Black Beacon’s Global Fans Might Be Done With The Game

If you have been following Black Beacon's Twitter account, the constant bugs, glitches and fixes would have popped up throughout your feed. Sure, the game is new and bugs are bound to happen, yet the frequency just tags it as poorly planned.

To add on, what happens when that's mixed with bias against global players and half-hearted apologies? Should fans still support a game where they are shown contempt? Let's dive in

The Bias

It’s no secret that Chinese companies favor their domestic audience. It makes sense, they are based in China and it's easier to target the audience — leaving aside any legal problems they may be susceptible to. Yet, Black Beacon is trying to market itself to the global market and has been pretty successful, pulling off: 300K downloads / $300K revenue on Android and 100K downloads / $200K revenue on IOS based on data from Sensor Tower. Despite this solid start and beautiful storyline, it quickly lost its steam with the constant issues that seemed to pop up nearly every day. 

The Emulators Ban

On that topic, did you know that the Chinese fans have a PC version available as well? A feature that is still not available to global fans, despite the game being released globally much earlier than in China. This has led them to use emulators and for those who don’t know, emulators allow players to run the game more smoothly and be able to play it on PC as well. 

There can be multiple reasons like user preference or trying to avoid mobile phone limitations. The solution for the bugs and personal preference seemed to be working well for players till Black Beacon banned emulators entirely. This move did not make sense to players as emulators were enabling players to even be able to play on the game — due to the heavy bugs. Why was Black Beacon banning tools that help the bugs rather than fixing the bugs on their own?

Unfair Compensation

The last straw for global fans, however, was when Chinese fans were largely compensated for minor issues; in comparison with global fans who had to deal with much worse and were still not equally compensated. On top of that, the rewards (30 pulls) given to the global fans were limited-time codes. Why is that an issue? It’s due to the very reason they are being compensated for – the bugs. The game did not let many players log in and gain their rewards. It just wasn't possible on time. 

The Chinese players, however, got their rewards sent directly by mail and the difference in rewards was just appalling. It included, but was not limited to a 5-star permanent character, 20 x lost time key, and 10 x Time seeking key. The best part out of all this is that the reward has a 31 day expiry date — unlike the 3 days given to global fans. The irony, given the fandom's name ‘seer’ — you would think, they would have seen it coming. While they did not, they did have a lot to say. Before exploring that further, let’s dive into what Charles (Head Of Global Service had to say in response to the community.

Charles Response

The apology on its own while showcasing its poetic wisdom, leaves much to be desired. While Charles apologies — it is vague and it is important to remember that constant apologies mean nothing if issues aren’t worked upon. There are some key things that I would like to highlight. He mentions that they are listening to feedback and actively scouring through different platforms like Reddit, Discord and others — leaving no stone unturned. Yet, there has been no mention of unbanning emulators along with no extra compensation as of now and the very platforms he is speaking about are filled with players demanding equal respect.

Members from the community have pointed out that even if extra rewards aren’t given, the least which can be done is to reactivate the expired codes. Adding on, a popular sentiment revolves around how the community does not feel respected and feel used — a beta testing factory, if you will. This is important because his apology just feels like a half-hearted PR move and it will lead to many players to stop playing, because this is not the way to treat players who believe and spend money on you. What do you think about this issue? Should Black Beacon be given another chance?

Written By Sarah Dar (Writing Intern, India Today Gaming)