Emika Games has announced they are quitting games development, due to Summer of ’58 being heavily refunded and beaten in under two hours.
The developer had made horror walking simulator games; including Locked Up, Find Yourself, Summer of ’58, and the upcoming From Day to Day. Two of these titles are available for $6.99 USD or less, while Locked Up for $12.99 USD. Summer of ’58 is also 23% off (down to $6.92 USD) until September 4th.
However, Summer of ’58 was the last straw for Emika Games. Despite Very Positive user reviews on Steam (with 87% of 317 recommending the game), it seems the majority of players had bought the game, then returned it under Steam’s two hour return policy.
Out of the top 176 reviews ; 97 reviews are under 2 hours, while six are under one hour. Four of these are noted as having refunded the game, with only one not recommending the game.
As such, Emika Games have announced they will leave the industry for an indefinite time.
“Friends! Thank you for your support! I’m leaving game development for an indefinite time to collect my thoughts. The fact is that my game Summer of ’58 does not reach 2 hours of playing time by Steam standards, in this regard, a huge number of returns on the game, even with positive reviews, and I do not earn anything to create a new game. Thank you very much for supporting me. I am very glad that you like my games, but since I have no conditions to do something new, I have to do something else. I will immediately answer everyone who asks about From Day To Day, this game will not see the light of day in the near future.
See you later”
In the discussion of the news on the Steam forums, some have proposed that achievements that would trigger for completing the game should invalidate refunds. Others still called for the game to have more than two hours of content.
Should a game that is enjoyable in under two hours require different refund policies on Steam? Should a game with less than two hours of average playtime not be sold on Steam? Sound off in the comments below!