Wolfenstein: Youngblood Dev Leaves Twitter After Harassment Over Microtransactions

Wolfenstein: Youngblood has officially released to a rather mixed reception. While some have lauded a return to the tone and setting of the previous games in the rebooted series, others think the latest installment falls short of its predecessors. Some “fans” have taken things a bit too far, even if they are disappointed the title didn’t live up to its hype since it was announced at last year’s E3.

Those “fans” are so incensed Wolfenstein: Youngblood has microtransactions they reported began harassing lead level designer Mitja Roskaric on Twitter. It bears repeating they were harassing a level designer over microtransactions.

[Lelo34]

We need to be better than this

[bovandy]

Yeah. This is really gross

[Sono421]

Look I wasn't apart of this harassment in any way, but I think fans of the series have every right to be pissed off, the game is absolutely horrible, it literally doesn't get anything right. Filled with MANY design flaws and bugs, and a story that doesn't make sense and filled with plot holes. There isn't a single thing the game does that is in anyway good, it isn't worth $10 let alone $30. It's a 3-4 hour long game padded out with bullcrap to be a 6-7 hour game. Add all that up with the fact there are Micro-transactions and you have the dumpster-fire that is this game.

I of course don't condone harassment, but at the same time I understand why they're upset, and i'm not even a fan of the series, this is the first one I played. I don't understand locking or deleting your twitter because of it, just don't go in Twitter for a while, or block the people you don't want to hear, that's what that option is there for.... not to mention HUGE X to doubt on everyone just complaining about MT's, because this game is flawed in every single way, the MT's are just the icing on the cake. Most people are willing to overlook MT's as long as your game is still good, with this game that is not the case, not. at. all.

[Reefskye]

@sono421 I agree this game is so far removed from a Wolfenstein game, shame ID can't actually make Quake, Wolfenstein and DOOM anymore because game development takes so much longer than it did in the 90s. DOOM 2016 was such a success at doing a modern take of DOOM. Quake was made by some russian developer and lead is an ex Quake pro who thought let's add champions like overwatch but everyone does the same damage (great class design) Wolfenstein has degraded each game since the first reimagined one. I'm just glad that ID has capable developers now who can aleast make a really fun DOOM game.

Untill they finished with DOOM though I don't think we will see much more of Quake or Wolf, as Bethesda has already got rid of the Russian developer for quake and brought it back in house.

[Kornholic]

Game industry also needs to be better than this. You should aim your criticism towards the publisher, not the developer.

[Absonite]

Cold is the shit!

[Kornholic]

@absonite

Indeed

[EliteComments123]

exactly LOL

[Godmars290]

Or at least point the blame where it belongs: Publisher CEOs.

Better yet: go on "Strike". Buy no AAA, big name title. Complain to hell, demand returns, when MTs are added weeks after release, which has become a thing apparently.

[IamTylerDurden1]

We need to go about things in a more appropriate way. Harassing individuals and being profane takes all your credibility away and actually mutes your message. Now the dev/pub is the sympathetic figure and the fans that got screwed are the bad guys. If u are upset with a company for being slimy, let them be the villain. Use your words in a constructive way and lay out your argument in a concise and respectable manner. Just highlight the negatives, give proof, and be mature.

Bethesda/Machine messed up and people are well within their rights to let them know about it, but their arguments would be more affective if they went about things with more class. It sort of lets the bad guy off the hook when u lower yourself to these standards. Now we have an article about harassment by fans rather than highlighting just how badly Bethesda/Machine screwed Wolfenstein and the fans.

[Bathyj]

Gamers are turning into complete shits. Journalist too. It's why after 10 years I'm barely on this site anymore.

I'm fact the only I think I still like about the gaming industry is the games themselves.

[BlackIceJoe]

Blame the microtransactions on Bethesda, no one else. The developer didn't make the decisions, just the higher ups at Bethesda. It really is dumb how Bethesda keeps making these boneheaded mistakes and then has the nerve to get angry at the gaming community.

As for this particular case I'm disappointed with how people can get mad at a developer that is only doing what they have to do or they'll get fired. So again I'll say it Bethesda is the problem, not the workers.

[CP_Company]

you can not fired whole studio, don't be stupid, if developer says no, then publisher could not do nothing. i bet, that developers get some cut from the publisher, that is why they say nothing and do nothing.
and i support fans and people whom are against microtransactions, sometime we need to take extreme measure in extreme cases, i hope, that more people do that, because it should be done.

[bovandy]

This is ridiculous. Do you have a job?

[Phoenix76]

The publisher (Bethesda) can fire who they like. They own the devs (Machine Game). They can also force M/T's into the game if they choose to as they are funding the game.

[Cobra951]

If all developers, meaning individual people, stood up to Bethesda and the other industry bloodsuckers, you would be right. Unfortunately, most of them don't have that much brass between their legs. As long as they can be replaced, they really have no power.

[CorndogBurglar]

No one said anything about firing a whole studio. But they can easily replace anyone within that studio that they want. If Bethesda told them to put in MT's, and then they didn't, guess what? Bethesda will replace all the appropriate people they need to within that studio.

