Hi, for transparency I’m an original backer of the game on kickstarter.

I want to strongly warn anyone considering buying this game that the original money from Kickstarter was very likely embezzled for means other than the game development (some say it was used to fund the dev’s crypto currency).

The devs “developed” the game for 2 years, likely run out of money, and then decided to release the game on steam as Early Access - even though in the Kickstarter communications they clearly said they don’t want to do Early Access (likely to hide the lack of progress).

In December 2020, when EA was announced, the game was promoted being almost finished, and people expected updates to come regularly after the release in March 2021.

However, to this date (6 month later) we have yet to get a single content update.

The release on GOG is likely another try to syphon money away under the mantle of “creating a game”. This company should be investigated, and I fear GOG will suffer reputational damages by engaging with this dubious company.

Read the feedback on Steam if you need more information.

I still remember Necro (I think that was the name of the non-existant 'game') that was on the upcoming list for a very long time and then quietly removed.
Better not buy a game before there is a game to buy.

Nekro? Wasn't that the one that met its Kickstarter goal and then got cancelled? Still, just goes to show that Kickstarter isn't a sure fire thing.

I've always taken the view that I'll only part with my money when the game is finished and in the store!

That was the correct name yes.

This is an interesting point. The thread title led me to expect it would be another rant against having AO games on GOG, in which case I would have had to oppose the OP's premise.

But with the premise that is actually in the OP, I support that, if true.

I also heard that the Subverse devs pulled a bait & switch scam on the public, by initially presenting the game as AO...but then later, they turned out to be making a game which has barely any AO content in it.

What do you think of that point, Ugaking? Is that accurate?

This doesn't even make any sense. A game is either "Adults Only" (AO) or it's not. The actual amount of "AO" content is irrelevant. It could be just one (1) hardcore sex scene, or a dozen (12) scenes and it would still be "Adults Only".

You mean the game is a scam?

They think the game is a scam, and maybe it is, but more than likely this is just some disgruntled kickstarter backer who's upset with the delay between updates on an early access title. I mean, does it surpise anyone that people get upset with Early Access titles? They're armchair developers who know everything and know when and if a developer is working or not, and how long so and so should take...

If anyone's interested you can take a look at the latest development diary post on the games Steam page, and see what you think for yourself. I'd link to it here, but it's got NSFW content. I guess I can copy what they wrote about GOG specifically here, but it sounds like the game will release on GOG when the next major content update is coming, which is slated for October.

GOG RELEASE

And last but not least, I’m delighted to announce that we are finally partnering with GOG to bring Subverse onto their platform along with this update! It’s amazing to see that other platforms are opening up to adult games and Subverse having a positive impact on the industry. I have a deep love of the Witcher games ever since I stumbled upon a second-hand copy of Witcher 1 Enhanced Edition in a store in Cardiff many years ago. I remember being blown away by The Beast quest and from then on CDPR were one of my favorite devs so I’m stoked to be part of the GOG family and so is the rest of the team. But mostly I’m happy that our fans who have been region-locked out of buying the game will finally get to experience the Prodigium galaxy! Thank you to everyone at GOG who worked with us to make this happen.

It makes sense to me.

Allegedly, the devs initially marketed, and solicited donations for Subverse, on the basis that it would be a game with tons of AO content as its core premise...but then (this is where the bait & switch scam comes in) they created something that is totally different from what they had promised, and that actually has very little AO content in it, and that has a totally different premise than what they had previously said they were going to deliver.

At least, those are the allegations that I've read. I'm not 100% sure if they are true or not. But I've seen a lot of people make those accusations.

And the devs seem to love to censor consumers who bring up these points on the forums they control, which seems to indicate that there is merit to the accusations.

Hopefully kickstarter contributors who've been following the game from the start can speak about these points in this thread.

Same here, glad i took the time to read.
I'm not really interested in the game, but fuck kickstarter thieves.
It's too bad it seems pretty easy to get away with.

Likely? So you don't have any actual proof, then?

Also you claim to be a backer, but we don't have proof of that either. I mean, how do we know you're not some "many gamers" trying to get GOG to not sell the game for some reason(you dislike the content or the makers, etc)?

If you have actual proof, share it(redacting what needs redacting, of course), or please kindly stop spreading possible FUD on the forums.

