The developers and publishers of *Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2* have firmly stated that they are not aiming to transform the game into a "full live service" model, following a backlash from the community regarding events perceived as promoting "FOMO" (Fear Of Missing Out). FOMO is a strategy commonly employed by live service games to spur immediate player engagement and expenditure on time-limited virtual items, suggesting that missing out on these items now means losing the chance forever.
This approach has been criticized for fostering an unhealthy dynamic between games and their communities. A 2021 study commissioned by the UK's GambleAware charity highlighted that many games utilize "psychological nudges" to encourage purchases of loot boxes, often leveraging the fear of missing out on limited-time offers.
While *Space Marine 2* does not feature loot boxes, it introduced community events as a means to unlock exclusive cosmetics, which sparked the backlash and led some to label the game as a "live service." In response, Focus Entertainment and Saber Interactive acknowledged the negative feedback, stating in a post:
We have noted that the Community Events have received cold feedback since we introduced them as an additional way to unlock cosmetic items. We saw that many of you mentioned FOMO generated by the events. Rest assured, we are not looking to transform Space Marine 2 into a full live service game. The items available through events WILL be available later, for everyone. We want Community Events to be a way to unlock the items in advance, for the most dedicated players, and not to be a source of frustration and stress for everyone.
However, that means we must provide a smooth experience in unlocking said items, which has not been the case so far. We deeply apologize for the trouble, and are currently working on a simplified process to unlock the items, to make the experience less constraining.
To address these concerns, Focus Entertainment is offering the coveted emblem-less Mk VIII Errant Helmet for free to all players who link their PROS account to *Space Marine 2*. This helmet was part of the Imperial Vigil community event, which ends on March 3, and was previously only accessible to those who achieved a victory with each of the six classes in Operations Mode by the deadline.
Players are eagerly awaiting the 7.0 update for *Space Marine 2*, which promises to introduce a new weapon, a new Operations map, and PvE Prestige Ranks. Last month, Focus and Saber addressed the community's growing frustration over content scarcity and outlined their plans for the game's future.
*Space Marine 2* achieved a record-breaking launch late last year, selling 5 million copies and becoming the fastest-selling Warhammer video game to date.