That's how these things work. You can't seriously think the publisher is powerless to do anything if the devs told them no. Lol. That's just ridiculous.

[DJStotty]

Why cant they fire a full studio?

[overrated44]

@bovandy spoiler alert: he doesn't

[Christopher]

***if developer says no, then publisher could not do nothing***

Yeah, that's not how it works.

[Cobra951]

Deleted. (Posted in the wrong place.)

[-Foxtrot]

I'm not supporting this at all but even though you are right, it was Bethesda, the developer did make a shit game at the end of the day. Take out the MT's and you are left with a shit Wolfenstein game.

Again not supporting this but it's not like it's a really good game and the MTs are the only problem.

[IamTylerDurden1]

I place blame on both Bethesda/Zeni and Machine. Typically a publisher doesn't completely strong arm a first party dev on the fourth game of a successful series. It happens on occasion, EA, Microsoft, but i'd have to assume that Machine Games and their parent company sat down and agreed upon the structure of the game. And this wasn't just a case of simply throwing MTs in at the end because the publisher insisted. The game and level design was built around it. This appears to be more of a joint decision. If Machine Games truly protested it and were bullied into it i'm sure there would've been some sort of leak or reports of dissension in the company.

[Rachel_Alucard]

I see people thinking Bethesda is the mastermind still. Go look up Zenimax's board of directors then tell me who's responsible. Specifically, look at the presidents past crimes and the fact they have Jerry Bruckheimer, Cal Ripken Jr., and one of trumps brothers all working together.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

MTs are evil but there are limits ppl

[bangoskank]

Some people seriously need to get lives and/or be put on meds. Harassment is unacceptable behavior to begin with but over a video game...???

[IamTylerDurden1]

Yet at the same time it's perfectly reasonable to speak out against bullshit practices and design decisions that ruin a potentially good game. While i don't encourage harassment, i do encourage ppl to voice their opinions and to let the devs/pubs know that their product and policies are not going to be tolerated. I love the previous Wolfenstein games and i have always heaped praise on the studio for sticking with their consumer friendly, sp design philosophy in this day n age. As i praised them for the good, i must also scold them for the bad. I went on a free press tour promoting how Wolfenstein The Old Blood was such a steal being basically a full sp game released for $20. It even had a physical. A $20 physical and AAA FPS campaign. I tell it how it is, and Machine fucked up this time. Not only was Youngblood $10 more than Old Blood, and not only does it include MTs, but, they also released another bs game with Cyberpilot. A three hour game for the same price as The Old Blood, which was three times the length.

[DJStotty]

And so the snowflakes prevail, just dont buy them, simple as that. No need to attack a guy for doing his job.

[trooper_]

I agree that microtransactions are bad but harassing an innocent person is no better.

[Epzaos]

This is why I don't use Twitter, way too many man-children there.
Yes, microtransactions are a cancer that needs to be purged, but going after a guy that worked on said game is just crossing the line.

[carcarias]

Imho, getting angry and letting publishers and devs know about it is fine but.....

1. Make your point strongly but respectfully, without personal insults or threats.

2. Target the right people, probably the publishers in this instance.

3. Only do it once and restrict further comments to any replies rather than just continuously harassing someone over and over in the same way.

[rob-GP]

yeah, the person behind this was repeatedly posting comments to all the major and smaller websites, trying to claim the dev lied when in reality, the dev was right but an update hadn't rolled out to consoles to adjust what can and can't be bought.

It's all very pathetic.

[rob-GP]

I know the person who started this pathetic crusade on Twitter - it's bloody disgusting. They asked him if MTs were required to play, to which he replied saying it was cosmetic only - which is true. Then, this guy decided to post an image of the PS4 items for sale which he got online (as he doesn't even own the game) and started to call him out for being wrong about a few boosts which weren't even supposed to be buyable with the gold (as you couldn't get them on PC, the update hadn't rolled out to remove them from the PS4 version yet) - plus you could buy them in-game with a tiny amount of coins you pick up.

So, this individual started posting how he was a liar and more vulgar terms whilst messaging to major news sites and smaller ones to try and get them to cover what he thought was news. This led to people seeing his messages and a bunch of uninformed people (just like the originator) jumping on the hate bandwagon and attacking the dev over something he didn't even do.

The guy they were harassing is the Lead Level Designer - he probably had no say or input into the Microtransaction side. Plus, he probably playtested or owns the PC version - where MT for gold is only for the cosmetic things you can already buy in-game.

The whole thing is pathetic and the comments and hate sent towards the dev was totally uncalled for. Even if the guy was responsible for the MTs, they are the least obtrusive ones I've ever seen in a game - I played it pre-release and bought everything with in-game currency with no grinding or backtracking, it all just came naturally.

I hate entitled people who think they have the right to cause people hell just because they aren't happy with something they don't own, never intend on picking up, and to try and fit their agenda of hating everything which will get them clicks and follows. It's pathetic.

[trooper_]

My God, what a psychopath.

