We’re just one day away from the retail and PSN release of Metro: Last Light (check out our review here), but it hasn’t been without controversy.
One of them involves the inclusion of Ranger Mode as free pre-order DLC – a mode where you have no HUD, less bullets, and there’s brutal combat – despite the official Metro website calling it “the way [Last Light] was meant to be played.”
To get to the bottom of why Ranger Mode wasn’t included in the full game, PC Gamer reached out to Huw Beynon, Global Brand Manager at Koch Media/Deep Silver:
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. We rejected requests to make story content or additional missions exclusive. We also rejected requests to make this a timed exclusive.
Thanks to the DLC not being a timed exclusive, Ranger Mode will be available as day 1 DLC for $4.99/£3.99, a price Huw says is “the lowest 1st Parties would permit us to charge for content of this nature.”
What do you think of them charging $5 for the DLC? Are you going to buy the PSN version tomorrow, even though it isn’t the pre-order edition? Let us know in the comments below.
