Sean Murray explains why it's best for Anthem and Fallout 76 developers to stay silent after launch

From Games Radar: "Sean Murray, founder of Hello Games and famed creator of No Man's Sky, knows a thing or two about how to deal with... shall we say, constructive feedback.

The game's original release back in 2016 saw a huge backlash from players who felt misled by its lack of promised features, but the indie studio has since worked its way out of that sticky situation through healthy post-launch support, most notably with the release of No Man's Sky Next last year and the upcoming launch of No Man's Sky Beyond within the next few months. "

[masterfox]

That's just being coward, face your audience and tell the truth and earn a bit of shame that's the least they can do.

[NarutoFox]

Let me get this straight, so being silent means your a coward?

[DillyDilly]

Being silent means you got nothing positive to say

[CrimsonWing69]

Yea, when people are asking what the hell is happening with the game and why it was released in such a state and you run, hide, and keep quiet... that seems pretty cowardly.

[thatguyhayat]

Being silent and not addressing the issue means you gone and messed up big time

[Nitrowolf2]

I would say it does, when you aren’t there to address your community and wait for it to Seattle down only to still be silent on the dedicated fans, it’s cowardly IMO

[Imalwaysright]

Yes.

[bouzebbal]

Starting quiet while people are pissed means 2 things: u don't give a #### or you have nothing to say..
Not the right way to deal with people's frustration.. I always found this guy to be full of it through the e3 conferences he has been to.. He has no insurance the way he speaks

[NarutoFox]

@thatguyhayat

I agree being silent and not addressing the *issue* is cowardly but being silent in general or if you're a quiet person is not cowardly

[yomfweeee]

In this context yes it does. You put out a complete crap product which was no where near what was promised. If there is a huge uproar and you stay quiet... yes that is cowardly. Admit the mistakes to start with. If you have a plan, say so.

[Christopher]

***Being silent means you got nothing positive to say***

If that was true, then this site would be deadly silent.

[Soybetaboy]

Yes, you messed own up to it

[BlaqMagiq1]

Yes it does. Own up to your shit and apologize for it. Come back better for it next time. Saying nothing will make you look worse.

[UltraNova]

I guess Murray doesn't know who EA and Bethesda are...he might have had a plan to redeem himself and NMS and hunkered down in silence to fix it (still wrong but he did had a plan at least) but think logically and historically for a moment on who EA and Beth are and tell me if they give a shit or just moved on altogether to the next Live service bullcrap they had planned...

[blacktiger]

yes you are hiding

[Kosic]

I agree to some extent. It's when Devs say they'll do post launch content and then go quiet. How do we know the game is being supported any longer after the harsh backlash.

They should speak up and explain their plan to fix the issues.
The longer they stay the quiet the less we as gamers would trust them.

For no man's sky, it was harsh to the developer. But I give him credit and respect for sticking to it and rarely going under the radar.

Bethesda, I've lost trust after fallout 4 and with 76 and the same old issues. It's hard to say I'd buy into their next game.

[DaDrunkenJester]

No Mans Sky / Shawn Murray literally went afk for almost a year after launch. He wouldn't address anything, he wouldn't show his face, nothing. Yes they did come back with a good update so at least they were doing something, but they should have been upfront about their plans and admitted mistakes from the beginning.

[rainslacker]

He tried to address stuff. But every comment by him was just people flying off the handle, calling him a liar, and generally talking shit about him.

There was nothing he could say to improve the situation, so why bother trying to address it. Make a statement you're going to improve for those that may want to know and not just want to throw out random hate, then work to improve.

That's a good way to stay silent in situations like that, because as we've seen, not staying quiet tends to just make things worse.

Maybe if the community could be a bit more restrained in the way they handle their criticism, it wouldn't have to be like that. It doesn't help that the media will happily jump on any chance to twist any comment into something incendiary.

With EA and Bethesda, they just don't know when to shut up, and come across more as trying to make excuses, rather than as if they have any genuine desire to make things right. Even if they're working to make things right, they always have to come and say something stupid....or in EA's case, somehow make it the consumers fault.

[dumahim]

@rainslacker

"He tried to address stuff. But every comment by him was just people flying off the handle, calling him a liar, and generally talking shit about him. "

the first part of that is absolute, complete bullshit.
Between the game's launch on 8/12 and 8/18 (his last tweet before silence), it was all about hype and working on technical issues. He even commented on his amazement that people actually met each other on the first day, despite the clear fact that they didn't actually meet each other. They just happened to be in the same place at the same time and there was zero evidence that the other was there. The time of day was different, they didn't see what the other person did to the environment, and they could pause the game with no effect to the other player.

