In what can only be viewed as a brilliant marketing move to attract customers while simultaneously improving its product, the developers behind Steam Early Access title Ark: Survival Evolved have launched a bounty program for anyone that finds a bug in their game.
The bounty was first confirmed last week and already, a user by the name of ZeroDay(++) has taken advantage of it.
As noted in this post from the developer, the user contacted them about a potential hack / exploit that could force servers to crash unexpectedly along with other side effects. Within a matter of two hours, the developer sent the bounty payment through PayPal.
Some argue that the ability to rapidly dispatch patches has forced game developers to become lazy or impatient. Others contend that the issue stems from today's games being so much more complex. But whatever the root cause, there's no denying that buggy games are a major industry concern.
Just yesterday, Warner Bros. Games suspended sales of Batman: Arkham Knight on the PC due to widespread technical issues that include stuttering and gameplay lag on both AMD and Nvidia hardware. The game was allegedly ported to the PC by a third-party studio consisting of just 12 staffers.
WB Games said they are working to remedy the performance issues and will provide an update when it is ready. Those who want a refund can request one through Steam's new refund policy or at the retail location where the game was purchased.