You May Hate Where WAVEN's Gameplay And Monetization Is Headed, But You Have To Respect Their Bluntness

Setting regular news and updates aside, there's generally two types of communication gamers get about the games they track. The first is the hype train ahead of launch. As someone who has covered MMORPG news for over 15 years now, those hype emails usually contain the same buzzwords over and over. You've all seen them. On the F2P front we get the "no P2W" phrase even though it means less and less as time goes on. "Fast-paced", "unique", "10,000 hours", "intense," and more pepper communications from the devs.

The second type is the almost inevitable communications surrounding cuts, mass changes, or even closures when a game is on the downside of things. Again, these communications are usually really vague and so surface level. They never contain concrete numbers, often have very little self-reflection by the devs and publishers, and updates are sparce until the very end.

That's why I was very surprised (and delighted) at how WAVEN communicated the challenges their game is having right now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not "delighted" that the game isn't doing well. I am delighted at how insightful and direct the communication from Ankama is being.

If you aren't a player, WAVEN is a tactical game following in Ankama's line of titles including DOFUS and WAKFU. It's a F2P game with an isometric view and card/tile-based combat. Whether you like those games, or not or you agree with the upcoming changes they have planned (recent Steam reviews mostly do NOT like what's coming), we'll set that aside until the end. I just want to examine the way they're communicating.

Ankama hosted their stream earlier this month and started this WAVEN train rolling and many may not like where it's headed. Being in early access for almost 2 years now with updates being few and far between these days, the game just isn't in a good spot. Players are frustrated and they may not like where things are headed, but there's a brutal honesty to Ankama's post I want to step through.

Blunt Thing #1 - They Use Real Player Numbers

WAVEN started early access and did initially find its target audience. Of course, having two previous titles in the same genre helps here. Over one million players tried the game at least once. However, these days, the team says they see about 7,000 daily players and they point out that it's "not a good sign of health."

Blunt Thing #2: - They Specifically Call Out Management

It isn't just about management here, as the team mentions numerous reasons for their current position, but actually calling out "hesitant management" is pretty direct. "Not enough content, not enough diversity in gameplay modes, a vague promise about its positioning, hesitant management," says the team. I like the directness.

Blunt Thing #3 - Specific List of Issues

These types of posts usually leave things like "lack of new content" as the main message. WAVEN's post actually lists out the reasons the game is failing. These include overly complex rules, overly elitist competitive modes, a lack of objectives, and retention issues caused by these factors. Ankama also directly calls the game's monetization unsustainable saying, "WAVEN doesn't bring in enough. There's no reason to beat around the bush. The game's current economic model is not viable. The offer is too light, based only on customization, and doesn't work as we would have liked. We need to find other levers to make the project sustainable."

Not something that makes me warm and fuzzy about potential future monetization plans, but again, love the directness of the statement. In fact, later in the post, the team details changes coming to monetization and I honestly don't like them, but I get it.

Yes, they'll be adding a "pay-to-fast" approach, "Monetization is a sensitive subject, as we're well aware. We are determined: no subscriptions like in DOFUS, no pay-to-win, but instead an honest, reasonable pay-to-fast approach. That is to say that we want to allow players to save time, not gain advantages in combat."

Blunt Thing #4 - Direct Items That Are Changing, Even if You Don't Like Them

Ankama details very specific things that will be changing between now and a planned December 1.0 version launch. I won't detail the individual items here as that's really only pertinent to WAVEN players specifically, but the list is detailed. It talks deckbuilding changes, system removals, competitive changes, and more. They are specific actions that will be coming.

Being direct like this may cost you some of your current players. Especially if they don't like how "simple" you're attempting to make your game. However, being direct sets up expectations. Players don't have to "wait and see" what is changing. If you're ok with the direction, you stick around and help test. If you aren't cool with it, then maybe you leave and come back to see the finished product for a final decision. You aren't stringing players along through each update with them waiting to see what's "changing this time."

I'm not the only one appreciating the direct nature of their communication. Reply after reply on the game's forum post express the same thing. Many may not like the direction, but they are thanking the team for being honest.

By the way, WAVEN players, there will be a wipe later this year. That's kind of wild for a game that's been in "early access" as long as WAVEN has, but I guess with massive system changes it has to happen. If you bought gems, cosmetics, or game comfort items, you will retain those or get a refund if they cannot be retained for some reason.

I don't play WAVEN enough to know if this massive shift will be beneficial or not. If I had to guess, it's probably just a long death for the game if you made me bet money right now, but maybe it'll turn things around.

Either way, though, this is how all companies should communicate these kinds of things.