Scorn, an upcoming survival horror game inspired by the work of H.R. Giger has been delayed.
Scorn’s Kickstarter was updated yesterday with the revelation that it won’t be arriving till 2022. That news is, in itself, disappointing as we were suitably impressed/repulsed by Scorn’s trailer, calling it “The Squelchiest 14 Minutes You’ll Ever See”. But delays happen; Dying Light 2, Evil Dead the Game and more have been postponed till next year.
What stands out about this situation is the tone of developer Ebb Software’s announcement. It’s very, shall we say.. scornful and while the developer may have been under stress they don’t come off well. You can read the full announcement here, but the last paragraph states:
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“And for the end, a bit of friendly advice: If lack of communication is so bothersome just ask for a refund and be done with it. It’s just a game. You can play it when it’s out if you are still interested.”
Yes, gamers can be every bit as entitled as Game of Thrones fans (we should know) but venting like this was a bad idea. Why? Because a lot of people who’d backed Scorn on Kickstarter decided to take the developer up on their offer and request a refund (which the developer has apparently delivered).
Ebb did offer a apology, stating that “I know that we have failed in keeping our Kickstarter community updated over this past year.” However, this will have cost them a significant amount of goodwill and, depending upon how many refunds they ended up issuing, a chunk of cash.
Scorn should see the light of day in 2022, chest-bursting onto the PC and Xbox Series X. Hopefully it’ll be good enough to wipe away the memory of Ebb’s Very Bad Day™.