Home Gaming That Metro: Last Light DLC issue is all THQ’s fault

That Metro: Last Light DLC issue is all THQ’s fault

2 min read
47

MetroRangerMode

Metro: Last Light releases locally this Friday but it is already out in America and there is a mini Internet storm brewing over the fact that there is an inactive menu item in the game called Ranger Mode. To get this activated you had to pre-order the title or pay an extra $5.

Both of which I believe are scumbag moves. I have no problem with DLC being released after the game has been out for a while and we can then judge whether it is worth the cost or not. However to purposefully build something into the game and then not even attempt to hide it just doesn’t sit right with me.

Unsurprisingly a lot of people are angry but one enterprising reddit user decided to email the publishers, Deep Silver, and complain about it.

The response he got was a little surprising.

Thank you so much for writing to us. We appreciate you sharing your feedback and concerns regarding Metro: Last Light and the Ranger Mode DLC. We are aware that this is an issue for some members of the Metro community, and we respect how passionate that community can be.

We’d like to provide context for the circumstances surrounding this pre-order bonus. The decision to make Ranger Mode a special, downloadable item was never in Deep Silver’s hands. This was a choice that THQ, the previous publisher, made before it collapsed, and before we purchased the rights to publish Metro under the Deep Silver name.

By the time Metro: Last Light was in our hands, we were too far along its development cycle to change or reverse THQ’s plans, so we had to move forward with the Ranger Mode DLC. We simply had no other choice, even though we might have done things differently had Last Light been in our care during the entirety of its development.

We hope that you will still give Metro: Last Light a chance, even though you’re upset by these circumstances. We’re very proud of the hard work that developer 4A Games has put into Last Light, and we know that hardcore gamers will ultimately enjoy the dark world they’ve created — Ranger Mode and all.

Thank you again for your time, and for voicing your concerns to our team. We appreciate everything our community has to say, even critical feedback.

Cheers.

So there you go, Deep Silver are claiming that they actually had no choice as those decisions were made before THQ went belly up and by the time they received the title there simply wasn’t enough time to back out.

I would guess when they say that they are talking about commercial agreements as unlocking the DLC would be a simple job for the developers. However if THQ had signed contracts before hand then Deep Silver were likely bound to honour them.

But the question is… do you think Deep Silver are being honest here or simply throwing the rotting corpse of THQ under the bus to save themselves?

Are you going to buy Metro: Last Light this weekend even if you can’t play Ranger Mode?

Last Updated: May 15, 2013

47 Comments

  1. CODDAMIT

    May 15, 2013 at 07:56

    All games have some sort of DLC. Maps,guns,skins,etc. whatever it’s how the industry is being run. It wouldn’t be this way if people hardly ever bought DLC’s to begin with. But everytime COD or BF or any game poops out another DLC there are people who stand in line paying for the crap to fall on their faces.

    Reply

    • Rince da Ref Lvl2

      May 15, 2013 at 09:32

      I say nutting, NUTTING!

      Reply

      • Illuchne Mancera

        May 15, 2013 at 09:46

        It seems to be Upvote Rince day… you doing well lol

        Reply

      • CODDAMIT

        May 15, 2013 at 09:53

        But you want to? Dont let @Erwin_Kempff:disqus see this

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Combat Engineer

          May 15, 2013 at 10:00

          Saw it, hehehe

          Reply

          • CODDAMIT

            May 15, 2013 at 10:02

            Like a hawk you are.

        • Rince da Ref Lvl2

          May 15, 2013 at 10:06

          No, I think DLC is the future. It has actually even managed to make some buggy games, like Aliens: Colonial Marines, playable…

          Reply

        • Rince da Ref Lvl2

          May 15, 2013 at 10:06

          No, I think DLC is the future. It has actually even managed to make some buggy games, like Aliens: Colonial Marines, playable…

          Reply

          • Illuchne Mancera

            May 15, 2013 at 10:15

            And if they keep the price below what you pay for an Expansion bought in store… then it’s even better

          • CODDAMIT

            May 15, 2013 at 12:47

            Nice save but for the … on the end. I’m more lenient than @Erwin_Kempff:disqus LOL

      • Admiral Chief Combat Engineer

        May 15, 2013 at 10:01

        Riiiiight

        Reply

      • Admiral Chief Combat Engineer

        May 15, 2013 at 10:01

        Are you calling DLC nuts?

