Chivalry: Medieval Warfare recently updated with a huge content patch, adding 13 new maps, an arena mode, and a selection of weapons with which to bash any knights who say neEOOW MY FACE AND LIMBS! In an interview with Destructoid , Torn Banner's Steve Piggot explained the thinking behind their generosity.
"People love all this kind of nickle-and-dime DLC, and everyone finds something that works for their business -- that's fine," Piggot says. "I just think for us it's more important that people are happy than they are constantly paying for this subscription model. We are still planning to do expansion packs that cost money, but we'll always have free stuff for the community."
In other words: common sense. If you give people free things then they will like you. Paid-for map packs and modes may be an established money maker, but there's a definite value in keeping you customers happy. There are also less altruistic benefits - one of the problems with multiplayer DLC is it can split the community, reducing the pool of people that players can slice, dice and bludgeon.
"You need to balance that stuff out," Piggot adds. "If you day one DLC people, they feel lied to and mistreated. We want people to be pumped up. We worked four months to do that thing, that would have made more money if we charged for it, but we are investing in the long term by investing in our fans."