[esherwood]

Man Bethesda went down hill so fast, I hope they go bankrupt honestly there games are getting horrible with mt’s

[mastershredder]

Ah the shortsighted crowd of entitlement going after a developer of social media (yawn). Well it's not like he's going to show up on his doorstep or office, that would mean he would have to go.......outside (duh...duh...duh...dramatic prairie dog).

Can you change the description from Fan to child? They got a LOT of growing to do.

[CanadianTurtle]

The game journos are gonna have a field day with this one. I can already smell the articles from a mile away "Toxic Gamers Makes Developer Quit Social Media!"
In all honesty though, I hope the developer gets back on his feet.

[Max_Eckhardt]

What is the the tone and setting return to which they refer?

[Inzo]

I dont understand why people are complaining. Everytime you make a purchase you give these companies ammunition, attacking a dev is not going to change anything until the idiots of this gaming community wake up and start talking with their wallets.

[Smokehouse]

I don’t blame them, twitter is a shit show lol. If you don’t leave due to harassment then you leave because the people there are bottom of the barrel stupid. Anyone trying genuine “business outreach” on twitter is a moron.

[Rachel_Alucard]

That site is host to all the crazy activists from CA too thanks to the hashtag system. Companies see those idiots and think everyone is like that. They are the reason we have this unnecessary push on diversity nobody asked for and the fact that Sony started it's corporate mom protection over a hashtag that had nothing to do with them. Not to mention everyone who's lost jobs over a single tweet they made a decade ago.

[Smokehouse]

I don’t think we as society were meant to share each other’s brain farts on such a massive scale. In person there is a little voice inside telling you not to say that dumb shit lol. Twitter has no idiot filter, you just let that shit roll.

[hiawa23]

Damn shame.

[hiawa23]

Okay, I played through the first level and yes it is different than the other Wolfenstein games, some issues, yes, but the day I start harassing devs on the internet is the day I stop playing video games. That just seems a bit too much for my tastes. We all enjoy games but not to that extent and this from a game lifer who has been gaming since the early 80s.

[SlagWolf]

Alleged harassment
Ok I want to know what was said before I jump on any side on this and how many were saying it

[xX1NORM1Xx]

Hate to see this, the fucking ground level employees dont make the fucking desicions i used to get this all the time in retail people screaming at you because a guy making 3000× your wages made a desicion the customer doesnt like...

[XxINFERNUSxX]

Microtransactions are cancer. Just going to torrent this for PC and not even play it. The game is just average at best. Just going to add it to my Wolfenstein collection.

[Fanof30]

No one has a right to be pissed. The microtransactions are fuckibg meaningless cosmetics your ignorant fools. Omg Microtransactions that have no bearing on the game let me bitch like a child. That's like complaining Target sells trading cards. Morons. If something doesnt effect gameplay then WHO GIVES A FUCKKKKK. You entitled assholes. Never leave your mothers basement. No human interaction let me abuse people on twitter because I'm a lowlife human who can only feel good when I complain about pointless topics.

[esherwood]

That little rant of yours was pretty toxic. Way to lead by example. Pretty much proves you’re one of those people it’s just you’re on the other side of this argument

[Yui_Suzumiya]

I never encountered microtransactions and I played for around 30 hours and got to level 55 .. Loved every minute

[metalgod88]

Attacking someone who worked on the game is not the right thing to do. It's understandable to be angry because the game didn't turn out like we hoped it would but, that doesn't give us the right to say whatever we want to whom ever we want. That's like going to the grocery store, putting cucumbers in your basket, paying for it, going home only to realize you bought zucchini. Then, you go back to the store and talk trash to to the clerk and say things so mean and vile that they take leave for a week.

We are all raised differently, but is it really that difficult to show some respect?

The game sucks and they added micro transactions. Is that okay? Absolutely not. But, pointing the finger at someone involved in development only hurts our credibility as a community. We need to give proper feedback to the people who made the decisions. It's 2019. I'm sure we can figure out who those people are. But, If we continue down this path, developers and publishers are going to care even less what we think and just do what they think will make more money.

[Enigma_2099]

WTF is wrong with these people? The dev isn't the one who put them in there!!!!

[Rachel_Alucard]

Just so people are aware of how microtransactions work, since I see a lot of false narrative being pushed. Almost all of the time the dev is the one who implements the system. They are required by their publisher to meet certain revenue goals each month. The publisher doesn't care how they meet those goals, and they are not the ones who design the system. Ask yourself how a buisiness suit who has no idea what makes a good game would ever know what to implement. Treyarch for example got off scot free by buyers because every terrible thing they added was all pinned on Activision, but internal investigations revealed Treyarch was responsible for almost all of it. The revenue goal set is the main thing that can affect how erratic the implementation of MTs end up being.

However, the entire design and implementation is done by developer end and not publisher as many people seem to be thinking it's the opposite with no evidence to back it up.

[esherwood]

Kinda what i figured, funny how they point the finger to one another

[AK91]

Why don't we just get rid of MT's and lootboxes?