Temtem devs address its premium battle pass controversy

rockpapershotgun.com:

Monster-taming MMO Temtem just launched out of early access on PC earlier this week, but developers Crema have taken to Discord to defend the game’s paid battle pass. Some players have been getting themselves very worked up over the inclusion of a paid pass in a full-priced game. Yet there’s been a plan to include a battle pass in Temtem for years. Check out the game’s launch trailer below while you wrap your head around it all.

“We are aware that there's been a lot of controversy surrounding our decision to include a battle pass in Temtem, and the nature of this decision is causing a lot of fracture in our community,” community manager Tsukki said on Discord. “We know there's been calls to review-bomb the game, and the effects of this are being felt.” Temtem’s Steam reviews are currently mostly positive, but both positive and negative reviews have exploded since launch. They’re about evenly split, though. The main complaints seem to revolve around the battle pass existing in a full-price game.

Some players have felt the need to call out Crema for implementing a paid battle pass because of Temtem's price, which has risen from £32/$35 in early access to £40/$45 now it's entered 1.0. Although the battle pass does have a free element to it, Crema have now introduced a premium currency called Novas that you’ll need to pay real money for to purchase the season’s premium battle pass. Phrases such as “corporate greed” and “corruption” are being bandied around on the game’s Steam community. Others are pointing out there’s also a shop for premium cosmetics and the battle pass is time-gated. The community seems split on the battle pass issue though, with some players encouraging Crema to keep it so they can support the game.