Dear Backers,
Following yesterday's update and information about our own launcher, we received numerous questions and want to address the key points.
Initial Decision for Steam/Epic Launch
From the beginning\xa0 of creating Never Ending Dungeon, we have considered creating our own launcher. As a team, we have weighed the numerous advantages and disadvantages of this approach, but we chose to go with Steam instead, as we know it’s a trusted and respected platform among many of you.
The decision to initially launch on Steam/Epic was made when it was technically simpler and easier to implement subscription payments. However, Epic does not support subscriptions at all, and Steam treats them as micropayments rather than product/DLC purchases. This has caused more implementation issues than if we had used our own launcher, resulting in significant delays. Although we felt community pressure to be on Steam, after an average Early Access release, we decided to make the best decisions for Never Ending Dungeon.
Our Own Launcher - Xsolla Platform
We have chosen the reliable and well-established\xa0Xsolla\xa0platform to build our launcher. Integration with Xsolla is quick (taking just a few days) and offers us secure updates and payment processing.
The custom launcher will allow us to further reduce subscription prices for new users. New users will be able to make the purchase both in our launcher (where the entire payment is handled by Xsolla) or log in with your Patreon account, where you can activate subscription.
What This Means for Our Backers
All our backers will receive keys to our new launcher.\xa0Please note that the Steam version will no longer receive updates.
Subscription Based Product and Own Launcher
The primary issue with Steam or EPIC Store lies in the non-standard nature of our subscription product, which caused problems with both the product's release and its presence in the store. In brief, due to NDA restrictions, we can only say that being on Steam has not provided any promotional benefits, making it nonviable for NED's future from a business perspective.
Additionally, as you may have noticed on the Never Ending Dungeon Steam page, NED was marked as "Free to Play." We acknowledge that this was misleading, with the subscription options being hidden within the app. Sadly, we don’t have any options to make the NED page clearer in this regard.
Communication and Early Access Feedback
We aim to have better control over communication, as we released NED purely in Early Access with the clear message that those expecting a final product should wait. Despite detailing the current state of the product in the Early Access note on Steam, it seems this information was largely overlooked. While negative feedback is important to us and is being implemented (as you can see in the\xa0previous update), much of it centered on the Early Access product being in an early stage of development.
Ongoing Development and Support
Never Ending Dungeon is a demanding product with extensive features and technology, and we still need time to refine it. We appreciate the support from those who believe in us and invite everyone to check it out as we approach the final version.
If you want to talk with us,\xa0please visit our Discord.
Cheers,
Never Ending Dungeon Team
