14 DAY TRIAL // The team at publisher 505 Games announces that it is officially canceling its Ashes Cricket 2013 video game but the move comes after the title has been officially launched on the Steam digital distribution service.
The company says that the main reason for the decision has been the extremely negative feedback coming from all those who have bought the experience about extreme problems that basically make the title unplayable.
A refund will be offered to all those who have picked up Ashes Cricket 2013 on November 22 via Steam.
505 Games is quoted by VideoGamer as saying that, “The chosen developer, even with their many years of cricket game development experience, was unable to overcome the unexpected challenges that the chosen game engine threw up, even with multiple extensions to the development schedule.”
The publisher says that it was initially assured that the game would be able to reflect the real-world sport, but that the developer never managed to deliver the experience it was expecting.
The company adds, “As the licensee and publisher of name for Ashes Cricket 2013, 505 Games would like to apologise publicly and sincerely to our licensors, the ECB and Cricket Australia, and their respective partners/sponsors, who have been nothing but patient and supportive of us throughout the challenges this project has presented, and who, ultimately, we have let down.”
The team also acknowledges that it has let the fans down and says that every buyer of Ashes Cricket 2013 will be individually contacted in order to get a full refund as soon as possible.
The simulation title was also supposed to be launched on the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the Wii U.
It’s unclear whether 505 Games has plans to create any new Ashes Cricket video game in 2014 and who will handle development duties.