Creating a multiplayer-focused game is an incredibly difficult task, especially for a smaller studio. Even if the stars align and you end up with a solid playerbase at the very start, it's often quite challenging to get those players to stick around for long periods of time. And without a large assortment of players, getting the funding necessary to continue developing new content becomes increasingly more problematic, which then only further pushes players away. 

As you might imagine from the title alone, Tripwire has currently found themselves in exactly this situation with Killing Floor 2. According to the most recent developer post, they are more than willing to keep adding new content, but the cost simply outstrips any returns such updates might bring. So in order to correct this while still bringing in new content, Tripwire are looking to start selling individual weapons as DLC.

"While the updates have all been free in terms of features, weapons, zeds, maps, etc, the cost of development has certainly been anything but," reads the developer update. "Ultimately, that status quo of our current strategy cannot sustain the current level of support that you have all grown accustomed to without a major shakeup."

"So what does that mean in practicality? This means starting with our next content update all-new weapons will be sold as DLC along with 5 Unique Weapon Skins custom made for the weapon at a price of $9.99 SRP... Additionally, all Paid Weapons will work with the existing Shared Content system for Multiplayer Servers in which if one player owns a Paid Weapon on a server all other players will have access to that weapon within the match to prevent any possible gameplay discrepancies."

While I have nothing against buying new weapons, I did plenty of that in Killing Floor 1 after all, I am worried that the price they chose is simply too high. In Killing Floor 1 you can get four unique and interesting weapons for $6 as a part of the community weapons pack, while in Killing Floor 2 we're expected to pay more for a single weapon and a couple of skins. I suppose it all depends on the quality of the skins themselves, but I just can't help but feel like $10 is a bit more than the average player is willing to pay for a bit of new content.

Whether you agree with that sentiment or not, you can read a little bit more about Tripwire's plans for Killing Floor 2's future over at Steam.