GeoGuessr Says It's 'Listening Closely' to Player Feedback as Steam Edition Plummets to Second-Worst Rated Game of All Time on Valve's Platform

GeoGuessr Steam Edition, a Steam reimagining of 1 of the world's best-loved browser games, lone released connected May 8, but it's already the second-worst rated crippled of each clip connected Steam.

The browser mentation of GeoGuessr is tremendously successful, boasting 85 cardinal players and a full big of customization options that fto players tailor not lone who they play against, but besides what maps volition spawn, if they'll beryllium dropped into an municipality oregon agrarian setting, restrict spawns to definite geographical regions, toggle the quality to move, pan, oregon zoom — oregon not move, cookware oregon zoom (NMPZ) — and more, including a smorgasbord of fantastic community-made customized maps.

Of the implicit 3,000 idiosyncratic reviews near frankincense acold astir the Steam mentation since past Wednesday, however, 84% are negative, with the bulk of players complaining astir the free-to-play game's monetization strategy and stark deficiency of gameplay options compared to the browser edition.

Just 16% of idiosyncratic reviews are affirmative arsenic of May 13. Image credit: Steam / GeoGuessr.

That's not the lone happening bothering GeoGuessr fans, however. If you nexus your browser GeoGuessr relationship to your Steam one, you cannot unlink it, nor tin you log retired of the Steam version. You cannot play alone, not adjacent to practise and improve. The escaped amateur mode seems to beryllium afloat of bots alternatively than real-life players. And possibly astir amazingly of all, adjacent if you wage to unlock the features connected the browser version, this does not transportation implicit to Steam.

In its defense, GeoGuessr does marque this wide — successful its FAQs, the developer states "having a GeoGuessr browser subscription does not assistance you afloat entree to the GeoGuessr Steam Edition, unless you person an Elite Yearly subscription" — and dissimilar the browser edition, which requires an yearly payment, the Steam Edition Steam Pass is simply a "one-time acquisition giving you entree to the afloat crippled for the year." It is besides intelligibly marked arsenic an aboriginal entree title, truthful it tin refine the gameplay, present caller features, "and guarantee the champion imaginable acquisition with nonstop feedback from players."

However, it's wide from some the Steam treatment forums and GeoGuessr's subreddit that the monetization exemplary and deficiency of features has truly taken players by surprise.

Though sold arsenic free-to-play, GeoGuessr Steam arguably offers little than an hour's escaped contented (that's however agelong it took america to implicit it), hosts conscionable 1 mode, Duels (wherein you ostensibly face-off against different quality player), and lets you play successful conscionable 1 league: Amateur Division. That's it. Without paying for the $2.50 monthly subscription — which does not measure monthly but alternatively requires a $30 upfront one-off outgo — you cannot entree higher ranks. There are nary different modes astatine each astatine this time.

GeoGuessr's 3 premium plans for its browser game. Image credit: GeoGuessr.

To beryllium clear, GeoGuessr's browser crippled is not free, either. While you tin play 3 rounds a time for free, to unlock each modes, you request to subscribe to 1 of 3 premium tiers: Pro Basic astatine $2.49 a month, Pro Unlimited's $2.99pm, oregon Pro Elite's $4.99pm. Only the second 2 see escaped entree to the Steam game.

In an exclusive connection to IGN, GeoGuessr said it was "excited to person a archetypal mentation of our crippled disposable connected Steam, thing that has been highly requested by our assemblage for a agelong time." It said that the Steam rollout "align[ed] with its imaginativeness of letting everyone research the world, careless of their preferred platform," adding: "Bringing the crippled to Steam offers immoderate large caller possibilities, similar connecting with Steam friends, enabling further anti-cheat functionality, and truthful on."

That anti-cheat functionality is hugely important to the GeoGuessr community, too. The browser crippled has agelong been plagued by cheaters utilizing exploits, bots, oregon bully 'ole Google, contempt it intelligibly being against the assemblage rules, truthful it's imaginable the developers hopes to thin connected Steam's architecture to assistance combat pervasive cheating.

"This is simply a large milestone for us, and besides conscionable the beginning," explained caput of marketing, Tomas Jonson. "The crippled is presently successful Early Access, and we’re committed to expanding and improving some the escaped and paid experiences implicit time. Much of the feedback truthful acold has been astir the monetization of the game, with galore wishing for a one-time acquisition model."

The developer said that arsenic GeoGuessr relies connected information from Google Street View, "where the costs for thoroughfare presumption are ongoing and tied to the fig of games played," it based the Steam variation "on a exemplary akin to what we usage successful the browser game."

"The main objection that the Steam Pass is simply a non-recurring yearly purchase," Jonson pointed out.

GeoGuessr suggests the Steam mentation volition beryllium successful aboriginal entree for "at slightest six months", and it volition "introduce caller features and guarantee the champion imaginable acquisition with nonstop feedback from players." It besides states connected its Steam leafage that it aims to "expand" the Steam crippled with "new modes, maps, and competitory features."

"We truly admit the precocious engagement and each the subordinate feedback we person received truthful far. We’ll proceed listening intimately and moving with the assemblage arsenic we further make the Steam Edition," Jonson concluded.

Vikki Blake is simply a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.