Thanks for all the replyies. On the different points: Yes, that is accurate.
During the Kickstarter (KS) funding phase, the game was announced having an EA so that everyone can follow the development. After the KS ended with 2.1m USD cash, they changed their mind. As stated before, my educated guess is that having an EA meant that they would've been forced to show progress. By baiting and switching, they could better hide what they do with the funds.

Here some facts:
- May 2019, Announcement that we will have an EA: "Late summer is the first big milestone, which is that coveted steam early access build" [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/990500595/subverse/posts/2498896]

- August 2019, Announcement that EA will not happen: "During the past few months, we've also been in contact with several world-renowned game producers that have been acting as mentors for us during this process. Their advice, along with that of our new engineers, have caused us to audit the current release strategy and pipeline. This brought us to the conclusion that Early Access would not be beneficial for Subverse.

Why is Early Access not viable for Subverse?

1) Single-player, story-driven RPGs don't tend to do early access. Early Access is typically utilized by FPS games, rogue-likes, and MMOs that have gameplay loops and dynamic online components that need to be thoroughly tested.
2) One of our advisers made the excellent point that we have almost 4,500 eligible closed beta testers. This is a huge pool that we can tap into to make gameplay tweaks, thus nullifying the whole point of Early Access for the general public.
3) Subverse is a story-driven game meant to be experienced as a whole, not in the stop/start fashion that is forced by Early Access. Having to wait potentially up to a month for the next chapter to be released will really hurt the momentum of the overall game.
4) Internally, we've seen the difference between a fully completed section of the game and an Early Access one, and it's night and day in terms of quality. We feel it would be a disservice to you guys and the project to release it before the quality you deserve can be achieved throughout the game."

[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/990500595/subverse/posts/2584849]

FYI: Beta still happened, but all we EVER tested was the "space combat". We never saw any other part of the game. The game, at this point, is around 4-5h long. On a 2.1m USD budget.

- March 2021, Game was released as EA, with minimal content and sex scenes which are repeating scenes - not high quality at all.

***

On the scaming aspect, you can test it yourself:
Open any question on steam or Discord on the crypto topic and you will be immediately banned.

This site contains some information:
https://min.news/en/news/8e3db3bf4af8d8373a62e98a2eff7802.html

And here the link where the devleopers (StudioFOW) announce their cryptocurrency:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5326860.0

Some further red flags on the embezzlement:
May 2019, "Recruitment is under way! We've already begun filling positions for key artist personnel. Keep in mind that the final team size will be around 12 people" [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/990500595/subverse/posts/2512265]

... and after EA started:

May 2021, "We’ve finally got some fresh blood coming into the studio! We’ve been interviewing candidates all of last month for key technical positions and we’re pleased to be able to bring in some extra firepower and experience to help us out." [https://blog.studiofow.com/subverse-ea-dev-diary-02/]

June 2021, "As mentioned previously we’re bringing in a lot of new people to the studio. This means that the senior members have had to dedicate a bit of time to make sure the new people are getting up to speed." [https://blog.studiofow.com/subverse-ea-dev-diary-03/]

Hiring more people 2 years after starting development, i.e. after the big cashflow is over?
Big red flag in my eyes.

In summary, in my view GOG is doing itself a clear disservice by selling this game on their platform. Too many scandals / unknowables are surrounding it and the devs refuse to be held accountable to finishing this game by adding at least a timeline (because it "stresses the team") or communicating to players what they are currently working on (see this review on steam https://steamcommunity.com/id/LilGurkha/recommended/1034140/).

I am disgruntled! But the waiting time is no problem if at least the devs kept us backers in the loop (is that too much to ask if you spent money in good faith and want to see what is being done with it?).

My problem is how criticism is handled, and how this entire crypto issue is being swept under the carped. It's really not hard to see that there is a huge missmatch of what was delivered on EA launch (4-5h gameplay) vs. development time (2.5 years now) and budget available (2.1m USD, ~1.9m USD after Kickstarter takes its share).

There is an unexplained hole which doesn't make sense.
Back in March I was also of the opinion that the devs are just incompetent, but after not getting an update for 6 months (read my earlier post), hearing about the crypto issue and the dev's censorship, and realizing that only now they are hiring people, it just smells too fishy.

another reason to ban early access and preordering
most of these are used for scamming