Studio Announcement

[Chesmu 218]

On 1/29/2021 at 4:34 PM, Andz said:

There is one crucial thing everyone needs to understand: A company that has reached a certian size is not longer working to satisfy the customers, it is working to satisfy the shareholders/managment.

If you sell a share of your company to a bigger company that operates under the assumption that eternal growth is possible and fastest growth is the best, you will suffer sooner or later.

I mean just look at Kerbal Space Program 2. Look at World of Warcraft. Look at Prison Archtiect. It's the same thing repeating over and over. I really don't get it how people are making the same mistakes over and over again.  Heck, look at Whatsapp. All of them were assured "creative control". But that is not how the market is operating.

I mean I don't have a family so it's a different standpoint here, but if I were to choose to risk my integrity for a paycheck I would immediately rather burn it to the ground. Yeah sure, everything is fresh now and everybody is excited, so no changes will happen in the near future. It is a creeping change, as always, it will come slowly in small increments, but it will come.

tldr:

"Do not give any power to a good goverment that you would not give to a bad government."

 

Your loyal fans rate this decision overwhelmingly negative. Your asset analysis was wrong, it is not employers, they can be changed, it is not money, it comes and goes, it is your fans because they stay.

 

 

 

I started reading this, thinking wow there are some good points here, then suddenly a quote with two "Government" words in it slapped me in the face!

Their loyal fans rate isn't "overwhelmingly negative", since their rating for games is still the same at Steam, those are some of the oldest reviews there and therefore belong to someone who owns and plays the game since the start; if anything was changed about that, we could see the impact.

I don't like calling myself "fan", but I think what you mean by being a loyal one is playing the game a lot, in that case you didn't guess my rating right, so maybe not generalize.

People play games to have fun, or have fun While supporting the developers, it's never without the fun unless you don't earn your money yourself; Fans also come and go because they depend on the quality and fun degree of the game! if the game is fun, soon there will be new fans/customers for it; Considering everyone has different opinion of fun, the game will always have its customers, unless it contains a game-breaking bug.

Bundling up: When the time comes and you see Klei doing what you say they will, we will mourn together, so let's not generalize, dramatize, or misjudge for nothing.

Edited January 31 by Chesmu

[. . . 4075]

7 hours ago, Zagreus said:

can we get our first chinese character

i will forgive tencent if they give cute chinese herbalist vegetarian waifu character

[minespatch 87037]

4 hours ago, --- -.- said:

i will forgive tencent if they give cute chinese herbalist vegetarian waifu character

...

Winnie?

[fimmatek 4319]

6 hours ago, minespatch said:

...

Winnie?

...

the Pooh?

[minespatch 87037]

1 minute ago, fimmatek said:

...

the Pooh?

Nah, Wigfrid's alterego.

[ArubaroBeefalo 9309]

12 hours ago, --- -.- said:

i will forgive tencent if they give cute chinese herbalist vegetarian waifu character

[minespatch 87037]

1 minute ago, ArubaroBeefalo said:

-no-

You didn't even ask the age for the waifu.

[ArubaroBeefalo 9309]

1 minute ago, minespatch said:

You didn't even ask the age for the waifu.

I prefer to keep my sanity before shadows start spawn xD

[academiac 29]

Companies can't do business in China unless they bend the knee, and because it's such a humongous and gigantic market, all companies drool and eventually sell out their integrity chasing those saucy yuans. Then they fade together irrelevance. It's not the first time and it won't be the last. It's a purely business decision devoid of integrity. It's just this particular instance hurt somehow because we used to love Klei and their games too much. I did not expect, nor wish, Klei to be one of those companies that eventually fade away. 

[ExDupeWrangler 10]

Regardless whether this will change anything about Klei's operations going forward, I've been boycotting Tencent for several years now. Their investment means that I will no longer be purchasing Klei products. Thanks for the good times, but I'm out. 

[Rainbowdesign 299]

@Blue Moth Klei has not be clear if Tencent owns just a majority stake, or if they own THE majority stake as in 50%+ and they did lock my topic they obviously do not want to answer this not even bothering to anyhow say why they locked it. So how do you know that Tencent does not own Klei now do you have any additional information?

Edited February 3 by Rainbowdesign

[Blue Moth 5965]

5 minutes ago, Rainbowdesign said:

@Blue Moth Klei has not be clear if Tencent owns just a majority stake, or if they own THE majority stake as in 50%+ and they did lock my topic they obviously do not want to answer this not even bothering to anyhow say why they locked it. So how do you know that Tencent does not own Klei now do you have any additional information?

i'd rather not be a part of this drama anymore.

[Rainbowdesign 299]

53 minutes ago, Blue Moth said:

i'd rather not be a part of this drama anymore.

You chose to answer with "oh shoot here we go again." and you dont like drama? You tell people they make drama and you dont like drama? I really like that

And in the other thread you said Klei did not sell the controlling stake. perhaps if you dont know you should not claim that then.

 

Well if they sold THE majority stake and they are locking my thread just for asking, perhaps its denial then: if they think everything stays the same way the question who has the last say on it rubs them the wrong way because thats something they rather like to forget.

Or is it a company secret?

[Rainbowdesign 299]

Quote

I like to know who does own Klei now and has the last word on Company decisions.

