Goat Simulator moved to free update model because "it's nice"

Goat Simulator and Sanctum developer Coffee Stain Studios decided to abandon a paid DLC model because "it's nice" to give away free content.

In a blog post on Gamasutra, Cofee Stain's Armin Ibrisagic outlined the developer's pervious DLC strategies, and explained why Goat Simulator's trying something new - free updates.

Although he gave various compelling reasons - fewer overheads, better chance of expanding your user base, longer sales tails - he emphasises, twice, that the meain reason to give away free content is because "it's nice".

"You might argue that companies aren’t charities, and that everything that costs has to be recouped, but having a good relationship with players is the best long-term investment you can make," he said.

"Since we don’t have a huge marketing budget, we have to rely on word of mouth to spread our games, and dedicated fans are far better at spreading awareness about your game than any paid ads."

Ibrisagic said gamers have a "growing distaste" for premium DLC.

"I’m objectively stating that providing free updates can be the reason why someone on the fence ends up buying your game to support this type of game development," he said.

"Having a ton of DLCs on the other hand, might prevent people from buying it on mere principle."

Upcoming Goat Simulator updates include multiplayer and new maps. If you haven't tried Coffee Stain's latest yet, get in the mood with this video of Goat Simulator causing me to beam sunshine and rainbows in pure delight.

Thanks, Destructoid.