Bear Simulator: John Farjay Confirms Kickstarter-Backed Game Will Not Be Updated

Bear Simulator will not have any future updates, according to developer John Farjay. The game, which allows players to “explore, eat stuff,” and “be a bear,” was released on Steam on February 26. However, as the game “didn’t have a great reception,” Farjay confirmed there will not be any further updates.

John Farjay introduced his Bear Simulator game concept via Kickstarter. As discussed in his campaign, the game would allow players to “play in FPB (First Person Bear) and do bear things which include exploring, eating fish and plants, striking down anything that dare stand before your might, increasing your stats, sleeping and discovering mysteries of your forest home.”

Farjay hoped to raise around $30,000 through his Kickstarter campaign. To show his appreciation, backers pledging at least $5 would have their names listed on the official Bear Simulator website. Those pledging more than $15 would receive recognition, merchandise, or an opportunity to design game content — depending on the amount of the donation.

Throughout the campaign, John Farjay raised more than $100,000 to develop and eventually publish the Bear Simulator game.

Although the original release date was “November(ish) 2014,” Bear Simulator was officially released at SteamPowered.com on February 26, 2016.

For $14.99, players have an opportunity to “do bear things,” including battling “villans,” collecting items to decorate their cave, and exploring a total of seven different regions.

According to the gaming website, user reviews were generally positive. At this time, the game was reviewed by 145 users, and 78 percent of those users reported a positive experience.

Bear Simulator Has A Confusing Future https://t.co/c2NHSU7rew #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev #kickstarter #gaming pic.twitter.com/CxxYCAWDts

— The Golden Cartridge (@TGC_Games) March 7, 2016

However, John Farjay believes “the game didn’t have a great reception.” In a March 5 update, which was published on his Kickstarter page, the developer also admitted he simply is “not skilled enough to make the game better.”

John Farjay said Bear Simulator will not get any formal updates. However, he confirmed he will “work on fixes and features until [the backers are] all happy and content.”

Although he did not go into detail, Farjay said he simply does not “want to deal with the drama anymore.”

Farjay’s announcement may have been sparked by a few scathing reviews, which were posted on the Steam website by some of his backers. User “tickler,” for example, complained that Bear Simulator is “poorly made and [a] buggy mess.” Ticklr also complained about a lack of communication between the developer and the users.

Here I ramble on about the developer of Bear Simulator, and nasty criticism: https://t.co/TfuHi9v6Wz pic.twitter.com/GIEDcqRYlW

— Digitiser2000 (@mrbiffo) March 7, 2016

Indeed, between September 2014 and March 2015, John Farjay seemingly vanished from Kickstarter and several social media sites. He also went missing between September 2015 and January 2016.

The highly anticipated simulation game was finally released last month. Unfortunately, John Farjay was terribly disappointed with the reviews.

In response to the criticism, and Farjay’s subsequent announcement, many of his backers offered words of encouragement.

On the Farjay’s Kickstarter page, Montague Arthur Kimball-Evans suggested the developer was simply taking the criticism too personally.

“The saddest thing is that you’ve taken it so personally, when in actual fact you have a solid and fun experience that has no parallel on Steam, and has garnered an enviable 7/10 review score average… the game is an enjoyable experience with an evident amount of polish and depth for a single dev who began the whole thing and saw it through to completion.”

John Farjay invited his backers to continue providing feedback on ways he can improve Bear Simulator. However, it is unclear how many changes he is capable or willing to make.

At this time, Bear Simulator is still available on Steam, and John Farjay has vowed to make “some fixes” to the game. He also vowed to add “Kickstarter Island” to the game, which was promised to the backers.

[Image via Nagel Photography/Shutterstock]