Publisher of Manor Lords: not all games need to be live service games
The CEO of the publishing house Hooded Horse, Tim Bender, does not agree that Manor Lords has fallen into the "early access trap." Previously, such an opinion was expressed by the head of Hinterland Studio, Raphael van Lierop, who pointed to the infrequent release of updates and a decline in the game's online presence. According to Bender, none of this is an issue for Manor Lords.
Manor Lords
"Manor Lords sold 250,000 copies last month — and this is after selling over 2 million copies in the first three weeks. It has a 'very positive rating' based on 88% approval ratings, and the median playtime is 8 hours and 48 minutes per person (which is very long for any game, especially a recently released one). Players are happy, the developer is happy, and we as the publisher are thrilled," wrote Bender on LinkedIn.
Bender believes that the idea of "endless growth" in metrics only harms the gaming industry. Not all games are suited for a service model where new content is released as often as possible. Working on games shouldn't turn into "a treadmill developers are forced to run on until their mental or physical health breaks." Before the release of Manor Lords, Bender warned its creator, Greg Styczeń, that he would hear a lot of criticism for releasing the game in early access format. Allegedly, it might lose a lot and not perform well upon full release. The head of Hooded Horse advised the developer to ignore such statements and focus on his creative vision for the game.
