Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen November Newsletter Touts Improved Production Pace Thanks To New 247 Extraction Testing

mmorpg.com:

Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen released its latest recap post, which details the pre-alpha testing that has been occurring recently. As part of this month's newsletter, the team at Visionary Realms has touted its recent extraction mode testing as helping to improve its production pace since the testing began.

For those who haven't been following the production of the MMO in recent weeks, Visionary Realms found itself in hot water with both backers and fans of the project when word leaked that the purported 24/7 testing going on was for an extraction-style game mode and not the MMORPG proper. The leaked letter was a communication sent to backers who are under an NDA by Visionary Realms' Ben Dean, laying out the extraction mode's potential to be monetized as a way to gain new funding sources for the MMO.

Initially, Visionary Realms didn't deny the letter's veracity, stating that the inclusion of the mode in the pre-alpha testing did not mean the «cancellation of Pantheon.» Later that week the team released its own post detailing the new mode, and why the team felt it necessary to build it, as well as hosted a Q&A with the community on its Discord to address questions and feedback from the community about the concerns they have for the extraction mode and Pantheon's future. 

One of the key claims around why building the 247 extraction mode was a good move is down to the way it helps production, as creative director Chris Perkins explained during the Q&A. The same claim was made when the team was addressing feedback to its new painterly art style change back in September. Now, with the most recent newsletter, Pantheon's developers are claiming they are seeing the fruits of that labor.