If you've been waiting to try No Rest for the Wicked, you might want to move fast – it's on sale now at a deep discount, and probably won't be this cheap again for a long time.
Thomas Mahler, CEO of Moon Studios, the developer behind No Rest for the Wicked and the award-winning Ori series, announced at X that the current 40% discount will be the only time the studio offers this steep price cut. Mahler went on to say that once the game leaves Early Access, the price will jump to $60.
“With 1.0, we will no longer sell Wicked at its current Early Access price of $40 and will instead charge full price for it,” he wrote.
At the time of writing, No Rest for the Wicked is ranked as the third best seller on Steam. The game comes off an off weekend and looks to capitalize on the positive buzz.
While it's not yet set in stone, Mahler said it looks like the final price tag for the game when it releases its 1.0 version will be $60. The game has just released its latest content update – No Rest for the Wicked Together, which focuses on co-op play with up to four players.
1.0 is expected to arrive sometime this year, but there is no official date yet.
Mahler's comments have received a mixed reception, with some arguing that the price is too high for a project of this magnitude. However, recent reviews currently sit at Very Positive for the title on Steam.
Moon Studios was able to purchase the full publishing rights for No Rest for the Wicked last year, meaning they alone should be able to dictate the price of their product. Choosing a price for games – especially for self-publishing indie studios – can be a difficult line to walk.
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Developers must balance development costs, team size, platform distribution, ongoing support and content, while not having the barrier of entry too high for player budgets.
It varies from how a AAA studio sets the price of its games. More often than not, major studios have publishers that handle the pricing for them. Once the developer sets expectations around development costs and marketing, pricing is mostly out of their hands.
While $60 for No Rest for the Wicked's 1.0 release is likely higher than what players expected, Moon Studios may well have the content and gameplay to back it up.
