Firstly, we would like to give extra special thanks to everybody who purchased a Supporter Pack. It is thanks to people like you that we're slightly closer to the point where we will be able to fund our next game. Your generosity is enormous and we are so grateful for your support.
However, following on from our previous announcement, I wanted to share with all players that The Flayed Man will be moving from being a free game to a paid game on the 17th May. We're keeping the price of the game very small and we are also tailoring prices so that fans across the world can afford the game. On the plus side, we will be reducing the price of the Supporter Pack, adding in a few more goodies as well as a releasing it with a CC BY-NC 4.0 license, so you'll be able to make your own hellish adventures. This will come out on the 17th too.
I had hoped we would be able to keep The Flayed Man free forever, unfortunately the price of doing so would be that Snoring Dog Games shuts down and we would not be able to make any more games. If players had said they hated the game and wanted to see the back of us, we would have accepted it however, with so many players saying they'd love to see another, "full" game from us, the only viable way to do so is by adopting a paid model. In doing so, it also buys us another month of being able to offer The Flayed Man on Steam (until at least July).
I want to emphasise that I don't take this decision lightly. Even with the paid model, the aim is to raise enough funds to pay our artists. I won't be making a penny from the game at all.
I have prepared a FAQ below, and welcome any questions or comments. We're hoping this change will allow us to announce our next game in a few months.
FAQ
What's the rush? Why can't you just be patient?
The biggest issue is that our current contract with our accountant ends in October and with it our first year discount. That means to leave The Flayed Man on Steam for another year will cost us £1000 (roughly $1300 dollars). For a game that's commercial, that's fine because even a low trickle of sales means we might make the money back but for a free game, that might never happen. Especially as the game gets older and people move on.
If we don't raise enough funds we need to close down Snoring Dog Games. In the UK that means ceasing all trading (which is why we have to delist from Steam, which takes 30 days), receiving any remaining funds, having accountant prepare final accounts, and undergoing the process to strike off the company. The whole process takes 60 - 90 days.
We were going to delist in June, but by adopting a paid model, we will take a chance and run it to the razors edge in July, in the hopes that the game being part of sales and other events might give us the opportunity to raise the funds.
You're just being greedy, what's the obsession with money?
The total cost of Snoring Dog Games and The Flayed Man including all operational costs has come out of my own pocket from my day job and I can't justify spending such money again. I have ensured our artists receive a fair pay and are paid on time. The targets I've shared in previous posts have been to raise the funds needed to pay our artists to make the game.
I have never asked or targeted making a profit from The Flayed Man, and I don't expect to see a penny (I'm even willing to pay operational costs). All I want is to be able to pay the artists. In the grand scheme of things, we really don't need to sell that many copies (roughly 1000) but we're only 20% of the way there.
The paid model offers the only viable path to getting the funds to make a game. I will always pay artists fairly, and I refuse to offer rev share or lower fair pay.
Why not be happy with the large number of players? Aren't you going to lose most of your players?
We've had roughly 4500 players and the game is in roughly 36,000 libraries. We also get on average 100 players a day.
If it was just me doing the art, then I'd be content with these stats (and I do appreciate you all) but as I've mentioned, the aim is to make another game, at the moment that simply won't be possible. The number of players willing to buy a Supporter Pack isn't at the level we need.
Having worked through the figures and spoken to other devs, it might seem odd, but even if we lost 95% of daily players by selling the game, the 5% left over buying the game would raise enough funds by July to allow us to make another game. It's simply a chance we have to take.
I've already bought a Supporter Pack, does this mean I won't be able to play the game?
Absolutely not, as long as you've downloaded the game before, you'll still have access to the game. You'll also ALWAYS have access to the Supporter Pack with added bonuses, even if you haven't downloaded it.
If there are any issues, then I invite you to reach out me on our socials or via raising a discussion on the Steam Discussion page. If you have a valid receipt for the Supporter Pack prior to the change-over on the 17th, I will ensure you get access to both the game and the Supporter Pack. Forever.