First of all sorry for my absence on the forums and Discord but as you know I've been making a different game called Maniac for the last 2 years. This is my job and how I make money. But now, that the game is out I had to consider if and how to return to Soldat 2 development.
I wholeheartedly want to thank for your support, gratitude and participation in S2's community. The game was made and shaped because of you. I'm very proud of it and my deepest wish is that millions of players would enjoy S2 because I believe it is one of the most satisfying experiences you can get when you are in total flow immersed in Soldat's movement and shooting mechanics. Unfortunately, the reality is modern audiences will probably never grasp it. This is because of two things:
Marketing and Demand.
I've learnt a lot during the last two years about how the game market works and thanks to that I've successfully launched Maniac. So now I know a lot about how to release a popular game.
So in terms of marketing... I can say honestly that I can't do much for S2. The thing that I have to rely on is Steam's algorithm and how it promotes the game on the Steam store. No other method of marketing will ever provide and influx of players. And this is how Steam works:
* Steam buries games that don't earn a lot of money - meaning it won't recommend it and it won't show it on the front page (S2 earns very little)
* I've seen reliable stats that show games that didn't sell well in the FIRST month NEVER become popular (I think it happened with Among Us - but it's literally the only example I can think of) (S2 is 4 years old now)
* Steam only promotes games that are hot, trending and make lots of money (this never happened for S2)
We might argue that a 1.0 release would bring some traffic. Unfortunately, what that does in terms of visibility is a few hours on the Newly Released list on the Steam store page and an e-mail to those that wishlisted the game (which happens already on discounts). You could say that a 1.0 release would attract the S1 skeptics and the people that wishlisted the game. This is however maybe a few hundred or thousand people. This is NOT enough for Steam to start promoting the game.
Even if S2 was released for free, this won't change the reality of Steam. It might even hurt the game because a free game is not promoted at all if it doesn't earn money. You could say F2P or some S2 spin-off like Climb mode. Or maybe even make Soldat 3 and try that? But there's a second problem... Demand.
Looking at games in 2024 I just don't believe there is a player base for this kind of game we enjoy. I think at most it can have Soldat 1 numbers - which just isn't enough for the game to be sustainable and for Steam to consider it seriously (to promote it). Simply put, Soldat is a 2000's year game. We need kids to play it for there to be thousands of players. And they won't play Soldat because of numerous game mechanic/design issues (mainly it is too hard and requires skills:D). Also they are focused on other things like Palworld or whatever is at the forefront now. You can see this with dozens of multiplayer games released each month. Nearly all of them fail. Even million dollar budget AAA titles fail and have empty servers. Microsoft releases a game and it falls into the abyss. How can I compete with my small game? It's not 2002 anymore.
So after considering all things, unfortunately, I decided to not focus on Soldat 2 in the future. Maniac didn't earn a lot of money for me so I need to continue working. I have a family I need to provide for and this is my job. I hope this is understandable. I'm currently focusing on a new game.
With Soldat 2 things will remain as they are. I won't be developing it full time but if darDar or anyone else provides me with a list of updates (weapon mods, new maps, new scripts) I will gladly release this as a small update from time to time. I will keep supporting S2 like this for as long as there are people playing it. Other than that:
* Soldat 2 is open for development. If anyone wants to take over the code please send me a DM. I will consider anyone that has the skills.
* I edited the store page to mention that this game probably won't have a 1.0 release and doesn't have full servers (this is to mitigate some bad reviews)
* I dropped the price a bit (I think it is still fair because it has bots and friend invites and ranked mode)
So, the responsible thing for me to do is focus on a new game. All I can say about it is that I will announce it soon and I think you will like it. It has some major elements which made Soldat great.
Thank you again for everyone that believed in the game, in me and in the community. I think we made something really good, despite the reality of a world focused on Fortnite and Palworld :)
Have fun,
MM