The developer David Szymanski has increased the price of his popular Steam game Iron Lung from €5 to €7.50. He responded to protests about the price increase with strong words.
What kind of game is this? Iron Lung is a “psychological horror” game. The player controls a submarine in a sea of blood.
The game has a fantastic review score of 93% positive reviews on Steam and is considered a “horror gem”.
How much did the price increase?
- The standard price of Iron Lung in Europe was €4.99. On November 2, it rose to €7.50. In Germany, the current price is €7.79.
- In the United States, the price increased from $5.99 to $7.98.
The price increase of Iron Lung was announced in October and took effect in early November. The developer justifies the price hike by stating that additional content has been added over time, which increased the game’s value.
“Pirate the game if you don’t like the price – I don’t want your money”
This is the discussion about the price increase: In response to criticism of the price increase on social media, the developer said he raised the price of Iron Lung because he believes the game is worth $8.
He wants $8 because Iron Lung is worth the money and he wants to earn more money. If someone doesn’t like the price, he doesn’t want their money. They can pirate the game; he doesn’t care.
As the developer says, he now hears the criticism: “He would only do it for the money.”
To that he says: “Yes, no kidding. I develop games to make a living. If I didn’t want to earn more money with them, I wouldn’t charge more for them. I like the business model of ‘I want to make more money, so I make something that is worth your money. You pay me the money and I give you the thing and we’re both happy. That’s how it works. There is nothing complicated or hidden about it.'”
The developer makes it clear: If players do not believe the price he is asking is fair, that’s okay with him.
“Don’t buy it or wait for a sale or do whatever you want to get it for free or do whatever you want to do, but please let me know so I can adjust the price for my next game.”
How does the price increase affect sales numbers? As the site gamespot reports, sales numbers for Iron Lung have indeed fallen after the price increase. However, for Szymanski, this seems to be okay. He said he always expected that. Raising the price is a risk.
He believes that the release of the planned “Iron Lung” film will offset the negative development from the price increase. The YouTuber Markiplier is behind the film project. Markiplier became famous for being effectively scared while playing horror games. He is seen as someone particularly connected to Iron Lung.
We previously reported on Iron Lung on MeinMMO, albeit in a macabre context:
Sales of a horror game on Steam rise after the Titan submersible disaster: “Feels so wrong”
The cover image is from the developer’s Twitter channel.
