Indie Horror Game The Flock Announced, Will Go Offline When All Players Die

Of all the unique business models that I have seen for games, this one is probably the one that intrigues me the most. Vogelsap’s first-person asymmetrical multiplayer horror game will launch by October of this year, and when it launches, players will find that they have a limited time to buy and play it- you see, each time someone dies in the game, a life will correspondingly be taken from the total population counter of the eponymous ‘Flock.’ There will be a population countdown widget available in the in-game menus, the Steam store page, and other social channels.

And what happens once the timer hits zero? Well, that’s where the interesting part comes in- you can’t buy the game any more after that point. Only those that have the game can play it, and even then not forever. Existing players will be treated to a ‘cinematic finale,’ following which the game will go offline forever. And since it can only be played online, that means you simply won’t be able to play the game after the cinematic ending… at all.

It’s a unique way to do things, and I want to see if there will be backlash for this move, or if players will be more accepting, given that this is a business model that seems to add to gameplay, rather than detracting from it.