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Fans accuse Friday the 13th devs of “favoritism” over use of press keys

Friday the 13th: The Game Wes Keltner Responds to Criticism

Friday the 13th: The Game has had a somewhat troubled release. There have been serious issues with the servers, marring what many agree is a solid multiplayer horror game. But perhaps worst of all, frustrated fans have forced a statement from Gun Media head Wes Keltner about the studio’s decision to give out press keys to streamers and YouTubers.

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It’s a tough issue to discuss, simply because both sides of the argument are easy to sympathize with. On the one hand, you have the fans who funded to the project. They’ve waited a year and a half only to see some random streamer get their hands on it first. Then you have the studio, who have every right to publicise their product to the best of their ability.

Keltner took to the game’s forums to explain his side of the story. He begins by pointing out that “the world of video game journalism shifted BIG TIME over the last few years. Content creators on Youtube and streamers on Twitch, garner audiences that rival press outlets.” he then goes on to justify his decision by adding “content creators and streamers create a direct avenue to new audiences. New audiences lead to potential new sales. New sales mean both full servers AND revenue to keep the servers going…You could have a great game, but if no one knows about it, it doesn’t last long. Servers close…content dries up…games die.” He finishes off by saying “I’m sorry if you’re upset about this, but I’m doing what I think is best for the future of this title.”

Friday the 13th: The Game Wes Keltner Responds to Criticism

Response to the post has been split right down the middle. One dissatisfied fan challenged the legitimacy of Keltner’s claims, stating “it doesn’t matter if your intent was ‘not about showing favoritism’ , its what you did.” On the other hand, some fans questioned why people were even becoming disgruntled, with one commenter exclaiming “I can’t believe people are complaining about this…the game isn’t even launched and already people are already itching to find silly things to get disgruntled about.”

Friday the 13th: the Game came out on May 26 and enables up to eight people to play together, with one taking the role of iconic ski-masked murderer, Jason Voorhees. You can grab it on Steam for $39.99/£29.99 or check out Wes Keltner’s post over at the F13 forums.