Pokémon-like Temtem to remove microtransactions and stop Seasons after next big Xbox patch

With the creature-collecting game having launched in full back in 2022 as a potential contender for becoming one of the popular Xbox games like Pokémon, we’ve had a good long time to go after the Temtem achievements, and now developer Crema has now shared a huge Temtem update on the future of the game. Strap in, Temtem fans, it’s a big update…Crema shares an update on the future of Temtem Crema’s update addresses the reasons why Temtem can’t keep getting new content forever, the Kickstarter content it can deliver and the promised content it can’t, its decision to remove microtransactions, the future of the game, the MMO confusion, and their plans for more games.Version 1.7, the major patch coming early in June, is when the next big changes are coming. Crema says it’s aware of player concerns around the promised Kickstarter campaign content and that the last feature still to arrive, The Arcade Bar, will come with version 1.7 as a building in Neoedo with arcade minigames. “While it’s not as detailed and elaborated as some of you have been venturing, we’ve put a lot of care into these minigames, making sure they fit right into the world of Temtem. All of their visuals have been adjusted and Temtem-ized, and we tried to make each minigame indefinitely playable, so all of you who enjoy arcade games can spend as much time as you want here,” Crema says.Crema’s letter contains several apologies, and two of these are for missing content: PvP Draft, which had been on the roadmap but was instead introduced as a PvE activity, and the Temtem API, which won’t be making it into the game. This last one wasn’t on the roadmaps but was promised anyway, and Crema says it “discovered integrating a working, useful API into a game this progressed was a task way more complex than anticipated. For our shortcomings and failure to deliver these to you, we are truly sorry.” The team also addresses the confusion around the game being billed as an MMO when it was actually intended to be an “MMO-lite,” and say that while they tried to explain this distinction and add to the game to make it more of an MMO, this initial description “led to expectations that we have failed to fulfill.”1.7 will also remove all microtransactions in the game. According to Crema, this means you won’t be able to buy Novas (but can use the ones you already own as usual) and that Feathers can be used to purchase things instead of Novas. Also coming with 1.7 will be a new Season, a new Tame Pass, “balance changes, new features, bug fixing, and quality of life updates.” 1.8 will come next as the “last feature-oriented patch.” There won’t be Seasons after 1.7, and 1.8 and won’t have a new Tamer Pass either. “This doesn’t mean there won’t be new patches in the future: we’ll continue polishing, fixing bugs, and balancing Temtem for as long as it needs it,” Crema adds. On the other hand, 1.8 “will come with a few big changes geared towards ensuring the game’s longevity.” As for why it can’t just add new content forever, Crema cites the difficulty of playtime vs development time, especially when so much thought goes into how to implement new content, saying: “after thorough study through Early Access we never noticed a permanent increase in the playerbase after the release of a new island. While islands are terribly enjoyable, many players would finish a new island in around 6 hours, when it had taken our team 9 months to make.” The devs go into detail on the idea of technical debt, and explain that Temtem wasn’t designed for unending content updates, but that the risks get higher as more content is added.Crema doesn’t have plans for a Temtem sequel, saying, “unfortunately the stakes are high and there aren’t enough resources to achieve what the team would desire the sequel to be, and the sequel you would deserve.” The developer adds that it doesn’t want to repeat “the same mistakes we’ve made in the past,” that the studio is too small, and that it’s “simply not ready… we don’t currently have the technical knowledge, the time nor the ability to bring those ideas to life.” On the other hand, it does have plans for “an unannounced, untitled, new game in the Temtem universe.”It’s an interesting look into the behind-the-scenes of Temtem, and the development difficulties Crema had, as well as the confusion about what the game actually is. While Temtem has had a troubled time, it seems Crema has no plans of letting it flounder — and in the meantime, we have a whole list of all the best indie games on Xbox if you’re looking for another adventure.



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