Pirate adventure Duke Grabowski sets sail on October 6 without the previously promised DRM-free version.

Venture Moon Studios has announced that its Monkey Island-inspired swashbuckling adventure Duke Grabowski will be hitting Steam on October 6. The news will undoubtedly be met with joy from fans, with the successful Kickstarter project initially to have been delivered a year earlier. For more information on this promising pirate adventure, you can read our Preview of Duke Grabowski which also made our recent Top 10 Upcoming Adventure Games.

However, there is one final kick in the pants for some Kickstarter backers. Due to restrictions imposed by publisher Alliance Game Studios, a DRM-free version of the game will no longer be offered. The developer is hoping to set something up later on GOG or Humble Bundle, but are unable to make any promises at this time.

This decision has kicked the proverbial hornets’ nest on the Duke Grabowski Kickstarter page. A number of backers have already demanded refunds, stating that they only backed the project on the premise that they would be receiving a DRM-free version. Fortunately, Venture Moon Studios is extending an olive branch to these backers promising that it will gladly refund any pledges. Nonetheless, this will undoubtedly leave a bitter aftertaste for those backers who have been patiently waiting several years for the game to be delivered. That being said, Venture Moon Studios is doing a better job of managing the fallout from this issue than Comcept has on the mismanaged Mighty Number 9 Kickstarter project.

Duke Grabowski: Mighty Swashbuckler! will hit PC (Steam-only) on October 6.

Writer:
Stephen Mitchell

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