There was a few tweets in October about his account being hacked and his next tweet was about the first major update at the end of Nov. Over 3 months of silence. There was no comments about the missing features elsewhere either. A LOT of the players anger was driven by the silence.

[DaDrunkenJester]

Pretty much. For the amount of shit that Sea of Thieves got at launch, Rare has continued to make weekly dev videos talling to their fans, admitting mistakes, and making massive changes based on fan feedback.

You dont need to go quiet, you need to talk to the fans and make good changes they want. Anthem needs better loot drops, that's been the complaint the entire time, just do it already.

If you're open, honest, and willing to take feedback and make that feedback your priority... that's how you build a close fanbase. Look at what Warframe did as well. Their launch was rocky, but they have some of the best community managers talking to their fans and they have been making massive strides.

At times you're going to get a punch on the chin, it's how you get back up from it is what will define you. Running away and hiding in your room for a year is not the answer.

[Heavenly King]

It would be nice to have the developer addressing the issues, and actually have a plan to fix them.......BUT STILL; It is a lot better to say nothing, than straight out lie to you costumers ***cough...Anthem....cough***

[chobit_A5HL3Y]

doesn't mean anything nowadays. some people are just entitled, sometimes rightfully so, other times not, and that leads to bullshit either way. there's a reason why there's the saying, "actions speak louder than words". if they're gonna make the game better, then let them work. the internet isn't going to make your job easier if you talk or not, so just do the work and let it speak for itself.

[rdgneoz3]

Telling the truth and admitting fault it was saved FFXIV. It's now released it's third expansion and has millions of players around the world. They realized what was first released was crap and apologized to the players, and then spent their time fixing it before finally releasing A Realm Reborn. They didn't ghost players or hide, they admitted fault and the game has thrived since.

[rainslacker]

He's not saying you have to just shut yourself away and not address the issues. He's pretty much saying that one should not try to keep making excuses for why things didn't work out well. Admit fault if necessary. Give a plan to fix it. Then fix it. Between those last two, one shouldn't prattle on about why the game isn't that bad like we see with FO76 or Anthem.

[Maywell]

You need to study more about business and marketing knowledge

[rainslacker]

Actually, Murray tried to explain after launch. Only a couple times though. Nothing he said mattered. Instead, he shut up, and went and improved the game, and after he did that, he came out and seemed genuinely sincere about wanting to do right by his customers.

He worked to gain forgiveness, not just begged people to give it.

[dumahim]

Bullshit.

Between the game's launch on 8/12 and 8/18 (his last tweet before silence), it was all about hype and working on technical issues. He even commented on his amazement that people actually met each other on the first day, despite the clear fact that they didn't actually meet each other. They just happened to be in the same place at the same time and there was zero evidence that the other was there. The time of day was different, they didn't see what the other person did to the environment, and they could pause the game with no effect to the other player.

There was a few tweets in October about his account being hacked and his next tweet was about the first major update at the end of Nov. Over 3 months of silence. There was no comments about the missing features elsewhere either. A LOT of the players anger was driven by the silence.

[Christopher]

***That's just being coward, face your audience and tell the truth and earn a bit of shame that's the least they can do.***

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Talk and people will criticize you no matter what as "the game shouldn't have been released in this state". Stay silent and people will criticize you for not sayin things.

In the end, what matters most is rectifying the issue and having to deal with randos in the community isn't necessarily important to focusing and getting things done in a timely manner. If you don't like it, get that refund. But they still worked on improving the game without having to involve themselves in discussions that people would twist and turn into other complaints let alone they didn't need to make promises on when and what was coming.

[rainslacker]

Even after all this time, some people still seem really upset about what happened. Any chance to take a shot I guess.

I don't know if all that matters is rectifying the issues, as I would prefer games be released in a proper state, and not be oversold by the dev or pub. I understood why some people may be upset with what happened, but the complete and utter hate lobbed at the dev was way overblown and irrational. People acted like the man came over and boiled their pet bunny and should burn in hell. These same kinds of people will still buy the next Fallout game, or EA game if they finally get good, but no MP in NMS and Murray needs to retire and is never again to be trusted.

It's beyond ridiculous.

[Christopher]

***I don't know if all that matters is rectifying the issues, as I would prefer games be released in a proper state, and not be oversold by the dev or pub.***

That's in relationship to the "issue". The issue was that he released the game without all that was "promised." So, all that matters at that point is rectifying the issues.

[DarXyde]

An oil company causes a horrendous spill and apologizes in hopes that you'll forgive them and keep buying their petrol.

