Supporters against stupid Pre-Ordering practices get a win against Deus Ex: Mankind Divided today. Instead of tiers of content being unlocked by the amount of pre-orders for the game, the producers have given in with community backlash to this practice and have announced that they are going to include ALL pre-order content to anyone who pre-orders the game. You can find the apology statement below.
Square Enix Inc. and Eidos-Montréal® today announced that the Augment Your Pre-Order program for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided®, will be revised to better meet the expectations of the Deus Ex® community. Initially conceived as a reward to players by allowing them to choose their own content (mirroring one of Deus Ex’s core gameplay pillars), the promotion was negatively viewed by the community. Having watched, read, and listened to feedback, Square Enix and Eidos- Montréal will modify the program to remove pre-order tiers.
“We really understand and appreciate the passion for Deus Ex that the fans have shown here,” said David Anfossi, Studio Head at Eidos-Montréal. “Know that all of us, both at Square Enix and Eidos-Montreal, share that passion for this franchise.”
A vast majority of the negative feedback received arose from the tiers, and the requirement of specific pre-order numbers to unlock them. Therefore, taking into account the feedback from fans, the pre-order tiers have been removed, and all of the associated content with the program will now be made available for free to anyone who pre-orders or purchases a Day 1 edition of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Additionally, the release date will no longer be changed in accordance to pre-order numbers, and everyone will gain access to the game on February 23rd, 2016.
Square Enix and Eidos-Montréal sincerely thank the community for the love and dedication they have shown for the Deus Ex franchise.
On a personal note, even though they have fixed this very obvious marketing blunder, I would urge people to NOT PRE-ORDER ANY GAME EVER. Pre-Orders are a plague on the gaming industry that just makes you think you are getting good content for dropping $5-$10 down early. With games today coming out as bug infested messes, content cut for DLC purposes, Season Passes that don’t offer all the content (I’m looking at you WWE 2K15, Batman: Arkham Knight & Mortal Kombat X), and so much more annoying things; I urge people to vote against these practices with your wallet. If you do want a game, at least wait for the reviews to come up here at The Outerhaven, or Youtube, or anywhere before dropping your hard earned money on any game.