Beware: Project C Announces Founder’s Packs

Welcome.. to the evolution of open world gaming. Or that’s what this game claims it is.

So there’s this brand new open world MMO in development called Project C.
The developers claim it is a “persistent” world where players can join clans and build societies amongst one another on an abandoned planet absolutely brimming with life.
The team working on it are a self-proclaimed “all-star” team comprised of ex Ubisoft, Valve, Rockstar Games, Guerilla Games and 2K gaming developers. So with this kind of experience you’d expect they’d know what they’re doing, right?
I mean according to them, “Project C is being made to change how people perceive open world online games.” That’s a pretty bold statement to make for any developer.

Now before we get into this video.. I do have “BEWARE” and “WARNING” both in the title, and there is a very valid reason behind that.
See, currently, Project C doesn’t really offer anything in the way of publicly accessible footage or images. What we’ve got access to is highly limiting.
Yet.. the developers already have Founder’s Packs available for purchase on their website.
As of right now, the “Visionary Pack” is currently available for purchase, offering a large variety of goodies. Alpha access, keys to the game, access at launch, items in-game, customization in-game, you know, the usual.
However, one thing people noted and I noticed as soon as I looked at the Founder’s Pack is that right from the beginning they’re selling in-game currency.
The largest, most expensive pack gets you $140 worth of in-game currency if you back the game right now with the purchase of a Founder’s Pack.. for a game you know literally nothing about.
According to Ben, one of the developers, they have no intention of having 2 separate forms of currency, instead opting for just the 1.
A single currency that is used in-game but is purchaseable with real money. Real money. One of the developers have officially confirmed that you will be able to purchase the sole form of in-game currency with real money.
I mean, they’re literally telling people that they’re pandering to whales and the game isn’t even out of its NDA state yet.
Heck, they have an FAQ up where they mention they can’t even think of a name for their game yet so they’ve left it as “Project C” for now.

Iunno.
See, I’ve been burned plenty of times by developers over the years. This has left me a little.. cynical, pessimistic even maybe.
Where people willingly throw their hopes and dreams at these developers, at these games, I sit here wondering why they’re doing what they’re doing or offering what they’re offering.
To me, Project C looks like a scam.
Not your typical scam where they have no goal in mind for their game, but rather, a scam like Star Citizen: Where they promise a product and delay this product year after year, never delivering on their promises.
Yet they continue to pull in more and more funding from whales and other players that show interest in what the game could potentially be one day.
I think that’s a bad practice, and I’m honestly a little shocked that people are still, currently, throwing money at this game.

Serious question: What is it actually that you guys think will happen by backing a game you know nothing about?
As I pointed out earlier, Closed Alpha access is one of the benefits of purchasing the Founder’s Pack, and Darewise, the team behind the game have confirmed that Closed Alpha will be launching sometime close to the end of October.
In theory, anyway.
This means that while yes we don’t know or have access to really anything concrete, hopefully sometime within the next 2 months there’ll be leaks released, since the NDA will potentially still be in place during the Alpha.

I don’t think we should trust Darewise. They’ve shown shady practices and openly admitted to being a pay-to-win game before even releasing it.
I think the game could have potential, but it looks to be another game that is dependent on the playerbase to grow and continue as a game.
I feel as though they’re trying to make something far more grand than they’re capable of, and although an MMO that can “change how people perceive” an entire genre is definitely possible.. this isn’t it.
So beware the game, be cautious of the Founder’s Packs and investing any money into Project C and be aware of what kind of game this is before investing any additional time or money into it.