Gameloft said today it was pulling the ads out of its newly launched Hero of Sparta 2 game and returning the title to its paid status. It also apologized to users for providing a poor experience by putting ads into a game, distracting users from the game play.
The move shows that it’s not always that easy to switch from one form of monetization to another, as fans can react negatively to in-game ads, particularly those that interrupt a hardcore gaming experience.
Gameloft said it received a lot of complaints from fans of Hero of Sparta 2 after the game was converted from a paid title to a free ad-supported title. A spokeswoman for the mobile game publisher said that the gaming experience was not up to par, and it would remove the ads from the game immediately. With the rush to release Christmas games, the update for the game didn’t go through Gameloft’s usual quality process.
Gonzague de Vallois, senior vice president at Gameloft, said in a statement, “Gameloft wishes to apologize to the fans of Hero of Sparta 2 given the poor gaming experience, brought by the free version. We acknowledged the advertisement included into the game deteriorated the gaming experience. We have now completely removed all ads from the game and switched it back to its previous status on the Appstore. Thank you for your patience and sharing your frustration with us, we hope you will be happy with our response. Happy Holidays and enjoy Hero of Sparta 2.”
The Hero of Sparta 2 game will now cost $4.99 in the App Store.