Jul 10, 2024 12:00:00

A Steam game developer tells a player to 'go commit suicide' after he left a critical review, sparking online controversy

The casino simulation game

Coin Pusher Casino , available on Steam, became a hot topic when a player who posted a critical review was told by the developer to 'Kill Yourself,' leading to the development studio apologizing.

Steam Dev To Player Who Posted Negative Review 'Kill Yourself'
https://kotaku.com/steam-dev-kill-yourself-negative-review-coin-pusher-pc-1851583573

Coin Pusher Casino is a casino simulation game released in February 2024 by game development studio TreeNuts Games .

Koentjuh, a Reddit user who has played Coin Pusher Casino for over 120 hours, wrote on Steam, 'Do not buy this game. The game store for this game is literally deceptive. The developer states that the game is a full release, but this is far from the truth. As you progress through the game, you will see text like 'Beta' or 'Coming Soon'. This means that some achievements cannot be obtained. Some levels are horribly balanced and you will always lose, and at lower levels you have to collect coins until you have enough coins to try again. I have already wasted 12 hours trying to complete one level and still can't complete it. The above issues have been raised many times in the community, which always returns a standard response from the developer, but the developer has not taken any action. Do not purchase the game until the above issues are resolved and the developer actually makes a fix instead of posting a standard response. Actions speak louder than words. I will also contact Steam support because the developer is creating unachievable achievements and deceiving customers.' He posted a review complaining about the incomplete game balance, and received a 'Kill 'Kill yourself,' was the comment he received.

Although the comment itself was quickly deleted, Koentjuh took a screenshot of the comment and posted it on Reddit. Koentjuh's post was met with support from many Reddit users, and Steam's Coin Pusher Casino was flooded with complaints about the developer.

In response, developer TreeNuts Games posted an 'Official Apology for Inappropriate Posts from Developers' to the Steam community. TreeNuts Games said, 'We regret the recent incident in which one of our developers made an inappropriate post. We sincerely apologize to the affected users and community for this unacceptable behavior. We recognized the seriousness of the situation and took swift and decisive action. The developer responsible has been fired and removed from the team. We will work to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. We have conducted a thorough internal investigation to understand how this issue arose and to prevent future issues. We believe it would be beneficial for our team members to seek professional help and are considering this option. Once again, we sincerely apologize. We are committed to improving community interactions and upholding the highest standards of conduct,' and said that the developer who made the problematic post has been fired.

Official Apology Regarding the Unacceptable Post from a Developer :: Coin Pusher Casino General discussion
https://steamcommunity.com/app/2178590/discussions/1/4417550902863097339/

When Kotaku contacted Steam's operators Valve and TreeNuts Games, TreeNuts Games responded by saying, 'Once again, we sincerely apologize,' and 'We are committed to improving community interactions and upholding the highest standards of conduct.'

The developer who posted the problematic comment apologized directly to Koentjuh on his profile a few hours after deleting the post. In the apology, he wrote, 'First of all, I would like to apologize for my inappropriate comments today. Of course, customers are free to write reviews and comments as they see fit, and it is not my place to show emotional reactions to Steam users. I was too emotional and reacted that way, so there is no excuse for that. I would like to apologize again for my rude behavior.'

The situation has been resolved with the developer in question being fired, but some people have praised the game's finish, saying that Koentjuh's critical review is off the mark.