The sequel to 2009's PC (and later Xbox 360) first-person fighting game Zeno Clash is almost here.
An update on the game's forums confirms that Zeno Clash 2 is due sometime in spring. Atlus is publishing it for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, so the sequel should reach a bigger audience more quickly than the first game did.
Original Santiago, Chile-based developer ACE Team is working on the title. It encountered problems with piracy after releasing the first Zeno Clash (first published through Valve's Steam service) and pleaded with torrenters, explaining that Zeno Clash was "an independently funded game by a very small and sacrificed group of people," according to Kotaku (via TorrentFreak):
"We cannot do anything to stop piracy of the game (and honestly don't intend to do so)," developer Carlos Bordeu wrote on BitTorrent sites, "but if you are downloading because you wish to try before you buy, I would ask that you purchase the game (and support the independent game development scene) if you enjoy it. We plan on updating Zeno Clash with [downloadable content] and continuing support for the game long after it's [sic] release."
Bordeu also promised to release a demo — which ACE Team did one month later — so players could try out the game before deciding whether or not to purchase it.
Piraters reacted positively to Bordeu's request, and the developer told TorrentFreak in an interview, "Zeno Clash is not an expensive game. We don't believe in restrictive [digital rights management]. … We honestly think that ‘converting' the people who download the game into buyers is a much better strategy than trying to fight them."
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[VG247 via Destructoid]
