Off-Road Velociraptor sequel halted
Casual market biz model problems cited.
Indie developer Flashbang Studios has announced that they've stopped development on the follow-up to their 2008 viral hit Off-Road Velicoraptor Safari.
First announced last November, Raptor Safari 64 (also known as Off-Road Velociraptor Safari HD) was planned as a larger, meatier version of the original dinosaur-smacking game. The sequel was being targeted for an autumn 2010 release on console download services as well as the PC.
But Flashbang's Matthew Wegner announced the halt in development in a recent post on the company's public blog.
He explained that the longer development cycle for the game, which required "perfection and polish", was out-of-step with the company's usual eight-week development cycles and "good enough" quick releases on blurst.com.
Financial realities also contributed to the decision to halt production, Wegner writes. Declining revenues from casual game portal affiliate programs have forced Flashbang to seek out more immediately profitable ventures in the near-term.
Those who pre-ordered the game will instead get access to to Flashbang's Blurst Bundle Pack, which includes downloadable versions of four of the company's most popular games.