OR

You man up, handle your poor delivery, and turn it around. Through action.

Which is better?

Murray really brought it after the lofty promises that fell short. Then he made up for it with actions.

[esherwood]

Honestly gamers aren’t the forgiving type, really no point responding your just going to get it spun against you. Maybe instead of strategizing on how to deal with bad launches you work on being more honest In your PR though. Murray strait up lied about his game

[TheEroica]

The gaming community acts unreasonable, inhumane and volitile at times. They can be an embarrassment to our hobby. If I'm a developer I'm not feeding that cell block right, ever.

[Rachel_Alucard]

Says the guy who flat out lied to everyone. At least Bioware and Bethesda didn't do that, they just sugarcoated it.

[TricksterArrow]

They lied.

[TheOptimist]

Sugarcoating is lying.

A lie is a lie. Big, small, middling, makes no difference. The degree is arbitrary.

At least Sean Murray kept silent but worked his way up there. What are Fallout 76 and Anthem doing? Adding battle royales and being present at E3 shouting from one corner of the room "I exist!!!"

[Rachel_Alucard]

Sean made actual claims to things that never appeared in vanilla plus many trailers showed the same. 76 and Anthem did not do this but they did show scripted gameplay demos. Sugarcoating is AAA publisher wide thing, lying is what Peter Molyneux did.

[esemce]

"Everyone Lies" House MD.

I don't think I will ever trust any launch from Bioware, Bugthesda or Murray.

[TheOptimist]

@esemce

I see you are a man of culture :3

[Juusterey]

And getting fake audiences

[dumahim]

"it just works" "16 times the detail."
I think that's beyond sugar coating.

[paradigmfellow]

Sugarcoating is lying.

[shadowraiden]

they lied way worse then even he did. or do i need to remind you the whole "it just works" that Bethesda said yet nothing worked in FO76.
Anthem well is that even a game at best its a tech demo it has literally nothing except some nice flying mechanics.

[rdgneoz3]

Bioware's pre release footage of Anthem was nothing like the release. During E3, they showed that you could solo stuff and have friends drop in and out at any time. That you could be go to dungeons from the world map and during one you could find an event going on like an Ancient Titan out in the open world. They also showed a ton of customization materials and different armors, only to lock them behind the store with a trickle over time (the sugarcoating part).

[william_cade]

Bioware made a fake trailer for Anthem.

[ShockUltraslash]

BiowThedsa lied too.
Also Sean Murray is a good guy. He wanted to make a good game. He failed. Then he corrected his mistake.
When Bioware and Bethedsa failed, they are abandoning this after taking money from gamers.

[BlaqMagiq1]

Todd Howard said "it just works."

Then I saw a video of someone playing FO76 and it was literally destabilizing right in front of him. That is WAY worse than NMS.

[Rachel_Alucard]

You forgot how he then said it doesn't work at E3. His main studio in Maryland didn't even make 76 yet they face all the brunt of criticism.

[Juusterey]

"It just works"

[BlaqMagiq1]

"You forgot how he then said it doesn't work at E3"

Source?

"His main studio in Maryland didn't even make 76 yet they face all the brunt of criticism."

Lmao what? You might wanna check your facts. Bethesda Game Studios made the game with the help of MULTIPLE studios, with Todd Howard being the director. They deserve ALL the criticism.

[Rachel_Alucard]

Bethesda Austin made the brunt of 76. Maryland implemented a lighting renderer and only had the game for a year. Check your facts. The "It just works" line is also from way back in Fallout 4's reveal in 2015 and I have not seen him say that at all last year at E3. I'm not even defending the game or the company since Zenimax is run by evil disinterested con men, but the disinformation that's spread is more rampant then I figured.

[Tonykid]

I don't even need to read the article everytime PR talks to angry gamers they still get angry or things just get worse. If the devs can't change things just shut up and release the game and cut your losses.

[harmny]

Hello games has what? 20 employees.
Bioware and BGS have thousands.
If the game fails it's over.
Big companies won't take the risk of staying silent and working on the game for two years

[Cmv38]

Offer full refunds, and scrap the game. Do better next time and at least there'll be a next time.

[lelo2play]

More PR BS from lying developers. Staying silent after a shitty release is never a good idea.
How about this... IF THE GAME ISN'T READY (OR FINISHED), DON'T RELEASE THE GAME.

Most people play a game when released and the first impression is extremely important. If on release a game is crap, no matter how much you improve it later on, a high percentage of those gamers will never return to it again...