        Reply

        • Rince da Ref Lvl2

          May 15, 2013 at 10:05

          Me? No, I loved the DLC for Borderlands 2, ME3 etc. I just happened to be eating a Cadburys raisin and nut chocolate bar and wanted to sat nuts…

          Reply

        • Rince da Ref Lvl2

          May 15, 2013 at 10:05

          Me? No, I loved the DLC for Borderlands 2, ME3 etc. I just happened to be eating a Cadburys raisin and nut chocolate bar and wanted to sat nuts…

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief Combat Engineer

            May 15, 2013 at 10:48

            😉

  2. Brady miaau

    May 15, 2013 at 08:05

    Well, when someone leaves a company then sometimes that person gets blamed for things that go wrong after they left. Justly or unjustly.

    This is just an extension of that priniciple

    Reply

  3. Tasty peas mixed with porridge

    May 15, 2013 at 08:31

    NO SALE!

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Combat Engineer

      May 15, 2013 at 08:50

      heh, I like your name!
      (oh-veeee-geeee)

      Reply

  4. Luke Lange

    May 15, 2013 at 08:36

    I hate this DLC crap, back in the day you used to download a patch to get a few extra features and fixes for free. Then you used to get expansions which really extended the game and added many more features. All publishers are losing the plot, they churn out crap games with some planned DLC’s to try and keep the gamers happy.

    Only DLC’s i have really ever looked at were the Mass Effect ones. At least they added to the story.

    Reply

  5. Tbone187

    May 15, 2013 at 08:43

    I think it’s a load of croc…Surely dlc content can be made easily available if they saw fit…they passing the buck…

    Reply

  6. Admiral Chief Combat Engineer

    May 15, 2013 at 08:50

    Wow, that is a terrible image 🙁

    Reply

  7. Lardus

    May 15, 2013 at 09:17

    I don’t mind DLC (loved ME1-3 DLC), but day 1 DLC sucks. A pre-order bonus should be a bonus, and later on (3 months or so) become free to all. But paid for day 1 DLC (like From Ashes) is just a cheap cash-in by money hungry executives.

    Reply

  8. Rince da Ref Lvl2

    May 15, 2013 at 09:31

    Mmm, so they were unable to remove a sentence of code? Erm, even I could do that. heck, given the chance, and the opportunity, I would try and upgrade the internet. This is that story (dong dong, like Law and Order)

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Combat Engineer

      May 15, 2013 at 11:48

      *ahem*

      I see what you are trying to do there…

      Reply

      • Rince an repeat

        May 15, 2013 at 11:56

        Wot, me?

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Combat Engineer

          May 15, 2013 at 12:07

          Yes yousa!

          Reply

  9. Slade Boender

    May 15, 2013 at 09:39

    I smell something dodgy in all honesty. If bound by contract, I cant see deep silver would need to honour it as the original named contractor had liquidated then said contract would be rendered null and void. Im no lawyer so I cant really speculate to a relevant degree, but outing THQ is an easy way out (which is just conveniently so applicable right now) just seems like a shoddy move.

    Didnt think we’d ever need to deal with a he said she said corporate attitude in gaming but I guess my furry fluffy notions of the industry is all but dead.

    Reply

  10. Ben Louw

    May 15, 2013 at 09:46

    Fan-funding sites like Kickstarter and Pledgemusic is the future. Remove money grabbing publishers completely. Then you’re guaranteed quality or else they’ll suffer next time around.

    Good for games (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fine-adventure)
    Good for movies (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/624061548/the-goon-movie-lets-kickstart-this-sucker)
    and good for music (http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/gingerwildheart)

    Only problem is you’re gonna need a fan base or a well planned promo campaign.

    Reply

    • Ben Louw

      May 15, 2013 at 09:47

      More money to the developers and less money out of our pockets.

      Reply

  11. Johan du Preez

    May 15, 2013 at 09:47

    Are you telling me that their developers doesn’t know how to remove a menu item ? Simple why not give the DLC for free. THQ developed the game but they have no hand in your billing model Deep Silver.

    First time I hear of this company and from what I see they wont be getting my money for this for any future game. The only reason this is a good game is because of THQ and I will pirate it to play it, but this cheap cash DLC’s in is not on ….

    Reply

  12. ...

    May 15, 2013 at 12:52

    Punishing players who didn’t pre-order the game by charging them extra after paying full price for the hard mode (the way the game was meant to be played!) is inexcusable… As much as I (and many others) liked the first, and looked forward to this; I hope no one buys into this until the DLC is available for free… till then pirate this shit!

    Reply

  13. loftie

    May 17, 2013 at 08:32

    pre-ordered my copy of metro last light from takealot on the 15th, it arrived yesterday (16th). Started install, entered steam activation code from booklet in disc case, message popped that I am not allowed to install yet because the game has not been officially released yet. LOLOLOL So I can only install tonight, weird having a game in your hand but it wont allow you to install until launch day.

    Reply

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