Gamers have gotten used to games selling them extra characters, additional weapons and the ability to play the game online. Now, Koch Media, the publisher behind the upcoming Metro: Last Light is trying to sell something most would consider to be integral to the game: hard mode.
In Metro: Last Light, a survival horror shooter known for its difficulty, those who pre-order the game get Ranger Mode. Ranger Mode is described as, "Experience complete immersion. No HUD. Less bullets. Brutal combat. Hardcore. The way it was meant to be played."(emphasis ours). For anyone who doesn't pre-order the game, instead waiting for reviews or word of mouth to inform their decision, the only way to get the mode is to pay $5 for it.
Huw Beynon, global brand manager at Metro: Last Light’s publisher, Koch Media, tells PC Gamer why it decided to sell something which normally comes with a game: “Game makers and publishers now live in a world where offering game content as a pre-order exclusive is a requirement by retail, and Ranger Mode seemed like the best choice since it was a mode for hardcore fans who would most likely pre-order the game, or purchase it at launch in any case,” he says. “We rejected requests to make story content or additional missions exclusive. We also rejected requests to make this a timed exclusive.”
By comparison, the last game in the series, Metro 2033, got Ranger Mode after release for free on the PC. On NeoGaf, the freewheeling video game message board that is often a barometer for how hardcore gamers are feeling, reactions ranged from, "Even difficulty levels are behind a paywall now, holy hell" to "If this is true then I'll be buying this game only when it's $5 on Steam sale."
We'll have to see if selling of things that used to come with games for free causes gamers to react negatively with their wallets or, if they don't, will it become the norm.