How does Hammerpoint, the studio behind The War Z, respond to claims of sketchy business practices ? Apparently, with more sketchy business practices.
The game’s executive producer Sergey Titov has issued a somewhat backhanded apology saying “It was clear that there were a number of customers that felt that information about the game was presented in a way that could have allowed for multiple interpretations… We also want to extend our apologies to all players who misread information about game features.”
Now, backhanded apologies are nothing new in the gaming industry. Developers often feel the need to save face after situations like this, and Hammerpoint has adjusted the game’s Steam page to more accurately represent the title’s features, though just barely. They’ve also increased the game’s server limit from 50 to 100, which is what was originally advertised.
But Hammerpoint did not stop there. Some customers are alleging that anyone who voices a complaint about the game is being banned from the Steam forums. A Hammerpoint moderator has posted a list of additional rules and guidelines for The War Z forum discussion. These guidelines list the following limits: refund requests, moderator behavior, mention of in-game cheaters, or revealing that you’ve stopped playing the game. This doesn’t fly with Valve who is currently examining claims of unfair censorship.
Source: Destructoid