It seems Arcen games (<span class="bold">mostly known for AI WAR</span> and <span class="bold">The Last Federation</span>) is again in the same spot as when they almost wen't bankrupt in 2010.

Check Chris Parks post here: https://arcengames.com/great-work-on-starward-rogue-team-now-youre-all-laid-off/

Sales for <span class="bold">Starward Rogue</span> aren't going forward it seems mostly cause of the sales mentality (9000 wishlisted but not buying on Steam) we have today and off course since Starward Rogue didn't have a marketing campaign (they can't afford it). As an effect of that Arcen is laying off most of the staff. So what can you do? Let people know about their new game Starward Rogue which as till now has very positive review on Steam.

If you like the game you can also vote for it here to come to gog: http://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/starward_rogue

Starward Rogue trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXNg8DveIVg

Scott Manley's review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdGn8zdjpYE

Some of my gameplay videos.

As for <span class="bold">drm-free</span> version of the game. It will be uploaded to Humblestore and Arcen games site till the end of the week:

Ah godamnit... One of the most creative indie studios around.

Where are all these youtubers who talked about their games a few years ago ? Probably too busy yapping about AAA games because they get them money they need to continue and indies are overflowing the market daily to the point we're all exhausted ? I didn't even noticed their game was out.

I've said before, i love their games and i have all their games (that are on GoG). However I'm not going to buy anything from Steam.

I certainly hope they get over the bump they're on and continue to make many more games i can buy and enjoy. If/when it comes to GoG I'll happily add it to my collection.

edit: Just finished reading the post provided. Wow... Interesting history of what's been going on. We'll have to see if they get more exposure or not. Curious the other games of theirs that aren't here on GoG...

More like their PR and marketing scheme was complete shit. They didn't need to pay for ads or anything like that. They gave away Bionic Dues to promote Starward Rogue without realizing that no one was going to check who developed it and what other projects they were working on. That was a very silly oversight even if people liked TLF. No one checks who made an indie. :P

They should have given away review copies and about 100-200 copies split between different sites to get it out there. 1 person in a day could get it in front of hundreds of thousands of people easily. Good games with bad marketing will obviously sell worse than bad games with good marketing. Doesn't take a budget to get noticed, just connections.

Holy shit, I was really looking forward to Stars Beyond Reach. If they just stuck it out with that a little longer instead of moving concentrating on Staward Rogue there might have been a better outcome. But as he says, the game just didn't live up to his standards. Maybe instead of trying too much at once with it, he could have made a compromise with some of the complexity at first, and added to the game post release much like he did with TLF's mechanics.

I really hope Arcen bounces back from this.

??? Wait what? You mean you haven't played A Valley Without Wind? Go buy it right now! ;)

Regarding their other missing games. It has more to do with gog's acceptance policy then anything else. Chris said at least for Skyward Collapse (I asked him) that he would release it here if it were up to him (he's the ceo) so I guess other games got on the wrong side of gog.

What did they say about Starward Rogue & GOG?. Planned?.... (im one of those who wont buy on steam......)
whoops just checked. damn :(

What an unfortunate reality, eh?
Picture a scenario where book reviewers would only talk about Shakespeare and forget about timeless classics and authors from all of the other 170+ countries on the planet.

That's how I see this youtube craze (saturated as heck, and their time will come) and the vast majority of these folks yelling like morons and begging for your (not mine) attention. Yep, of course there are some golden gems out there, such as some wargaming dudes, some interesting folks who like to showcase games such as this one and etc.

Yup, I didn't even notice this one either, since my "arcen focus" was directed to Star Beyond Reach.
Fortunately I, uh, I guess I did my part: gifted some of their games and purchased some. Hope they can reverse this, since I didn't even touch my Last Fed dlc! :(

Yeah, as you now probably know. It was declined for release with a possibility of it getting approval if enough people get interested in it.

Thanks. Odd question. Anyone know of any game release here which had very few wishlistings?

That is not quite true. They sent out around 1000 emails too youtubers, review sites, etc.
Nuclear Throne if we are talking about similar games.

Yes, but the thing about Nuclear Throne is that, although with few wishlist votes here, it's a pretty successful game in Steam.

Release date: Dec 5, 2015 (previously in Early Access)
Score rank: 98% Userscore: 97% Metascore: 89%
Owners: 213,968 ± 9,928

More charming characters? A great score on IGN? Marketing done right? Youtubers, twitch?
Who knows.

If I were a saudi prince (or a nigerian one ;P) I'd save Arcen's ass TO-DAY! ;D

I don't think you can really compare an early access game that was sold in early access for two years before release on gog with a day one finished game release.