Industrie Gigant 4.0 has disappointed its players. German publisher Toplitz Productions now explains why development was discontinued despite millions in government funding.
Subsidies from the Bavarian state government and the German government totaling €1,217,765 have been invested in the German game Industrie Gigant 4.0 from developer Don vs Dodo. But now, together with publisher Toplitz Productions (Medieval Dynasty), the team has released the game in a state that has many fans seeing red.
With the launch of the supposedly finished version after a year in Early Access, further development has been officially discontinued, with urgent hotfixes only to be released if major bugs occur. According to the publisher, this was a decision that was “not easy to make.”
Buyers are fighting back with scathing criticism and Steam reviews, which are “mostly negative” on average, with 64 percent of users advising against purchasing the game. Now, industry veteran Petra Fröhlich from GamesWirtschaft has grilled the publisher: What is behind this PR disaster for Toplitz Productions?
No money for major renovations
Tamara Berger, Head of Marketing & PR at Toplitz, declares version 1.0 of Industrie Gigant 4.0 to be a “technically stable and fully playable full version,” contrary to the opinion of many players. Toplitz indirectly rejects the accusation that the current version of the game is still in the beta stage.
The company understands that expectations were raised “that could not be fully met.” . After the early access launch, a roadmap with planned enhancements was published, most of which have been implemented. However, some points “could no longer be realized for economic and technical reasons.”
However, Berger admits that the intended mix of new elements and classic mechanics has proven to be “less harmonious” than expected for parts of the community. The consequence: the game “does not meet the expectations of many players to the extent we had hoped.”
Industrie Gigant 4.0 is “a standalone, fully functional product that, as several reviews confirm, provides an entertaining gaming experience.” However, this assessment stands in sharp contrast to the “exceptionally negative and disappointed” response from buyers.
Retrofitting the game design or incorporating major enhancements during the early access phase, which is actually intended for such work, would have required “significant additional investment.” According to the spokeswoman, this was “simply no longer economically viable in view of the sales figures and general market development.”
Where has the government funding gone?
Developer Don vs Dodo received a total of €300,000 from the Free State of Bavaria for the prototype and implementation of the game, with an additional €917,765 coming from the Federal Ministry of Economics from November 2022. This amounts to a total of €1,217,765 in funding.
Toplitz Productions emphasizes that this “public funding served to support Germany as a development location” and “was not intended to fully finance the game.” The company made it clear that it invested a seven-figure sum itself and ultimately “incurred a massive loss.”
Subsidies do not have to be repaid as long as the deadlines were met, the use of funds is plausible, and the game was released in a playable state. The publisher therefore does not see the decision to terminate the project as an economic advantage. It is “simply an expression of corporate responsibility.”
The consequence for the developer studio Don vs Dodo is the planned end of the collaboration after completion of version 1.0. No further joint projects are currently planned. Toplitz Productions wants to use the “many insights” gained from the partnership to “tailor future projects even more specifically to the expectations of players.”
