The beautiful landscape of Areal may never get to see the light of day, because Kickstarter has just suspended the project from their site, though the official reasons for this suspension remain unknown.
Areal was introduced as the spiritual successor to S.T.A.L.K.E.R., a popular FPS survival-horror game developed by GSC Game World and published by THQ. West Games started off with a goal of $50,000 desipite not having much game footage to actually show off; with this lack of footage came backers’ skepticism that a game of Areal’s scope could be made on such a small budget. This was exascerbated when the developers who worked on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. stated that hundreds of people worked on the game, so West Games’ claim that they were the folks behind S.T.A.L.K.E.R. aroused a fair amount of suspicion.
An official statement made on Areal’s Facebook page explained that the suspension was a result of their competitors perceiving them as a threat, adding that they received hostility from Russians Kickstarter accounts for being an Ukrainian developer in the middle of a very public conflict. [Editors note: this statement has since been removed from Facebook.]
Those concerned where their money is going after backing the project can rest assured that they will not be charged and their money won’t be going to West Games. All continued funding options have been moved to West Games’ official website.
At this time we can only speculate as to the exact reason Kickstarter has chosen to suspend the project; possible reasons for suspension include making false claims, copyright infringement, as well as a list of other possible offences. West Games has also stated that they were unable to ask Kickstarter why they were suspended, despite conflicting reports that other suspended campaigns have been able to contact Kickstarter in the past and learn why their suspensions were handed out.
To make things even stranger, West Games shared an email allegedly written by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
“My daughter told me about your game called Areal, which is the spiritual successor to S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and told me that she payed money to support your project on Kickstarter. I also love video games as well as shooters, and I like this idea. It’s important that our people do not shoot at each other, but instead, play games like this.”
The email goes on to say that if they allow him to play the alpha version of the game when it’s ready he’ll invite them to Kremlin to meet personally to talk about the game. The letter doesn’t mention Putin’s daughter by name, nor does it provide any real way to contact him; West Games have admitted that they are unsure about the email’s legitimacy.
It’s possible that the letter could be legitimate, though at present it has only served to make the denizens of the internet even more doubtful about West Games’ credibility - things are not looking good for the company.
We’ll continue to keep you updated as more information on this story unravels.
Tom Jobe
@ToriJenova
Latest posts by Tom Jobe (see all)
- Arya Stark actress in talks to star in The Last of Us movie - 26 July 2024
- Kickstarter suspends Areal - 24 July 2024
