Goodbye Eternity's future


Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well. I trust you've been enjoying the latest update.

Today, I wish to share some news regarding the future of Goodbye Eternity. Due to a decline in sales revenue on Itch.io, the inability to launch the game on Steam due to a ban, and rampant piracy of the game, I find myself in a difficult situation.

In order to continue developing the game conscientiously, some tough decisions will need to be made. This is so that everyone can enjoy the game right through to the end of the story—which, I assure you, isn't coming any time soon.

In light of these developments, I would like to give you a glimpse behind the scenes and share some figures from the analytics we set up after the latest update, in case you missed them.

For instance, if I asked you what percentage of the 70,000 copies of the game were pirated, what would your guess be? 40%? 50%? The highest guess I received was 60%... All these numbers significantly underestimate the reality; the actual figure is around 93%.

Yes, you heard correctly: 93% of the copies of the game were obtained illegally. While I am glad the game is so popular, it deeply saddens me that the financial viability of the project rests on the shoulders of the remaining 7% who support the game on Patreon, Itch.io, SubscribeStar, and Boosty.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of you who support this project.

It was also decided that version 0.7.9 would be the last one to be offered free of charge. The intention behind this move is to present a demo version of the game, allowing people to familiarize themselves with the content before deciding whether or not to purchase the full version. I believe that 0.7.9, which encompasses several hours of gameplay, should suffice for players to make an informed decision.

I understand that many of you might be deceived by this news, but it's an unfortunate but necessary step towards ensuring the sustainability of this project. It's crucial to remember that creating a game is not only a time-intensive process, but also requires a substantial financial investment. To ensure that we can continue developing and improving Goodbye Eternity, we must strike a balance between offering free content and securing the financial support necessary to keep the project alive.

Of course, our decision does not mean we will stop appreciating the goodwill and dedication of our player community. In fact, we are exploring ways to reward those of you who have shown continued support throughout this journey. We also commit to maintaining the quality and richness of content for future updates, ensuring that the game remains worth your time and investment.

Lastly, we want to remind you that your feedback remains invaluable to us. We invite you to continue sharing your thoughts and suggestions as we navigate this new phase in the game's evolution.

Another important point that arose from the data is that the Android version of the game is the most played. However, it also poses a challenge as it requires the most resources. For instance, not everyone living in Brazil owns a PC or the latest smartphone, which makes the game inaccessible to some potential players.

Therefore, Selenyhr and I are now considering the future of the game and the direction it will take. The goal is not to earn more money, but to sustain this project and all future ones.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have, and I'll be glad to answer them.

P.S: The release of version 0.8 remains unaffected by these changes, and we're still on track to launch this update in the autumn, as planned.

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how to fix goodbye eternity application error 0x0007FF88EF6F5C2 referenced memory at 0x0000000000000000 the memory could not be read

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The best game of this genre ive ever played.

The ending left me tearing up.

Please dont tell me Asami was raped by this fat bitch. Tell me she will be untouched. Someone, please! I can't spend a minute not thinking about this fat ass mf could do something bad to her.😭😭😭

I can't wait for the update of the story. It means every day of sadness and some kind of depression because of that last scene of Asami being invaded by this fat fuck will be running in my head for every day for at least 3 months. The thoughts of Asami being toched by him. It breaks my heart!

Please calm me down😭😭😭😭

I hope not I would crash out if that happens we'll see in the next update

I have never commented anything like this on any game or anything for that matter. Your game is the first example of an unironic, "came for the porn, stayed for the story," type situation for me. I started playing and somehow i was grabbed in like 30 minutes of playing the demo? I knew there was porn but the story and characters are actually really good. Asami is loveable and she is my choice of romance. The other girls are so great too though. I'm guilty of pirating some titles for a quick thrill but those 30 minutes I played convinced me to drop $15 as fast as I dropped my pants for the animated scenes in this game. Y'all deserve success and I'm actually gonna support you on patreon even though I've already bought the game. 

Hola, I was actually one of those people who downloaded the game that way :( I'm really sorry. I don't know if it helps at all, but I want to contribute my bit, and hopefully more and more players will start joining. I'll buy the game as soon as version 0.8 is released. Mucha Suerte!

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I did not realise you were in a financial struggle, i just bought my copy of the game i hope it helps

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Game so good, I lost my old account and still came back to buy it with my new one, hope things shake out for you!

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Not going to steam while financially not good is better for the game overall as Steam interferes and forces changes in so many games, especially ones like this. Also unfortunately most western developed games get pirated so much because most devs are lazy leeches who spread a few months of development over years and just rake in money with minimal effort. So naturally no one trusts them and don't want to give them money.

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I feel as though the problem you face is that your stretching yourselves over multiple platforms while trying to keep things reasonably cheap. If I were you I would stop download access to at least 2 of the sites you listed. To me it feels as though your stretching yourselves too much on the market which compromises security. 

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Ive been waiting for the full version before i pay for anything. I just like to keep tabs on the game with the free versions, to see the progress and hopefully see the full version, since so many of these games get left behind and unfinished.

