A goodwill move made possible by Splash Damage, which acquired developers Bulkhead in late 2022.”When we told them we were always trying to save up to pay back our Kickstarter backers, they said, ‘we’ll help you out’“, relates the creative director Mark Pinney in a dedicated video. “They understand how important the relationship between developers and players is.” Their CEO Joe Brammer outbids: “This is how we would like to be treated. […] We did not deliver the physical rewards [promises aux backers]. It’s not a question of money. It is a question of ethics.“Indeed, we will not find this abnegation in everyone.
Tactical retreat
When his Kickstarter campaign appeared in 2016, Battalion 1944 promised to resurrect the military FPS of the 2000s, evoking the first glories of Call of Duty. Their initial goal of 100,000 pounds was totally vaporized in just three days, with the final lift totaling 317,281 pounds with over 10,000 backers. Great success for this small studio founded in Derby in the United Kingdom, built on the dreams of six buddies keen on virtual guns and old-fashioned warfare.
Alas, we do not live dreams and fresh water. Bulkhead compare themselves (rightly or wrongly) to the figure of Icarus: too ambitious for their own good, they got stuck in their unattainable promises, despite the desire to offer a unique experience on the market. I’early access launched in February 2018 had however received a warm welcome despite its server problems. But the team was unable to deliver the promised console versions to their amateur investors, and they preferred to wallow in silence rather than continue to communicate with their community. A fatal error that will not help the reputation of Battalion 1944. The opening of a Munich office and a good investment by Square Enix at the end of 2018 were not enough to stop the infernal spiral of negative comments, then abandonment of positions among players.
The death knell sounded in 2022. Battalion 1944 cleared the floor in August, relieved in its functions by its free-to-play variant Battalion: Legacy. Square Enix dissociated itself from the project and Bulkhead announced the reimbursement of the console versions which, obviously, would never point the end of their gun.
Today, it is the turn of PC versions to be reimbursed to whoever asks for it. If you are concerned, check your emails: you should have received a form from Bulkhead which will facilitate the process. It is also available through their Kickstarter page. This form will be valid for one month. After that, you will have to contact the team directly. To recover your precious money, you will have to go through PayPal; the developers indicate that Kickstarter themselves advised them to go through a third-party platform.
As for Battalion: Legacythe servers will remain online until further notice.
- See also | Stoon presents Battalion 1944, the indie version of Call of Duty