GAMEPUMP Misses Scheduled Launch, Adds GOG Support

Published: January 7, 2017 3:32 PM /

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GAMEPUMP Logo

GAMEPUMP, the game publisher/subscription service hybrid masterminded by former Call of Duty lead Robert Bowling, has delayed the launch of their service. Originally scheduled to release a new game on the first Friday of every month in 2017, GAMEPUMP announced late Friday that they would be postponing the official launch of the service into March due to quality concerns with some of their scheduled releases. For those who preordered their subscriptions, a full refund is available on the GAMEPUMP site underneath the announcement.

https://twitter.com/GAMEPUMP_com/status/817525035799719939

For those who wish to wait a bit longer, it was announced that current subscribers would still be getting a game in January and February, as well as the fact that these games would not count towards their initial thirteen game subscription. As previously reported on TechRaptor, the first game due out later this month is a PC conversion of WayForward's iOS game LIT. Originally inspired by the Wiiware game of the same name, this is a new version that was "built from the ground up" with PC in mind and adds a new playable character. LIT will be releasing straight onto Steam thanks to WayForward's existing publisher contract with Valve. When asked about the WiiWare version of LIT, Bowling stated to TechRaptor that GAMEPUMP would be willing to "explore what it'll take to get the WiiWare version to PC as well" due to audience demand.

Looking forward, February's title was announced to be the comeback of an NES horror game, which led to speculations among TechRaptor staff that included everything from Friday the 13th to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Speaking with Bowling over email, we can also confirm that several other games being published by GAMEPUMP this year will be WayForward projects. The announcement mentions that LIT didn't exactly match the initial criteria of the service and that future games would better fit the mission statement of GAMEPUMP. When discussing why LIT didn't fit their criteria with us, Bowling mentioned that while the WiiWare version would, the mobile version is too recent in their estimate to fit their idea of a console classic LIT gamepump

Finally, despite initially being described as a Steam-first service, GAMEPUMP will now initially publish their games on GOG and run Steam Greenlight campaigns for them to get onto Valve's service. Robert told us that games would be hitting Greenlight only after their GOG release in order to preserve the surprise inherent in this type of subscription service.

Subscribers will get a GOG key for their games on release and then have the ability to exchange that key for a Steam key once the game makes it onto the marketplace proper. GAMEPUMP's Twitter went into further detail about the arrangement, citing failed negotiations with Valve as the reason that they were forced to change this particular part of their vision.


Quick Take

I'm disappointed to see this initial setback in GAMEPUMP's plans, but I'm still very interested to see what other projects they're working on. LIT doesn't light my world on fire, but anyone out there working to make sure old games aren't lost to the sands of time will always have my support. Still, you only get one chance to make a good impression, and I saw that a lot of their customers weren't willing to give them the benefit of the doubt as the announcement was first published.

What are your thoughts on GAMEPUMP's launch issues? Are you still interested in what games they have lined up, or do you feel that this folly was too severe to recover from? Let us know in the comments below!

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


Alex Santa Maria TechRaptor
| Staff Writer

Alex Santa Maria is TechRaptor's former Reviews Editor (2015-2020) and current occasional critic. Joining the site early in its life, Alex grew the review… More about Alex

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Little Nightmares
Game Page Little Nightmares
Developer
Tarsier Studios
Platforms
Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Release Date
April 27, 2017 (Calendar)
Purchase (Some links may be affiliated)