Space Marine 2 devs shut down live-service accusations—and promise event rewards to all

Developer of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, Saber Interactive, responded to accusations that it’s trying to turn the title into a live-service game and using shady psychological tactics to hook players to its game through events, telling players to “rest assured” it won’t be doing any such things.

“We have noted that the Community Events have received cold feedback,” the developers said in a Feb. 27 post on the Focus forums, adding that they were aware of players mentioning FOMO (fear of missing out) in their responses. “Rest assured, we are not looking to transform Space Marine 2 into a full live service game,” the devs continued. According to the post, all players will have access to the time-limited event rewards down the line.

“We want Community Events to be a way to unlock the items in advance for the most dedicated players, and not to be a source of frustration and stress for everyone,” Saber’s devs said.

The developers conceded that these events weren’t “a smooth experience” for players wishing to unlock the items and rewards, and apologized to the community for the situation. Future events in Space Marine 2 will be easier and more straightforward, allowing players a “less constraining” path to fulfillment.

Seeking to make it up to players, Saber Interactive is giving away a previously event-locked cosmetic, the Mk VIII Errant Helmet, to all players who link their Space Marine 2 and PROS accounts, the latter being publisher Focus Interactive’s account platform.

Saber Interactive previously introduced community events to Space Marine 2 which required players to meet certain conditions, such as win with each class in particular modes, to unlock event-specific cosmetics and other rewards. Some players felt like time-limiting the events utilized FOMO to pressure players into frustrating, rapid gameplay. FOMO is often used in battle passes and similar systems to inspire players to play a game more often so they don’t feel like they’ve missed out on something that is exclusive and soon to be unavailable, and therefore exotic.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 has been thriving ever since launch with post-release content dropping frequently, expanding the game’s already solid repertoire. Private PvP matches, a new Operation, balance changes and more are set to come out in Update 7.0, which should release in the coming months.