The CD Projekt-owned storefront GOG has walked back an earlier decision about Inkle Studios’ Heaven’s Vault, announcing that it has changed its mind and will now sell the game on the platform.
In a statement picked up by PCGamer, GOG global communications manager Marcin Traczyk explained that the change of heart came “after checking the final game, how it was perceived by gamers, and receiving numerous requests from our users suggesting to release it.”
Inkle launched Heaven’s Vault on PC and PlayStation 4 this April. GOG turned down the game at that time, telling Inkle co-founder Joe Humfrey that the game wouldn’t be a good fit.
"They gave reasons stemming from their experience playing an early build of the game and what they think their audience wants,” Humfrey told PCGamer shortly before the game’s launch. Both then and now, Humfrey said that a platform like GOG can make a huge difference for games created by small studios.
GOG picks and chooses the games that it puts up for sale based on what it believes is in the best interest of its audience, though it says it sometimes misses interesting releases because of this. In the case of Heaven’s Vault, the company reached out to Inkle after the fact to work out a GOG launch “simply because we believe that its high quality and unique character deserves to be recognized and shared with our audience.”