the game or put it on a permanent discount as a curio.

Announcing you're closing down and the game will never be finished is sad and regrettable. Leaving it in EA forever at full price is just bottom feeding behavior.

They did on on purpose, and they're not taking it down lol. They literally released early access a month ago, you're thinking they didn't know they're going down? They basically scammed idiots who buy early access, sold them 20% of a game for a full price, knowing very well it's never going to be finished, to squeeze some money out of them before closing the door.

I'll agree when their announcement about talking to steam on refunds etc. will end up in nothing. If they decide to lower the price and partially refund it to buyers then it was just them measuring the sales ceiling.

 

[Sòren]

Thank you for your understanding as we work through these challenges together.

release a game into EA knowing fully well the next month will be your last

oh sry dearest customer, but i am sure we will manage this - together!

 

[jdinatale]

Press f to spit on it's grave!