2 Like Everything about this game looks free to play, from the graphics to the gameplay to the fact that it has microtransactions. The only problem is, it's not actually free to play.
Fans say they've been misled by War Z developers
By
Laura Parker, Associate Editor
Reddit users say Hammerpoint Interactive has released a patch for The War Z, which forces players to sign a terms of service that disallows refunds.
Dissatisfied consumers have taken to Reddit to voice their concerns surrounding the release of The War Z on Steam.
Users are accusing The War Z developer Hammerpoint Interactive of releasing a patch for the Steam version of the game following Reddit reports that claimed this version of the game wasn't complete.
According to Reddit user "IAmFluffey", the patch "proves [Hammerpoint Interactive's] quick money-grabbing and game-breaking schemes."
"After changing the description of their game due to [Reddit user] TotalHailbut calling them out on false advertising, they have now updated the game with a new patch."
The post goes on to list a variety of changes in the new patch, including "increasing the respawn-timer from 1 hour to 4 hours", while adding a "revive" button where players can spend real-world money to revive instantly. Reddit users have suggested that this addition forces players into a micro-transaction model.
According to the post, the update is also forcing players to sign a terms of service agreement before playing, which reportedly "disallows refunds" of the game.
After publishing a similar thread on the Steam forums, user "IAmFluffey" was reportedly banned. The users claim that Hammerpoint Interactive subsequently shut down the entire The War Z discussion thread on Steam.
GameSpot has reached out to Hammerpoint Interactive for comment.
By
Laura Parker, Associate Editor
Laura Parker is the Associate Editor of GameSpot Australia. She loves adventure games, sparkly stuff, Trivial Pursuit, cake, Master Chief, earthworms, and rhetorical questions. She once stole a sandwich from Peter Molyneux.
341 comments
2 Like 
2 Like Don't buy War Z at the moment. All it is now is players dropped into the world and allowed to interact (melee/shoot) zombies and other players. No rules, no structure, no tools to enrich the experience. You know those people saying "it's so realistic and immersive"? Yeah, those are the type of people who imagine their own fun (e.g. "a player COULD be around so let me crawl for half a mile"). It's nothing but a map with assets and units in it. We all know the real reason why it's out in this pathetic state...it's so it can beat the inevitable Day Z standalone to the punch.
@csward but this is a situation that would be a bit hard for any publisher to sidestep, assuming this has never happened to them before.
Regardless as for the future distribution, I know if I like Steam had the power greenlight a game made by developers who pull this kind of bullshit trap shenanigans, there would not be one at all. Ridiculous decision to hand out second chances after such tactics no matter what type of business we're talking about, economically let alone ethically.
so they force you to buy the game then, change it after it's been release. wow. F$*k that!!
This comment has been deleted
well to be fair, he does seem kinda nervous when talking. as if he's not saying this of his own will.
2 Like Thank those who read the ToS, EULA, etc. If it wasn't for them and reporting such as this article, we would all be very unhappy. Now I know for sure I wouldn't even look into WarZ.
2 Like Dear Gamespot, You should do us all a favor by moving DayZ or Arma to Warlol's #3 top games spot...3.7.......
I hope steam just pulls the plug and says farewell to hammerpoint they will never get a penny from me even how good they make it now.
Uh, just found out that at some point in time, they had copy pasted the League of Legends TOS and used it as their own. Proof at :
I think their problem was caused by releasing the game too early and they had to work hard and give away a bunch of stuff and try to salvage things with a patch.
it was more of a disaster than it need have been and I think was made to sound worse than it really was but gamers are in a complaining mode right now because they are used to getting ripped off
so I pay money for a game thats broken that makes me pay more money to continue to play because I will die because the game is broken.huh? whats going on here? I can't understand this bullshit over all this amazingness spewing out of Farcry 3 and Borderlands 2 right now...
4 Like I really dont get why people call it a scam.
A) We got a working game that has some of the features they promised patched in since October and more on the way.
-1 The also added several new zombie skins and sounds since alpha release.
-2 They brought out new character skins, as a thank you for the alpha testers we got them for free. After the stat wipe we even got some extra game currency.
-3 People wanted more zombie spawns, so they added more. When people complained that you had to pay for Clans they changed it so that it's free now. They have added new servers since release to provide enough space for everyone. They listen to a lot of the community suggestions
-4 Russian region got added...we used to only have EU and US at release.
-5 The whole map opened up as they promised.
B)Its not like they just took our money and never worked on the game
C) They banned hackers and are still working on anti hack systems
D) They gave us a month by month estimate of what they will be adding.
BUT I will admit they don't handle communication well enough now and then. The Steam store should have clearly stated it's still in beta and that not every function is online/implemented yet.
TL;DR
The developers have been working and patching and implementing stuff since the October launch, I don't get why it would be a scam.
@Damnation_6 It was considered a scam because the users felt that they were lied to. Even Valve bought it and look what happened now. I'd be pissed too if I had to pay a full-priced game that wasn't even half-finished supported by a "pay-to-win" model.
1 Like @dalejrgamer When I bought the game I knew it was work in progress. It's not full priced...it's 20 dollars. And it is not pay to win...you cannot BUY guns for instance.
1 Like @Damnation_6 @dalejrgamer You can buy finished games for $20. Look at Torchlight 2. You are insane for defending them. Enjoy the steaming crap you bought.