[DothrakiSea]

I don't think they would have been able to make the changes they have made without releasing it and pulling in some revenue

[Gwiz]

Then maybe you tell people beforehand,these tactics make people lose trust in these kind of projects.
You do realize that people paid more at launch and when the GOG version didn't get a certain functionality they were left with the refunds.This was an early access game without saying that it is while asking a premium price.

and even covering functionality with a sticker,nah man they did more damage than anything else.
In an already declining industry.

[DothrakiSea]

Settle Down bud, I never said it was a good strategy but I bet it's true. I'm one of those people that payed full price so I do realize it. And they didn't do any damage, just because you are butthurt and can't get over it doesn't mean it's actually changed the industry at all, and if it does it will be for the better. They have already stated they aren't going to make a NMS 2 and will continue to develop this one and add to it. If other games go that route than please, change the industry. I'll gladly pay $60 to play a game for years to come while it changes and adapts, even if it feels boring off the bat, all the while relishing the tears of people that truly think they are important. Guess what Gwiz, even with message board warriors like you crying constantly about this game, people still play it and they still update it. "these tactics make people lose trust in these kind of projects." Well not me, or all the others that still play it or have come to it since then. Apparently you aren't the only consumer, whodda thunk. Some people like Early Access and concepts similar, it's okay if you don't too.

[Omnisonne]

Big difference though: both Anthem and F76 are multiplayer focused. Meaning if the player base shrinks, it would be a waste of time and resources of keep updating the game for these companies.
Hello Games had everything riding on NMS, if that failed, so would the studio.

[DothrakiSea]

Another big difference in my opinion is Hello Games probably needed the sales of NMS to even make these changes. Anthem and F76 should have limitless resources at their disposal in comparison.

[PygmelionHunter]

Shut up, Sean. You’re a complete joke.

[ILostMyMind]

People like you are why he stayed silent.

[CrimsonWing69]

No, you make a product that's good at launch. Why is this so difficult for developers to understand now!?

How about this, don't announce the game early and wait till you have it in the "playable state" that won't have consumers upset? Then you won't need to ignore people since it's less likely that they'll be upset.

Crazy concept, I know...

[Juusterey]

Why?
why put in extra effort and time when people will buy the games anyway?

[porkChop]

I understand going silent and focusing on the game. However, in the case on NMS I think Sean should have apologized and given an explanation before going silent.

[Espangerish]

A better policy than ‘staying silent’ is ‘tell the truth’.

Having said that, Hello games could have taken the money from their good launch sales and walked away. Instead they have been releasing wave and wave of free DLC for a long time now. They deserve credit for that at least.

[xRacer74x]

Totally correct. As a developer myself You put your heart into a project and when its reception is negative its to easy to get caught up in your own emotions when making responses. Also you generally only hear from negative responses the positive ones are using your project and are enjoying it.

[AspiringProGenji]

Oh so you are an EA developer after all since you were defending them the other day🤔

[xRacer74x]

I hope you take pride in whatever you do for living. The response you gave makes you sound young or you have a job that you hate. Either way you should find something that makes you enjoy to do for a living. And No I do not work for EA.

[Dabigsiebowski]

Just take the money and retire Shawn. You've done enough damage to the industry with your 60 dollar indie cash grab of a lie based in a game.

[ILostMyMind]

To be honest, he taught (for those with the ability to learn) not to blindly throw money on companies promises. Bethesda customers have not learned.

[Hardiman]

What I like is he stopped all the talking because he'd done too much of that before launch and over sold it. But and this is a pretty big but, he and the team worked their ass's off to get it to where No Man's Sky is. I don't see Anthem or 76 getting the same treatment.

[CP_Company]

let get this straight, it is very different kind of games. if you are making SP games, it is more forgiving. when you are making GAS games, you open your self, because you make a game as the service and you have to be 100% open, there is not hiding behind that. in GAS games silent means just 2 things - game is dead or heavily dying.

[ILostMyMind]

GaaS*

[bluefox755]

Lol, I guess he would know.

[LordJamar]

No that’s cowardly admit your mistakes like bethesada did have open talks and active community reps talking to players and have updates weekly and livestream talking to the community fallout 76 does this and it’s gotten better not worse for it

[Juusterey]

bethesda didn't admit their mistakes
Todd went up and made one joke vaguely referencing it and then bragged about the game

[LordJamar]

They admitted it multiple times what are you talking about he even said they deserved the criticism he admitted the game was and does have problems but that there committed to fixing it and have and are I get it’s good to blindly hate them but I’m just asking to give credit when it’s due they are doing allot with the community and following the roadmap to a tea and always doing big updates and patches just give credit when it’s due

[SovereignSnaKe]

Sean Murray is an awkward idiot, neither of those games should have ever been developed period. Waste of time, resources and talent. They were attempts to make money on that stupid new buzz concept "games as a service" and both failed and rightly so.

