Another Eternal Steam Early Access: Indie Developer Criticizes Review System and Announces Removal of Tactical Shooter from Store

The developer of Direct Contact can no longer fix the current version of the game.

Indie developer Mountain 81 recently brought Direct Contact back into the spotlight. He launched the project in Steam Early Access several years ago but failed to attract a large audience.

A record peak online of 289 players was recorded more than 2 years ago. Since then, Direct Contact's audience has dwindled, and the online player count has been below 10.

Mountain 81 decided to stop distributing the original game on Valve's service, as he can no longer fix it. Now he wants to introduce an improved version:

So, the time has come: I am removing Direct Contact from Steam. For years I have struggled with issues and ultimately decided to remove the game we all know and introduce a simpler, more refined version of Direct Contact: Welcome to the FUBAR framework. This framework is built on the Unreal Engine 5.7, and all animations and systems have been migrated to a new "skeleton." My original game, Direct Contact, was a project I worked on entirely alone. Migrating everything from UE4 to UE5 caused key systems "under the hood" to break, and it was no longer possible to fix them. To move forward, I had to take this step and create an entirely new framework.

The developer also criticized Steam's review system – some users who barely played the game attacked the project's author and his fans:

It is extremely difficult to see dedicated players being slandered in reviews by users who have played for only 5-10 minutes. The Steam review system should better protect indie games from negative ratings by players with minimal playtime, and I sincerely feel for community members who faced criticism simply for sharing their positive experience in Direct Contact.

Direct Contact is a tactical shooter on Unreal Engine 5, offering players to immerse themselves in the "chaos of modern warfare, with full control over the course of hostilities." The gameplay covers various aspects of an operation: from departure from headquarters and landing, to working in the combat zone and evacuation. A soldier can request airstrikes, unleash artillery fire, deploy Apache attack helicopters, and more.