 

 

Found this, case closed: question answered.

[minespatch 87037]

1 hour ago, Rainbowdesign said:

Found this, case closed: question answered.

That's not a answer, you didn't even look at the editor of the wikipedia page.

[Rainbowdesign 299]

1 hour ago, minespatch said:

That's not a answer, you didn't even look at the editor of the wikipedia page.

i dont have to, if klei did not yet complain and let wikipedia change it i think it is a statement.

Edited February 3 by Rainbowdesign

[minespatch 87037]

[Zagreus 7]

On 2/3/2021 at 3:42 AM, Rainbowdesign said:

@Blue Moth Klei has not be clear if Tencent owns just a majority stake, or if they own THE majority stake as in 50%+ and they did lock my topic they obviously do not want to answer this not even bothering to anyhow say why they locked it. So how do you know that Tencent does not own Klei now do you have any additional information?

It'd be over 50 because nobody else has a stake. So it is by definition, over 50. Anyone else is in denial and they won't clarify it, it's said this way for a reason. PR.

[Chesmu 218]

8 hours ago, Zagreus said:

It'd be over 50 because nobody else has a stake. So it is by definition, over 50. Anyone else is in denial and they won't clarify it, it's said this way for a reason. PR.

They are clearly not going to share details of agreements with internet; As a player, we don't even need to know that, just read the EULA which is special to consumer, and consume the game.

[Stabbsworth 352]

On 1/23/2021 at 4:37 PM, Well-met said:

so is steam

politely gestures towards itch.io, GOG and Epic Games.

[minespatch 87037]

7 hours ago, Chesmu said:

just read the EULA

I read the new steam eula, looks like everything still belongs to klei. Even Darkest Dungeon, a non-klei game, got a new terms and conditions window at the same time.

[Hekateras 443]

On 1/31/2021 at 6:37 PM, Zagreus said:

can we get our first chinese character

We already have one and he is glorious

DST version: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?l=french&id=1572306775

[Nemisis311 33]

I have to give tremendous respect to Klei as a company for communicating this to its fans - knowing how the western audiance feels about that specific company. To be the ones to open the door yourselves is far safer than surprised community breaking the door down themselves, despite the reaction you'll inevitably receive.

I was going to comment the only thing worse may have been EA.. but even then idk which is worse. At least EA wouldn't have been... that company. The word "majority" is what makes me sad - there's no going back from that, it's no longer your choice. You have now given them to power to change everything when they no longer see value here. There's a reason people despise that company. And save your racist connotations or counter comments - it's the business practices of the company, regardless of it's home of operations. It is not conducive to a healthy market.

I wish Klei the best - despite feeling like you've sided with the actual enemy. I know in the end we're talking livelyhoods over video games and that's more important, but I just hope the company doesn't lose it's soul that has earned it incredible trust over the years.

[HellBlade64 2]

I know this is almost a month late, but whatever.

I honest haven't play much of your company's library, but I have spent some good quality time in Don't Starve Together.

My favorite characters in terms of playstyle and backstory are Willow, Wendy, Wigfrid, and Webber.
I admired the love and attention that went into every little tuft of grass, tree branch, twig, and horribly cheesy pun.
I loved how dark and unsettling the caves were and the intensity of the cave battle theme.
I loved the overarching melancholy tone of the music of each season.
Spring Cleaning is my favorite season theme.

The first worrying signs that things were going to get progressively worse was when many updates started coming and going, and you tried to fix things that weren't broken ultimately breaking them further and inadvertently trivializing or rendering completely redundant what might have once been unique or fun experiences of the game. Even still, in spite of your proverbial spitting on the original foundation of your own game, I held hope that I would be able to come back and still have fun.

But this? No, I don't think there's any recovery of my interest to be had now. The game's comic, yet bizarre, twisted and dark nature displayed by a beautifully natural pen and paper art style has swoon me for the past half a decade or so.  As such it is honestly heart wrenching, and disturbing in the same breath, to hear this news.

I don't think I can, in good conscience, continue to socially or monetarily support a company that more-or-less directly funds and therefore is complicit in the activities of a horrible government that throws Human Rights under the bus hourly.

[AlternateMew 753]

I won't pretend to be learned in all this jargon.As an outsider looking in with little interest in politics, my opinion is heavily swayed by the community's concerns.

After sitting on it for a while, my personal takeaway is this:

I still enjoy the Don't Starve and DST. I find it fun. I enjoy the skins of DST and the overall design of the games. I was heavily considering getting Oxygen Not Included, on recommendation and slowly growing interest. I told folks I know that DS and DST are both great games and encouraged buying them. I had started getting looser an looser on my normal stinginess about cosmetic IAP's and started buying skins more frequently. Not just for the skins, but because I knew it was supporting a good company that deserved it.

But I won't fall for the Whataboutism that some people like to point to. Not being perfect in every other aspect does not mean one should ignore bad things that come to one's attention.

To me, this move signals that you no longer need financial support from the community, and more importantly, a portion of that money is actively funneled towards malicious intentions. So for the sake of things like simple enjoyment, bug testing, et cetera, I'll continue to enjoy the game.  But for the sake of anything financial - recommendations, IAPs, buying other games myself - I feel the need to abstain for at least a year to see how things look, if not indefinitely if things don't look good.