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Sunday, February 02, 2025
Uncivilized monetization
I just checked Steam over here in Europe, and Civilization VI still costs €59.99, while getting all the DLC for Civ VI costs an additional €171,90. I think it is safe to say that DLCs play a major role in the Civilization franchise. So for Civilization VII, I was thinking that I probably will want some of the early DLCs. So instead of buying the €69.99 Standard Edition of Civ VII, I bought the €99.99 Deluxe Edition, which contains the "Crossroads of the World" collection of 6 DLCs. As an added bonus, I get access to Civ VII 5 days early, on February 6 instead of February 11, but that is not something I would have spent money on otherwise. I was thinking that by spending €30 on DLC early, I get a better price on those DLCs, and I'd be playing a "complete" game for quite some while. So imagine my surprise when Firaxis just announced the release date for the "Crossroads of the World" collection of DLC: All 6 of them will be released in March 2025. If I wanted all DLC until September 2025, I would have needed to pay yet another €30 for the Founder's Edition.
I pre-purchased DLCs for Age of Wonders 4 and Millennia, and didn't regret that. They were reasonable spaced from the game's release, and added fresh content some time after having "finished" the main game. It also felt as if, by spending money on the DLC, I was financing the continued development of games I like, and was contributing to the developers of these games still being paid after release. Civilization VII feels different. There is no way that somebody is actually coding the content of the DLCs between the game's release in February and the DLC release in March. The DLCs are clearly already finished. And they include "new civilizations" like Great Britain, which one could reasonably have assumed to be contained in the main game. In short, it feels as if they cut out a part of the already existing Civ VII game, and are offering you that part for extra money. The Deluxe Edition I bought is actually a standard edition, while what they are selling as Standard Edition is a crippled version. That makes me happy to have gone for the Deluxe Edition in the first place, but I now need to consider that the price to play a non-cut version of Civ VII is €100. None of my extra €30 is keeping a game developer employed while he is creating a DLC, the work is already done, and the money goes straight to the top. It is a bit like a sort of shrinkflation, where what was previously the regular size of the package is now being sold as the extra luxury size for extra money, while the regular size has gotten smaller than it used to be.
- posted by Tobold @ 6:08 PM Permanent Link
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It seems to me like a way to move the price point for the game to what many developers have already claimed is necessary without actually pegging that increase to the base game. The language used to describe the content shapes perception so as to avoid the impression of a large price hike, or that's the intent. It seems unlikely peopple won't notice what's happening but then there is zero chance they won't notice if the base game is priced higher than expected so it can hardly have a worse impact.
In the end, the content costs what it costs, no matter how the marketing department labels it.
In the end, the content costs what it costs, no matter how the marketing department labels it.
Tobold: "[...] I now need to consider that the price to play a non-cut version of Civ VII is €100. None of my extra €30 is keeping a game developer employed while he is creating a DLC, the work is already done, and the money goes straight to the top. It is a bit like a sort of shrinkflation, where what was previously the regular size of the package is now being sold as the extra luxury size for extra money, while the regular size has gotten smaller than it used to be."
That's your interpretation but it could very well be like Bhagpuss said and the full game costing 100€ including 50% Steam discount but being deliberately cut up into DLCs to a) stretch the content while the next major version is being developed and people are kept hooked with repeated updates b) people would not be willing to pay the full price upfront c) there is no real reason to choose a different release strategy with an established title.
The next major version is being developed anyway and the developer isn't hired for an "oh, it was a successful game. let's see what other content we could add". As an added benefit it optimises market segregation. The die hard fans will buy the DLC at full price and pay double while the late adopters wait for discounts and still pay enough for already developed content.
The biggest realisation comes when you compare the prices from Steam and the grey market. The full Civ VI 100€ Anthology can be had for less than 15€ and the Civ VII Founders edition costs 95€.
So whenever I get the urge to buy anything and it's not something for a couple Euro where I can't be bothered to compare for a cheaper price, I will buy through those means and save quite a bunch.
That's your interpretation but it could very well be like Bhagpuss said and the full game costing 100€ including 50% Steam discount but being deliberately cut up into DLCs to a) stretch the content while the next major version is being developed and people are kept hooked with repeated updates b) people would not be willing to pay the full price upfront c) there is no real reason to choose a different release strategy with an established title.
The next major version is being developed anyway and the developer isn't hired for an "oh, it was a successful game. let's see what other content we could add". As an added benefit it optimises market segregation. The die hard fans will buy the DLC at full price and pay double while the late adopters wait for discounts and still pay enough for already developed content.
The biggest realisation comes when you compare the prices from Steam and the grey market. The full Civ VI 100€ Anthology can be had for less than 15€ and the Civ VII Founders edition costs 95€.
So whenever I get the urge to buy anything and it's not something for a couple Euro where I can't be bothered to compare for a cheaper price, I will buy through those means and save quite a bunch.
I think you'd be surprised by just how much work can be done in a month once the tools and framework is built out and your just working on adding more content/assets. While I don't doubt work on the DLC has started I would disagree with your assessment that it's likely already finished. I'd wager they will likely still be working on finishing it up through the end of February.
Anyway I think out of the myriad of monetization options "pre-ordering" DLC is one of the least offensive. I went ahead and purchased the Gold edition of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 because I know I'd be buying the DLC for that game anyway and I just wanted to support the studio. I did the same thing with Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader. It's also nice that usually you get a small discount when buying those versions then if you wait for the DLC to come out and then purchasing it separately.
Anyway I think out of the myriad of monetization options "pre-ordering" DLC is one of the least offensive. I went ahead and purchased the Gold edition of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 because I know I'd be buying the DLC for that game anyway and I just wanted to support the studio. I did the same thing with Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader. It's also nice that usually you get a small discount when buying those versions then if you wait for the DLC to come out and then purchasing it separately.
I would be tempted by Civ7 except that I got Old World in last month's Humble Choice and I'm loving it. It's still a Civ-a-like but it shakes up the tired old model quite a bit. I even bought DLC - but the base game is fully complete and the DLC is mostly cheap.
As someone who has purchased and played every single Civ I-VI since the 1991, I find myself strangely unexcited about each new release. It always costs too much up front, and it's always a buggy mess for the first year or so. Everybody complains how they really ruined it this time. So I'll wait a few months or a year or two, and then get a better game with the most needed improvements through bundled DLCs & well-tested mods. I have dozens of good games already bought I can't find time to play.
Now that the embargo on streamed Civ7 content has dropped, I realize by watching that the added civilizations and leaders from the DLC are more interesting than I thought. There aren’t actually that many in the base game, and you see them as adversaries as well as playing them yourself.
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