The boss of the Ori and the Blind Forest studio blames Fable creator Peter Molyneux, among others, for ‘going crazy and telling you why should be about games’, rather than ‘tell you what the product is’. “He got away with it for over a decade, while journalists and gamers loved to hear what Uncle Peter has to say and all the things he does for the industry.”

He also quotes Sean Murray, creator of the space game No Man’s Sky, who was criticized at launch in 2016 for missing aspects and other broken promises. According to Mahler, Murray made players think it was ‘Minecraft in space’ where ‘you can literally do anything’, and the ‘lies and deception’ were forgotten after subsequent updates. “Thanks Geoff Keighley,” he adds. “Rewarding that kind of behavior is bound to contribute to the growth of the industry.” and Murray ‘and released a product that was’ a fraction’ of ‘what the developer had hyped’.

“And yet, gamers and journalists it seems little to make a difference “, Mahler concludes. “Yes the backlash comes, but usually you see a lot of people arguing that they like the game anyway. That’s not the point.

It makes Don’t care if snake oil tastes good. Don’t sell me features that don’t exist. Don’t sketch a picture that doesn’t exist. Don’t lie to me.

None of the listed developers has replied to the message.