Free2Play Shooter on Steam is removing popular cosmetics because they are from the wrong creator
In the MMO shooter PlanetSide 2, a number of cosmetic items were removed from the game’s in-game shop with the last patch. This caused resentment in parts of the community, as the items were originally contributed by a specific player.
It’s about these items: After an update on November 30th, PlanetSide 2 fans noticed that some cosmetic items were no longer available in the in-game shop. These included the “Lynx Helmet” with its little cat ears or the “Raid Hat”.
Daybreak Game Company’s games, including PlanetSide 2, allow the community to create their own cosmetic item designs and submit them to the developers. If the items are accepted, they go to the game shops where they can be bought for money.
The items that were removed from the shop were originally created by the user “G1ngerBoy”. These seemed noisy a reddit thread to enjoy great popularity. User u/Kaptaard used PlanetSide 2’s API and found out that, for example, the cat-ear helmet sold over 4,500 times.
Why were the items removed? While developer Rogue Planet Games has yet to provide a reason for removing the cosmetic items, there is speculation in the community about it.
The main suspicion, voiced multiple times on reddit and twitter, is that it’s due to G1ngerBoy’s criticism of the developers and specifically lead designer Michael “Wrel” Henderson. Henderson actually started his career as a YouTuber and then moved into game design (via. YouTube Wiki).
G1ngerBoy has often been negative about PlanetSide 2 updates and design choices in the past, often outspoken in his posts on reddit. In his posts, he called Henderson “brain dead” and mockingly worried about “the mental health” of the development team (via reddit).
Most recently, G1ngerBoy criticized that one of his suggested items was rejected because it “didn’t fit the game’s art style”. At the same time, a Viking helmet with huge horns was introduced as a new cosmetic item (via reddit).
MeinMMO asked the publisher Daybreak for a statement on the reasons. At the time of publication of the article, we have not received any feedback. The article will be updated once we have an answer.
“Pretty unprofessional action”
There are these reactions: Following the announcement of the update on Twitter and on the PlanetSide 2 reddit forums, some players have expressed dissatisfaction with the removal. The accusation against the developers is that the ejection is a kind of revenge for G1gerBoy’s attacks on the lead designer Henderson.
- “Extremely disappointed with the unprofessional removal of a community member’s post. Wrel [Michael Henderson] does a lot of good for the game, but it’s getting harder and harder to defend its lack of ability to interact with the community. […]”- @Apollo_PS2
- “Yes, quite an unprofessional action […] I wanted to buy these helmets but I can’t because you guys removed them for no reason.” – @N7jpicard
- “Give us back our cat ears, you cowards!” -@sailcat7
- “Yikes, this is as unprofessional as it can get. Ram horns and crab armor? They were immediately given the green light. ‘In the name of art style’ is no longer a legitimate excuse […]”- @SeaversD3
Another part of the players on reddit and social media see the action as a mud fight between G1ngerBoy and the lead designer Henderson, which they can follow with interest. The reddit user Jaxelino wrote, “Finally, good drama.”
Players who already have the removed items will still be able to use them. Only new purchases are no longer possible. So if you really wanted the helmets, you will get nothing.
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Reference-mein-mmo.de