The archaeological adventure expedition Heaven's Vault is not to be missed: We called it "exquisite" in our 88/100 review. So it seemed awfully odd that GOG, which unlike Steam is a curated store (and which carries Inkle's previous game, 80 Days), took a pass on it at launch.
"They gave reasons stemming from their experience playing an early build of the game and what they think their audience wants. Which was definitely disappointing—we had been hoping that GOG's adventure game audience would embrace Heaven's Vault, and reaching that audience can make a huge difference to whether or not small studios like ours survive," Inkle co-founder Joe Humfrey said in May.
As for GOG, it acknowledged that it "may miss a release that is interesting for gamers" in its review process now and then, but left the door open to "going back and changing [its] decision" if there's a good reason to do so. In the case of Heaven's Vault, it's now done so.
"With Heaven's Vault we've changed our mind after checking the final game, how it was perceived by gamers, and receiving numerous requests from our users suggesting to release it," GOG global communications manager Marcin Traczyk said in a statement. "We then reached out to the developers with a proposal to release their game on GOG simply because we believe that its high quality and unique character deserves to be recognized and shared with our audience."
"Reaching GOG's audience can make a huge difference as to whether a small studio like ours can survive and keep pushing the boundaries of interactive fiction, so we were disappointed not to launch there initially," Inkle's Humfrey said. "We're thrilled that the response Heaven's Vault received at launch has led GOG to reconsider it, and we're really happy that it's now joining GOG's fantastic collection of games."
Heaven's Vault is also on sale on GOG for 20 percent off—$20/£18/€16—until July 23.
