Ljubomir Peklar, the creative director for Scorn, has publicly apologized following a “hostile” update sent out about the game’s delay. In an update to Kickstarter backers, the creative director and EbbSoftware CEO apologized to fans and took full responsibility for the update being posted. “I quickly and haphazardly read through the draft of the update and in all my wisdom approved it,” said Peklar. “Reading through again it was clear that the hostile tone it was written in should not be how we should express ideas or plans to people that help us out. We may be tired, confused, and frustrated at our own ineptitude, but there is no reason to lash out at you. For that, I personally apologise. I will do my best for this kind of outburst not to happen again.”Having read through the original post, it’s not difficult to gauge why fans were upset. When asked what the team had been doing since the game’s last trailer was released in October last year, the update reads, “There is no big revelation here. We were just developing a game and that is nothing more to it than that.” Despite trying to explain a number of factors that have affected decisions taken by the team in terms of the game’s delay and its lack of communication with fans, the initial update bears a similar hostile tone at several points throughout. Referencing the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, the update attempts to justify the lack of updates sent out to backers while simultaneously seeming to take aim at shareholders generally. “Cyberpunk 2077 should’ve been delayed for a year, but the hype and the pressure from shareholders were more important. Maybe if they didn’t push their developers to create marketing content they could’ve put more time into fixing the game.”The post then goes on to discuss further issues that the game has experienced delving into problems with hype and its inexperienced development team. While it does take ownership for a number of those mistakes, the statement includes various statements and rhetorical questions throughout these sections that could be interpreted as patronising. Scorn: 10 Screenshots of the Series X and PC Horror GameAt the end of the statement, the team explains that a release date for the game has been pushed back into 2022. “And for the end, a bit of friendly advice,” reads a concluding statement from the team. “If lack of communication is so bothersome just ask for a refund and be done with it. It’s just a game. You can play it when it’s out if you are still interested.”The reaction to the original post has been largely negative, with a number of fans having asked for refunds since its publication. While Peklar’s apology is a step in the right direction for the studio, it remains to be whether it will be enough to keep those upset by the post invested. Scorn – a grim, surreal FPS – has been in the works for a very long time. A first part was originally meant to arrive in 2017, before a re-reveal as an Xbox console exclusive saw it target Fall 2021. The most recent delay has pushed the game back to an unspecified date in 2022.Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
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