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topicnews · September 4, 2024

90 euros for a skin? New shooter Spectre Divide receives harsh criticism, developers backtrack

90 euros for a skin? New shooter Spectre Divide receives harsh criticism, developers backtrack


Spectre Divide polarizes on Steam release.
Spectre Divide polarizes on Steam release.

The comic-style 3v3 shooter was released on Steam on September 3rd and will compete with big names like Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant. Officially announced only recently, it only took a few weeks for the first players to get their hands on it for free. Now it’s slowly becoming clear how Spectre Divide is being received. Let’s put it this way: There is reason for discontent.

Good numbers, bad numbers

If you just look at the player numbers on Steam, you might think that the launch of the tactical shooter was a complete success. Spectre Divide reached its peak on the day of its release with almost 40,000 simultaneous playersThis is particularly impressive when you consider how little time there was between the announcement and the release.

The first trailer for the new shooter Spectre Divide attracted many players.
The first trailer for the new shooter Spectre Divide attracted many players.


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The first trailer for the new shooter Spectre Divide attracted many players.

However, if you take a look at the reviews, you get a different picture. At the time of writing, the Share of positive reviews on Steam at just 47 percent. And the reviews clearly show why this is the case.

  • Steam user semiloker writes: »I participated in the closed beta and since then only the following has changed: It takes >15 minutes to play a match with 30,000 [Spielern] online, and I haven’t found one yet […]and from day one, a skin costs $10 and the set costs $80! Update: I can’t even cancel the match search.«
  • Conair writes: “Charges more for skins than Valorant and is pretty disappointing. Played the beta and now I’m just dissatisfied with the full version. The game is just trying to make money off Shroud’s name.”

In addition to widespread teething issues such as long match-making times and bugs The pricing policy of the Free2Play title is causing discontentWith the launch of Spectre Divide, the in-game shop also went live, which is not unusual at first glance. However, the fact that the prices in it are so high was particularly unpopular with the community.

The developers react

If you want to buy weapon skins in the game, you pay for them with Spectre Points (SP). For 5 euros you get 500 SP. Some of the bundles in the game that contain multiple weapon skins cost up to 9000 SP on release day, so equivalent to 90 eurosEven for a free-to-play title that is financed through the sale of cosmetic items, these prices are unusually high.

The cryokinesis bundle originally cost 90 euros. Now
The cryokinesis bundle originally cost 90 euros. Now





The cryokinesis bundle originally cost 90 euros. Now “only” 70 euros.

The developers of Mountaintop Studios quickly responded to the backlash with a Announced price reduction of bundles of 17 to 25 percent.

In a post on Steam, they apologized and promised players who had already made purchases that they would receive a refund of 30 percent of the SP they spent. Even if you purchased the Founder’s Pack or the Supporter Pack of Spectre Divide on Steam, you will receive extra SP credited to your account as compensation.

In the comments under the post, however, many fans are still not satisfied. Some would like to be able to buy more individual weapon skins instead of having to pay such high prices for the whole package. Even after the discount, the “Cryokinesis Bundle,” for example, still costs 70 euros, which is the same price as a full-price game.

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