‘I had to face a harsh truth.’ The creator of 4X strategy game World Warfare & Economics rebuilt it from the ground up to ‘do right by the players who believed in this game’
An ambitious geopolitical sim that couldn’t hold up is now getting a complete overhaul and a second chance. A story about a developer who listened.
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We usually expect big game developers to own up when their latest title turns out to be a disaster. After updates and promises, its Steam rating is finally improving. And what about small teams or even solo developers? When a ion project flops, most just abandon it. But one dev decided to take a different approach.
A messy launch with a lot of potential
World Warfare & Economics is a geopolitical simulator where we take control of any nation and shape its future. We manage resources, trade, and taxes, engage in real-time warfare, handle global diplomacy, and react to dynamic world events. Sounds like a dream for strategy fans, right? Well… its Steam reviews might say otherwise.
The game launched in Early Access on Steam in December 2023 but hasn’t built much of a player base. The mixed reviews certainly didn’t help, and according to many of them, while the concept had promise, the execution was a mess – confusing mechanics, broken systems, and excessive micromanagement made it frustratingly unplayable.
To sum up most of the negative reviews, candiedaphid puts it bluntly:
TLDR; Nothing works, everything is on fire.
A road to redemption
The team at Okron Studio kept pushing out patches for months after release, but judging by the reviews, it didn’t make much of a difference. Eventually, they decided to scrap everything and start over from scratch.
Another few months ed and on March 1st, 2025, Lotous21, the main developer behind World Warfare & Economics released the promised major update that revamped the entire game. In the announcement, he said:
Back in December 2023, I released this game with so much ion and excitement. But the reality? It was buggy as hell - and many of you were frustrated, disappointed, and rightfully upset.
I saw every comment, every review, every piece of . I didn’t just read them - I felt them. And as months ed, after countless patches trying to fix things, I had to face a harsh truth:
The game needed more than just patches. It needed to be rebuilt from the ground up.
At that moment, I had a choice. I could abandon it, start fresh with a new project, and try to move on… or I could own my mistakes, stay true to my word, and do right by the players who believed in this game.
I chose the hard path - the right path. Instead of making a new game and charging again, I rebuilt everything as a free update. No extra cost. No tricks. Just me doing what I should have done from the start.
The review history of World Warfare & Economics.Source: SteamDB
Just a few days later, positive reviews are rolling in, with longtime players saying the game has improved a lot. The depth and economic systems are solid, though it still needs some polish. But now? It finally feels like money well spent. Most reviews also highlight that the developer genuinely cares about the project, reading every comment.
Great game. Creator clearly cares for his customers and works on improving the experience. That alone is enough for me, but it's a quality game and a lot of work went into it. If you like political games, or grand strategy, then this is a game you should really try.
There are still some negative takes, with players saying the game is missing a proper tutorial and just isn’t quite ready yet. But it’s a solid start, and hopefully, the dev will keep refining it based on the .
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