Fan revolt forces RPG studio to kill its new launcher just 19 hours after release
Owlcat Games rolled back a newly introduced launcher for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader less than a day after its release, following significant player backlash. The launcher, unveiled on June 22nd, was designed to serve as a centralized hub for news, updates, and announcements across Owlcat’s game library, eliminating the need for players to monitor multiple platforms. The studio emphasized that the launcher would be non-intrusive and required no mandatory registration.
Despite Owlcat’s efforts to minimize friction, the gaming community responded with overwhelming disapproval. The initial Steam announcement post generated approximately 1,800 comments, with players expressing resistance to yet another gaming launcher—a sentiment that has become increasingly common as various studios attempt to build their own distribution platforms.
By June 23rd, just 19 hours after launch, Owlcat announced via Steam that the launcher would be rolled back entirely. The rapid reversal demonstrates the significant power players have in shaping developer decisions, particularly when unified in their opposition to changes they perceive as unnecessary or burdensome.