Earlier this month, GamerHeadlines reported on controversy surrounding the World War II combat flight simulator video game, Il-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, and Metacritic. In which, according to a post by a community manager on IL-2 Sturmovik‘s official forums, the developers of Il-2 Sturmovik, 1C Game Studios, implied they would permanently shut down the latest entry into the series, Battle of Stalingrad, if its score on Metacritic did not increase.
Essentially, the Moscow-based Russian game development company wanted players of the game to boost IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad‘s Metacritic user review score in order to counteract the large number of negative user reviews. The developers said that the negative user reviews on their Il-2 Sturmovik’s Metacritic “had a direct, vivid, and purposeful intention to finish the very existence of the IL-2 brand.”
Interestingly, the game’s Metacritic page was taken down for a period of time after GamerHeadlines reported on it, most likely due e-mails sent to Metacritic regarding the situation.
The following is a comment by a GH reader on the original article:
“E-mailed Metacritic, and actually got a response, and action taken…the page is now down, and new votes can be added at release.”
Il-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad‘s Metacritic page is now back up. with an average user score of 6.7 at the time of this writing.
Il-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad Unprofessional Conduct
Moving on, following GamerHeadlines’ previous article on the subject, an individual sent GH editors a tip containing a chain of e-mails between Jason Williams, the executive producer for 777 Studios (a game development studio who worked with 1C Game Studios/Company to develop Battle of Stalingrad) and the game’s testers, which revealed alarming instances of blackmail, retroactive bribery, unprofessional conduct, et cetera,
The following comes from the tipster’s e-mail:
There are several critical moments that changed the momentum and direction of this game (Il-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad) from “steadily climbing” to “screaming nose-dive.”
The main one was the absurd single-player unlock system, where to use what you’ve purchased, you are forced to slog through an abysmal campaign.
The testers that took it upon themselves to create engaging missions on a multiplayer server voiced their opinions and concerns about how bad the single-player unlocks were for the game after the changes ruined the multiplayer missions as no one could select them without the pre-requisite of 40 hours of offline monotony.
Instead of being treated as valued customers, let alone dedicated testers who have great wisdom regarding the current state of the game, they were told to cease and desist – Past gifts given were held over their heads like some sort of retroactive bribery. When they refused to be silenced, not only was their funding removed, but their ability to host even a self-paid dedicated server was revoked.
This gutted the online multiplayer overnight.
See attached email chain between Jason Williams (777 Executive Producer) and the testers.
The image below is a screen capture of the aforementioned e-mail chain:
View the e-mail in its entirety (and at a larger size/higher quality) here.
The following are snippets of statements made by both Jason Williams and Il-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad’s testers in the email (interesting, relevant passages have been bold-faced).
Williams, in regards to testers expressing their dislike of Il-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad’s unlock system:
“…you are insiders, not average Joe customers. You have special privileges, and because you are special, I should be able to trust you – but railing against this system now, whenever every other jerk his rearing his ugly head, instead of coming to me first…doesn’t make me want to trust you guys with sensitive info or access any longer. If you want to continue working with me and the free server I am providing for you. I need you guys to have a little more discretion…”
A game tester replied to the above with:
“Its failure is at the feet of the devs, not mine. I can’t in good conscience pretend that this aspect of the game (unlock system) isn’t a death blow…You have been getting much more from us than we have from you…with that I’m severing this relationship.”
Williams’ subsequent response:
“Oh, I think you’ve gotten plenty out of knowing and working with me. A couple of computer monitors, a free trip to the Hornet, a throttle, free lunches, loaned you an Oculus Rift for an extended period of time, lots of privileged insider information, better access to the game…to name a few. All I ask is for a little professional discretion from a supposed friend while I try to navigate this shitstorm…”
Another reply from a different game tester:
“…the opinions expressed on the forums are of our own as players and customers, under no known or implied sponsorship or endorsement of you or 777/1CG…I’m under the impression you’re telling me not to express my opinion or provide feedback based on my dislike for the unlock system. I simply cannot abide by that.”
Williams’ final response:
It’s best we part ways on this server. If I can’t have people working with me on special projects with special access exercise some discretion…I don’t need that. I need comrades, not customers.”
The email chain ends with the following:
“You keep stating, ‘I never said you had to be silent with any displeasure,’ yet here you are emailing us ultimatums, and throwing our work away. Bad form. Good luck in your future endeavors.”
What are your thoughts on these particular developments regarding Il-2 Sturmovik: Batlle of Stalingrad? What did you think of 777 Studios president Jason Williams’ declarations? Were they unethical, questionable, or objectionable in any form or fashion? Does it call the game developer’s integrity into question? Why or why not?
Let us know in the comments section below! As always, stay tuned to GamerHeadlines.com for the latest in video game and technology news.
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