2 Like The story of the development of Day Z appears more wholesome and inspiring by comparison. Not even a game feature-by-feature comparison is needed to tout which game wins anyone's trust.
7 Like 4 god damn hours between respawn?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!!!
And they expect people to buy this?
@DrKill09 That was planned from the start. That is only for Normal styled characters that keep stats. Hardcore will be instant, no wait.
3 Like BOO MONEY GRUBBING FROM COMPANIES. I will not be playing this game and I will be boycotting all of this companies products.
2 Like "The post goes on to list a variety of changes in the new patch, including "increasing the respawn-timer from 1 hour to 4 hours", while adding a "revive" button where players can spend real-world money to revive instantly."
I'm surprised EA didn't try this first, lol.
7 Like This whole thing sounds very shady...My advice is to not put money into WarZ for now.
3 Like I never realized how easily devs can patch their games to make them into something very different. This news report really helped me out.
I had alot of fun in this game. I started with DayZ, but i wasn't a fan of the arma 2 engine/super zombies. I loved the smaller map in this game, and just gameplay in general, but to do something like this? what the F**k.......
Guess ill just wait till arma 3 comes out and play DayZ then
@greendude123 DayZ will use it's own engine, and i will have many improvements, it won't have enhanced graphics at firs, but it could come in future updates.
2 Like @greendude123 DayZ ain't coming for ArmA3. It'll be standalone on the TOH engine.
@antoineflemming O, ic. Is it going to have the updated graphics Amra 3 is going to have?
@greendude123 @antoineflemming
There are a huge modding community for Arma, really cool guys (& ladies) The Standalone wont be coming from Arma 3 but from predecessor - from and addon i think?! Anyhoo, it will be worth the wait. I hope they don't rush it as I would love to see the standalone a solid game
6 Like It's sad to see a company sinking lower and lower in desperation. Why does a company want to be so infamous for negative reasons? Especially continuing such behavior after so much backlash? :(
2 Like Ok, so they even stole some images form The Walking Dead series for the cover art: http://kotaku.com/5969927/some-war-z-images-were-ripped-from-the-walking-dead?tag=The-War-Z
Whoever still thinks this thing is not a scam really deserves his money stolen.
9 Like AND it has now been pulled off the steam for now, thank god and hope it never comes back!
It is very clear, by graphics, lack of anything really, and cash shop for ONE TIME items. Was nothing more than a money grab on the success on Day Z
2 Like I played the game since the Alpha started...most of this stuff is slander. DayZ fans and banned hackers are really trying to give this game a bad name and people actually believe it. The devs have always been honest about the game not beeing complete and have constantly been updating the game adding more stuff. The game has entered Beta since the steam release and was in alpha before that.
If people actually start to believe this crap the game might not get finished...fortunately thousands of people are still playing and having a good time (including me). Look up some youtube gameplay vids and judge for yourself before you begin to parot this crap.
That's not the point. The point is that they lied about what's already in their game. You can't write features in the description, get people to buy the game, then say you're going to implement them in the future.
@Damnation_6 If everything else was perfect, if it was Battlefield 3 quality game, I'd STILL hate the 4 hour revive/ pay real money to revive system. It's abusive and it's time people feel in their pockets it's NOT ok to put this kind of crap in games that are not FREE in the first place.
@Damnation_6 Why do you think I'm here? I did watch youtube gameplay, and as someone who has beta AND ALPHA tested far more finished games releasing this thing FOR MONEY and then forcing people into microtransactions is just CRAZY! CRAZY I TELL YOU CRAZY!!!
3 Like @Colekern I read some of it but I dont agree with 80% of it. It's pure slander and you probably copy pasted it from some DayZ fan. I played War Inc and none of the maps are the same as the map in WarZ. Some of the buildings are and they used the weapons from War Inc in WarZ and I cant really blame them.
@PadyEos And you really have to play dumb to get 5 characters killed in 4 hours to be honest.But I am not a fan myself...I'd rather see it 2 hours personally.
@Damnation_6 Except that they straight up lied to their steam customers. If that's not a scam, what is? If you buy a car and you were promised GPS, heated seats, leather seats, an ipod doc, cupholders, etc....
and then they give you none of that, except a car that you can drive. You are then promised that those features will come later, on their schedule. That's not a scam?
@WiggityWhack lol yes they took guns and some textures from War Inc? So what they need to redo all that stuff because they may not copy or use stuff or their own engine? What bullshit is that. I dont see how it is a ripoff, the game is working and they have been patching a lot since the alpha release. If they asked 50 bucks for it and only delivered it as a barebones alpha and never added anything since october THEN it would be a scam.
@Damnation_6 So you admit this game is recycled crap from War Inc? Sure the map is different, but they're not even trying to make new assets. The product page was full of complete BS, there was no "misreading" going on. I've never played WarZ or DayZ but it's obvious this was a rushed copy of the latter to make a buck. Glad you enjoy it, but it's straight up rip off as numerous articles online have shown.
@Damnation_6 Also, I didn't say that hey copied maps from WarZ, I said that they copied weapons, character models, and textures from War Inc.
@Damnation_6 Even though it"s true? I hand-wrote that, and I've been doing research for days.I made sure that everything I said was factual before I posted it here. Would you mind telling me what exactly isn't true about it?
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The War Z
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- Publisher(s): Arktos Entertainment
- Developer(s): Hammerpoint Interactive
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Release:
- ESRB: M
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