[Smokehouse]

I don’t blame him. You don’t try to have a discussion with raving lunatics. It goes nowhere. Just stay focused and try to make it better.

[Jdoki]

Developers wouldn't need to go silent after launch if they:
a) Delivered what they promised
b) Didn't bend the truth, mislead or outright lie to their customers to hype up their games
c) Release a complete game rather than some empty husk that is only complete with Day 1 DLC, Season Passes, loot boxes and micro transactions
d) Didn't publish BS roadmaps of post launch content that they can never hope to fulfil on time (or at all)
e) Didn't show bullshots at events such as E3

[gangsta_red]

Just one of the biggest game disappointments of this gen. I was excited for this game when it was announced and applauded them for doing something different in the beginning. But the more info about this game released the more I became skeptical. The main issue I noticed was in the demos, it was absolutely boring, there was nothing exciting about any of it. And that fear actually became true when I finally played it.

Then you have the constant lies about the game that Sean did while promoting the game and it just added to the frustration of trying to find anything fun or good about NMS.

I'm hoping that this type of game design can be expanded upon by a bigger much more competent dev. Maybe even put a license behind it like Star Trek which is long over due and would fit perfect with what this game was trying to accomplish.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

That's the coward way out

[Gwiz]

lol yeah that's great advice to give for future purchases.

[william_cade]

Yeah, take the money and stay silent...idiots. It's best to have a transparent relationship with your customers even if that means you f'd up.

[Gwiz]

IKR?in what universe does this make sense?

[Chumdiddy]

Didn't even read the article but I'll tell you why:

It's because talk is cheap and you'll NEVER win or win back trust/support with words. Words and excuses will only anger people, especially people that trusted you enough to give you money.

Shut up and make it right. Get to work. At most, you leave a quick apology and directly state that you'll make it right.

[mastershredder]

That's like taking life advice from a 13 year old. You have a long way to go Sean. You and your team.

[Moe-Gunz]

I’m convinced almost everyone here didn’t read the article. Pretty much he is saying that you have to take what people are saying and just use your actions to speak / gain the respect or trust. Talking isn’t going to do it, your actions will.

That’s what he is saying. You have to prove that you’re listening and changing not talk.

[ILostMyMind]

This.

[tochi]

Hello Games eventually earned respect from customers because;
1. No one expected their comeback. (People just gave up on the game, and forgot as time passed. So the silence helped them for this aspect.)
2. Game was standalone and single player game. (Gamer's tolerance to crappy single payer game is pretty high.)
3. At least, people agreed that the idea and design were fascinating. (First few hours of the game was nothing like we've seen before.)
4. They didn't design the game for micro-transaction. (They didn't add fuel.)

I don't think Anthem and Fallout have any of above.
They are big companies. So people expected to do something much quicker. Isn't it one big reason of criticism today? Plus those are on-line games. People has very low tolerance to on-line mess. Moreover, main criticisms of both games are about lack of creativity and incompetent game design. They are unimaginative boring games, even if they weren't broken. Lastly, they added a lot of fuel to angry customers by implementing stupid micro-transactions one after another.

[mogwaii]

Great advice from a coward bastard, what a bloody knob end.

[sprinterboy]

I downloaded the free trial of 76 and its awful, deleted after 2 hours. What a mess of a game.
As for anthem it's dead, even a year from now with improvements gamers have moved on.
When will devs and pubs understand we don't want Gaas games at full price with barebones launch content.
Either make gaas games f2p with mt or charge less for the game, explain launch and year 1 and 2 content etc.

[ILostMyMind]

He is more or less right. Many mistakes have been made.

1 - Don't release an unfinished product. If it so, make clear it is an early access version.
2 - If the product has problems say that you are aware and listening to the community, that you will solve them urgently.
3 - Don't attempt to monetize (with DLCs) a defective product. Fix it first.
4 - Don't make promises you won't keep.
5 - Don't directly respond angry people on the internet, they are only there to be trolls and won't help the situation.
6 - After all done and gone, don't play as a victim.

But if you or your company repeat these "mistakes" often, GTFO!

[terrorofdeath]

They just needed to say "we hear you, we're working on it"
Radio silence doesn't help one bit.

[lellkay]

Jesus christ.... It's NOT AT ALL best to be silent. What's best is to BE HONEST, not constantly make excuses and make things worse by trying to justify the clear problems with shitty fucking excuses.

[Imortus_san]

BAD GAAS games do this.