I’m Jungsoo Lee (some of you might know me as ODS_Jungsoo on our Discord), responsible for game services at Ocean Drive Studio.
Today, I wanted to share some important news about the future of Blackout Protocol. Ocean Drive Studio’s goal has always has been, and continues to be, to develop great games by incorporating community feedback into our core game design and philosophy.
In the case of Blackout Protocol, we launched the game as a tactical co-op twin-stick shooter. While some players supported this direction when we launched into Early Access, we found that the majority of you preferred a twin-stick shooter homed in on 'action' and 'single-player' experiences over 'tactical' and 'co-op.' Initially, when single-player mode wasn’t supported, our Steam reviews were mixed with only about 50% positive, but it has significantly gone up to 80-90% positive recently, giving us an overall rating of 76% positive.
Seeing the positive feedback and reviews, we continued developing the game with a certain roadmap (see the image below) in mind. However, internally, we discussed and ultimately agreed even more fundamental changes to the game are necessary, and I’d like to discuss some major upcoming events with you through this post.
Future of the Game
First, let me assure you that we have no plans to discontinue the current service, even as we consider more fundamental changes. We will continue developing the game based on the current narrative centered around Section 13 of S2P and stick to our twin-stick shooter genre.
However, some changes will be made:
[olist]
Participation in Gamescom and Future Games Show
We plan to officially announce these changes at the upcoming Gamescom event. We will also participate in the Future Games Show to showcase the direction solidified by your valuable feedback. During Gamescom, we will release a demo featuring the new gameplay, gather feedback, and finalize updates to the main game. And we plan to share a new roadmap as soon as possible after this announcement.
There were many internal discussions leading to this moment, and as a company where financial considerations are important, deciding to further invest and changing the gameplay of Blackout Protocol was not easy. However, we saw the potential of the game through your feedback and are committed to improving the gameplay so that more players can enjoy it. We believe that the changes we’ve made will provide a satisfying and enjoyable experience for our community, so we would greatly appreciate your honest feedback during the demo test at the upcoming Gamescom. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has purchased Blackout Protocol, and I look forward to sharing more development news soon.
Please keep an eye out for our announcements!
Thank you.
ODS_Jungsoo
