The developer of the most expensive game in Steam’s history doesn’t recommend buying it

Recently, a new game appeared on Steam — The Hidden and Unknown from the creators of ProX. It was hard to ignore the novelty, because the game is sold at an exorbitant price — $ 1999. The developer characterizes The Hidden and Unknown as a «visual novel» — it consists of text and static images generated by graphic artificial intelligence. The author of the game does not believe that anyone will buy it at an inflated price tag. Moreover, he strongly advises users not to spend their own money.

According to ProX, the game’s plot is based on «the expansion of human perception in the field of psychology and philosophy.» The game begins with an 8-minute monologue about the fact that the male population of Western countries is suffering from hormonal exhaustion. As a result, patriarchy is no longer dominant in society. Women, on the other hand, have to become more masculine. However, this does not solve the main problem — the imbalance of masculine and feminine principles leads to infertility and the extinction of humanity. Therefore, gamers need to find a way out of this crisis situation.

Many users wondered why the developer wanted almost $ 2000 for his creation. However, no one received a rational answer. ProX stated that such a price seems to be correct, because «every developer has the right to choose what price they want to put on their video game, taking into account the experience that the gamer receives.»

«The reason for this price is that I didn’t want to just sell my own life for a penny. For me, this story means more than just a 'game'. So if you often get offended instead of reacting appropriately, be wise and avoid this game,» said the ProX developer.

Interestingly, a gamer can request a full refund from the purchase of The Hidden and Unknown if they do not manage to complete it in two hours. The main condition is to stay within the time limit.

As a reminder, scientists from the University of Surrey have found that games can help users plan their future careers. The study involved 16,000 people who played various games on the Steam platform. It turned out that puzzle games can improve spatial skills of developers, role-playing games — organization and planning skills of managers, and strategy games — problem-solving skills of engineers.