I dont know anything about how you would pirate a game that is available for free on this website.

I think you should take pride in yourself, seeing that so many people seemingly want to pirate your game. Not saying pirating is a good thing, but the fact that so many are apparently, says that you have a lot of demand, which in turn, says something about your quality of work.

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I personally only think about buying when its finished so much Stuff gets abadoned.

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Hmmm guess I can't play it anymore I always wait for the free version I'm not rich btw but I understand your circumstances but it sucks  

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Always an issue with selling in early access at a steep discount without any guarantee of deliver, ultimately a lot of these sorta of early access eroge games get dropped mid development making them a bad purchase, I consider your steep discount a fair price but it does come with decreased revenue. 
I'd not be shocked if most pirates played through the game in one sitting and added it to a list of games to come back to when it's complete

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Thank you, have a nice day too

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First, let me start by saying I already bought your game long ago.

Second, I want to state clearly that this is not a criticism of your work, work ethic, creative output, or anything else other than a criticism of the contents of this post. I love the game, and have no complaints regarding update frequency/content, your work, or the methods currently in use to fund development.

That said…

I feel like this entire post is rather absurd. I don't know the size of your dev/creative team, but either way:

  1. your game brings in nearly $14,000/month on patreon alone.
  2. almost every other game faces similar piracy rates
  3. your content updates release quarterly, so patrons effectively pay $21/update
  4. this does not take into account
    1. itch
    2. subscribestar
    3. boosty
    4. GoG (future)
    5. Steam (possibly future)

Your game is doing very well when compared to other games in the genre/using the same engine/art style.

For comparison, I will use the game I played most recently, Out of Touch:

  1. earns ~$3500/mo on patreon
  2. updates once a month, scheduled
  3. all updates are free, subscribers get releases early
  4. has been around ~3yrs (~1 more than GE)
  5. current game size is over 8GiB vs 0.5GiB for GE (I know this comparison can be misleading due to engine differences, compression, etc. etc.)
  6. created by 2 devs, 1 writer, and commissioned artists
  7. uses a custom engine written in Unity

Everyone's circumstances are different, I know that. I am trying to illustrate the comparatively good position your team is in versus your fellow creators.

Finally, regarding the piracy issue, as a software developer myself, I know it sucks. It feels like shit seeing your hard work get ripped off. At the same time, mentioning it on this platform means you are speaking to (for all intents and purposes) the people that DID pay, not the pirates. And it sounds like you're suggesting you may halt development as a consequence, again, to the people that paid for your game.

Same goes for antipiracy measures. The fact that scene groups cracked Street Fighter 6 (which includes Denuvo DRM) less than a week after release is reason enough to abandon putting work into such tactics. It just harasses the people that did pay, gives the cracker a shiny new puzzle to solve, and has no effect at all on the pirates.

My suggestion would be to refocus the effort spent worrying/mitigating piracy into content for the game. Pirate releases take time to propagate, so the best way you can combat it is to ensure the pirates only ever have access to an outdated version.

The content of the game is great, so you're sure to win over at least a few of those that have finished the Pirate Bay version. If the version they can access is outdated, they might be willing to fork over $10 rather than wait for a new pirate release (works for software, anyway).

Anyway, this turned out longer than I'd planned, but I felt it was necessary to keep context.

Best of luck to you, and the RNGeusEX team. Cheers

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Those Carlo Montie art aren't cheap I assume, so this game probably cost much more to make than Out of Touch

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"your game brings in nearly $14,000/month on patreon alone."

You've  raised some great points, but I think you've got old data - the amount is even more absurd - they make 56 290 $/month on patreon alone.

(+1)

i just checked patreon today 9.11.2023 ... wow 6.586 patreon yielding 14,070€ ( the currency also matters a lot) at least 4 people including government taxes can be paid. 
What i do understand the sales on itch are almost nothing because users had the option to pay or skip paying. The numbers he provided could pass for itch but still without knowing the size of the team and costs attached to it this post by rngeusex reads and feels strange.

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Like this

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I bought it too, crazy how people wont give 10 bucks to support a creator and would steal it instead.

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Hell, I bought the game and I'm already really satisfied with 0.7.1😂 telling me its gonna be free for 0.7.9? That tells me there is gonna be a bunch more content for us that actually supported it! Only thing I hope is no ntr/cheating stuff and the game seems to be doing a good job with it, keep up the good work! -

7% gang

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DEVV, I HOPE YOU THE BEST. I REALLY LOVE NORIKO, CAN'T WAIT FOR AUTUMN REALLY.  My Brother Interested with Noriko Too, Maybe I will bought another copy for him XD. NORIKO SUPREMACY!!!

(+5)(-3)

i know youre getting a lot of shit in these comments.

im sorry all the piracy has happened ive been following this game for quite some time and got around to buying it a few days ago. its been a very good experience  i actually am getting into the story. i hope you continue to work and see it through to the end. its one of the more compelling games ive played  please dont stop it

I think it would've been fine to leave the demo at the first sex scene

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