Arizona Sunshine Restricts New Content to Certain CPUs, then Backpedals

Timed exclusives are a thing. It’s not a new concept, and most games consumers are familiar with them, if not 100% happy. But when they’re applied in a seemingly arbitrary fashion, and covertly? Well, that’s when the claws come out.

Players discovered that VR zombie-murderin’ good time Arizona Sunshine had restricted its newly-released singleplayer horde mode to PCs running 5th, 6th, and 7th generation Intel Core i7 processors only.

“Working with Intel allowed us to create even more content than we originally planned, including these modes and the physics systems in the game, making Arizona Sunshine one of the richest VR experiences possible,” said developer Vertigo Games in a Steam forum post. “We want to give 5th, 6th and 7th gen Intel® Core™ i7 owners first glimpse into these additional modes, but they’ll be available March 6, 2017 to everyone who owns the game.”

According to numerous players on the forums and on Reddit, this restriction wasn’t overtly announced, meaning they bought the game and fully expected to have access to this new singleplayer content. To then learn that it would be behind a timed exclusivity period for a full quarter, they were understandably upset.

Today, Vertigo Games released a statement announcing it has rolled back the limitations, in a free update being pushed via Steam. The statement reads a little strained, as though through gritted teeth.

“It’s clear from your feedback many of you are not happy with the previously undisclosed modes being available only on certain higher end PCs. You are most important to us, and we hear your comments. We are unlocking these modes immediately to all players, and we hope you enjoy them.”

Check out the VR Zombie Shooting Fun in the Sun gameplay trailer.