Daybreak-owned Cold Iron Studios has responded to the loss of Aliens: Fireteam Elite on Nintendo Switch by offering affected buyers a discount on the sequel, MassivelyOP reports.
The original game's Switch version was cloud-only. After the studio delisted it and then shut the cloud service down, players who had bought it could no longer launch it at all, offline included, because the host servers were gone. The timing sharpened the reaction: Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is due out in under two weeks, and the studios are in full promotional mode for it.
'We want to make this right'
We wanted to address Nintendo Switch players' concerns following the closure of the Aliens: Fireteam Elite cloud service. We understand the frustration from players who purchased the game and can no longer access it. While we previously communicated that the cloud service would end on August 5, we recognize that simply providing advance notice doesn't change the fact that players paid for a game they can no longer play. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported Aliens: Fireteam Elite on Nintendo Switch, and we want to make this right. We are working on a program for players who purchased Aliens: Fireteam Elite on Nintendo Switch that will provide an option to receive a discounted voucher or credit on Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2.
The statement stops short of describing how the programme will verify purchases or what the discount will be worth, and no date has been given for it.
The sequel runs locally
The companies stress that Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 will run natively on Switch 2 rather than streaming from the cloud, so a repeat shutdown of that kind cannot strand the sequel the way it stranded the original.
That has not settled the wider complaint. MassivelyOP notes players are asking for the original game's content and campaigns to be ported into the sequel, and for physical discs, on the grounds that a disc is the only version a publisher cannot switch off. Alongside the statement, the teams released a new video showcasing the sequel's Medic.
