Manor Lords publisher advises players to hold off purchase ‘if money is tight,’ promises frequent discounts

Manor Lords, Steam’s most wish-listed game until its launch on April 26, has already crossed a major player milestone after just one day in the store, but publisher Hooded Horse has advised players there’s no rush to purchase the game if money is tight and has promised frequent discounts.

Hooded Horse chief executive Tim Bender thanked everyone who supported the game through its long period of alpha testing in a Steam post celebrating the game’s Early Access launch. He claimed that Manor Lords began as a single-dev project and slowly grew to 3.2 million Steam wishlists, saying that players shouldn’t “feel any pressure to buy the game if waiting is better for them,” and to hold off “if money is tight.” He added that Hooded Horse will run frequent 25 percent discounts for Manor Lords “often and give you plenty of opportunities to get the game later as well.”

The community reacted favorably to Bender’s comments. In one Reddit thread on April 27 users welcomed the executive’s plan to offer frequent discounts, as sales are likely one of the best ways to attract more users. “If only the entire industry had this much of a backbone,” one user wrote. Another called the developer’s message “humble and reasonable” and said they didn’t expect a developer to make such a motion.

Manor Lords combines city-building simulation with RTS mechanics and immense historical realism to create a unique management game, dubbed by some to be the Total War killer. Others have deemed this dub to be disingenuous, as Manor Lords‘ focus is primarily on city-building and colony-management mechanics rather than the combat which is a fundamental part of any Total War game.

Still, after years of meticulous development first as a single-dev project and then as a studio title, the game is finally out and available for everyone. The title cracked the 100,000 concurrent player mark not long after launch according to SteamDB, with this count expected to rise over the coming days.

Manor Lords launched with a 25 percent discount at $29.99 which, if the publisher’s notes are anything to go by, will be something to expect from the title going forward.