You all remember The Culling and The Culling 2, right? Xaviant Games tried to launch game-show-themed battle royale The Culling 2 back in 2018, but it didn’t go over at all, largely thanks to bugs and angry The Culling players who perceived their game was being abandoned. That led Xaviant to cancel The Culling 2 and redouble its efforts on the original game, with a teary-eyed video apology that seemed so sincere we even handed out kudos for the honesty. Last year, however, The Culling itself was finally sunsetted, following an unsuccessful free-to-play relaunch as The Culling Origins. And that was the last anyone heard about The Culling franchise.
Just kidding. Xaviant resurfaced this week with a video on the “2020 relaunch” of the game on Xbox One. The game itself is $5.99 with a one-day trial and automatic waivers for past players. What’s made the internet blow up, however, is the monetization scheme beyond that, whereby after buying the game, players get one “free” match every day and then essentially pay for mini subs or pay for match tokens to keep on playing. Xaviant does note that it’s improved the title’s AI and player stamina, it’s working on a PC resurrection, and it’s removed buyable lockboxes, but that’s not pacifying folks who are unimpressed with the new model.
The Culling will sunset in May after unsuccessful free-to-play relaunch
The Culling: Origins goes back to basics, makes game free-to-play
The Culling 2 has been canceled as devs agree it was ‘not a game that you asked for’ and return to work on The Culling
The Culling 2 appears to be dead on arrival thanks to quality issues and angry Culling fans
The Daily Grind: Which MMORPG studio had the best communication in 2018?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjU5JfPFiZA&feature=youtu.be
