THE BIG GAME SNIPER ELITE 4
Rebellion’s bigshot With the largest game and the biggest marketing campaign in the series, Sniper Elite 4 should continue to confound critics. Rebellion’s Robbie Cooke and Paul C. Wright talk to Marie Dealessandri about serving the community and self-publishing the franchise for the first time.
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niping games are one of those peculiar genres that are almost always praised by their players but mauled by the critics. And the Sniper Elite franchise is no exception to the rule. Critics may not have always backed the series, but it has built a massive community eagerly waiting each new entry in the franchise. “One thing we’ve never struggled with has been great user reviews, particularly on Steam,” Robbie Cooke, marketing and PR manager at developer Rebellion, says. “Steam, Amazon and YouTube in particular have really taught the gaming world that it’s player feedback that’s most important. If your core community and new players alike are enjoying the game, then you have every chance of success.” He continues: “Of course, we want to push ourselves to make
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Elite game – so we’re very confident in where Sniper Elite 4 is, and where Rebellion as a studio is going,” Cooke continues.
the best game possible. You only have to be in our studio on launch day and hear the hubbub as reviews come in to know that we care about what our peers think about our games. For the devs, they like to know they did the best work they could, and made an even better game than before. Personally, as a PR person I like to think I’ve given the game every chance to succeed critically, but it’s player feedback that’s most important.” And to make sure new players and fans alike enjoy the upcoming Sniper Elite 4, Rebellion has given the new title the best possible odds. “This is by far the largest Sniper Elite game we’ve ever created, and it’ll be the largest marketing campaign we’ve launched and the largest team that’s ever made a Sniper
Sniper Elite 4 is a formula that focuses on player-driven choice. Paul C. Wright, Rebellion
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FORGING AHEAD One of the reasons why Sniper Elite 4 is such a big deal for the Oxford-based developer is that it’s self-publishing the title, having previously partnered with publisher 505 Games for the previous releases in the franchise. “We’ve been forging ahead, working exclusively on our own IP and had great success self-publishing – including Zombie Army Trilogy which was our first self-published console and retail game – so going fully independent on Sniper Elite 4 is the next logical step,” Cooke explains. “There’s no doubt 505 played a big part in making
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30/11/2016 14:04