[2024] The Reason Why 7 Days Will Never Be Finished

Originally posted by NHL12: because it would be more profitable to create a new game from scratch

with a new engine, new overhaul... and market it as a completely new game, and sell that...

call it, 7 Days Before Dying... and make it on console cause that's where the money is AT

also it will have bandits in it

am just saying it's wasted resources patching a game

I mean... Yeah, kinda.

Many other companies by this point would absolutely have done a 7DTD Back 2 Back, a 7DTD Bull3t H3ll, A 7DTD pinball game, a 7DTD gacha game, etc, dipping in on branding and the name power, sap all the money they can and be done with it for minimal investment. Oh and most of these would have at least one or two DLC's or a soundtrack purchase available.

Which is why I think it's hilarious whenever people come in claiming TFP are "milking" early access like it earns them some big bucks or something. No- The fact that they're still actively, albeit slowly, developing the game means they're putting money INTO the game that they could otherwise be saving by having just called any given version since A16~ish 1.0 and moved onto an entirely new title the way so many other companies do.

The cost of development is far greater than many people realize and at this point the number of purchases over time is a trickle compared to the all time peak of sales- Further, Most people pick the game up on hefty discounts of 50-70% now.

TFP may currently be treading water financially, but they definitely aren't making big bank by insisting on staying in EA until the game is Done to their liking. I personally am of the opinion(backed in the past by some napkin math based on my knowledge of the industry) that they're in the red- Not under threat of closing down before the game is complete even if it takes 10+ more years (due to stockpiled funds), but 'in the red' in that they are likely expending more on average than they're making at this point; That it's costing them more to develop than they're making back from ongoing sales.


Despite this, they're still developing the game. I'm certain It'll be finished, eventually, Slow as it may be. But it'll be finished. If they wanted to just cut and run and go make something new, they've had ample opportunity to just shove in some facsimile of the last few missing features (IE, bandits, story) from the kickstarter and just wash their hands of the project- But they haven't, and aren't likely to do so or move on until 7DTD is Done to the peak of their vision.


As a rant-filled aside from the main topic:
Seriously though, If anyone reading this genuinely thinks TFP are 'milking' early access for easy money, Just think of how much more they would have by now if they'd done most of the shady things other companies in the industry are known for- And realize how dumb it sounds to say they are 'milking' this single title for a pittance when they could be 'milking' 10 titles for dollars and dlc sales and ingame transactions and loot boxes and battlepasses and merch sales... and brand deals ....and crossovers....and.....

Look at the ♥♥♥♥ EA does and did- FIFA 2000, FIFA 2001, FIFA 20002, FIFA 2003.... Fifa 2004, 2005, FIFA 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, fifa world, fifa world cup brazil, fifa mobila, fifa street 3, fifa world cup fifa world cup south africa-- Many of which have ingame transactions, lootboxes, and more. ONE BRANDED NAME. Many of these are literally same engine copy-paste hackjobs with some updated numbers from the latest football season and maybe a fresher coat of paint if you're lucky.

Call of duty. Call of duty 2. Call of duty 3. COD4 Modern Warfare 2007, COD World at War, COD Modern Warfare 2 2009, Black Ops, Modern warfare 3 2011, Black ops 2, Ghosts, Advanced warfare, Black ops 3, infinite warfare, WW2, Black Ops 4, Modern Warfare 2019, modern warfare 2 2022, modern warfare 3 2023...

Sims 3 and it's $1000 worth of DLC and additional sims store micropurchases. Sims 4 and ITS $1,000 worth of dlc (not sure if it has microtransactions beyond the dlc like 3 does)


If anyone honestly thinks it's more profitable to sit on a single unfinished title trying to bring it to completion the way TFP is.... Like.... Why?

What on earth possesses you to believe that THIS, what TFP are currently doing, is the more profitable avenue than, for example, having called the game 1.0 in 16 with a facsimile of bandits and a crap minecraft-esque 'story' ending slapped on and released a dozen DLC and went on and made like 5 other games by now each with their own DLC sub purchases?

Continuing to work on a project like this is an ongoing expenditure and an arrow in the knee financially- Not a cash cow or an infinite money glitch like some of ya'll(spoken broadly) seem to think.



Edit: Overall TL;DR: This is definitely costing them money. And they absolutely would be making WAY more money if they didn't insist on finishing this one title so stubbornly. That said, I'm confident they'll finish the game at some point in the future- I expect before 2030 at the latest, personally. It will be finished- Because it's not really about the money at this point. If it were, they wouldn't still be working on it.