Infinity Nikki‘s latest seasonal update, which coincided with the free-to-play game coming to Steam, has been unpopular with fans, to the point where the developer has now had to issue an apology and offer compensation in the form of in-game currency.
Version 1.5 “Bubble Season” launched on April 29 and immediately introduced a number of bugs and issues to the game, Eurogamer reports. Players reportedly had issues with the game crashing or failing to load entirely, and also experienced issues with multiplayer gameplay.
Players also had complaints about the content introduced in Version 1.5, claiming that the developer was introducing more-aggressive monetization practices, and even retconning parts of Nikki’s story in order to sell new outfits. The controversial update released on the same day Infinity Nikki launched on Steam, meaning the game’s Steam reviews are currently mostly negative, with the reviews now a laundry list of players’ frustrations with the direction of the game.
Infinity Nikki developer Infold Games apologized for the issues in an extensive X post, which outlines the issues, the team’s plan to fix them, and the compensation players will be able to receive.
Infinity Nikki – Official Release Date Announcement Trailer
Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.
This video has an invalid file format.
Sorry, but you can’t access this content!
Please enter your date of birth to view this video
By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot’s
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
“Insufficient preparation during pre-release testing led to unexpected live issues, resulting in an unstable game environment and unsatisfactory content,” the post reads. “We fully acknowledge that this is our responsibility, and addressing these shortcomings remains a top priority for our team moving forward.”
Infold says it will be extending the current version, effectively delaying the release of Version 1.6 to give the developers more time to address these issues. Bubble Season and the various events associated with Version 1.5 will now be extended until June 12.
The studio also offered an explanation for changes to the game’s narrative, saying, “The Threads of Reunion storyline’s absence in this version was never intended as a removal from Infinity Nikki’s narrative–its associated outfit remain on our development roadmap.” The post says that these story elements are still planned for a future update.
It’s a relatively common practice to offer in-game currency as compensation for issues in the world of gacha games. Players will be able to redeem 120 Diamonds and one Energy Crystal every day from June 5-12, for a total of 960 Diamonds and eight Energy Crystals. Players will also receive 360 Starlit Crystals as compensation for the Starlit Pursuit feature being pushed back until Version 1.6.
