The PC version of a well-received co-op puzzle game has been made free forever by accident, after it was updated with online functionality.
Between subscription services like PS Plus and random giveaways on Steam, you’re never far from a freebie in the modern video game era.
However, it’s rare to find a freebie because of accidental circumstances, although it is known to happen – as we recently saw with CarX Street, thanks to a PlayStation Store error.
In the case of Pico Park, the giveaway isn’t down to a technical fault but an oversight from Japanese developer Tecopark, who forgot about the rules on Steam.
The original Pico Park (now known as Pico Park: Classic Edition) was released in 2016 and is a co-operative action puzzle game for up to 10 players. In the game, you have to work together in levels to grab a key and escape through a door.
The Classic Edition, exclusive to Steam, has been free already, for some time, but developer Tecopark planned to charge a ‘small fee’ following a recent update, which added online support and updated graphics.
After the update was released on September 13, the developer planned to keep the game ‘free for about a week’ before charging for it again. However, Steam has limitations in place so developers can’t switch free games back to paid titles.
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‘I tried updating it to make it paid again, but I forgot that once you switch from paid to free, you can never go back to paid! Ugh,’ the developer wrote on X. ‘If you play this free version and have fun, try the series too.’
As such, Pico Park: Classic Edition, which carries a ‘mostly postive’ rating on Steam based on over 1,700 reviews, is now permanently free.
Beyond the Classic Edition, there have been two other Pico Park games. An updated version of the original was released in 2021, which had online play at launch, and a sequel, Pico Park 2, which was released in September last year.
The sequel, which features more game modes and 60 levels, is available across Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PC for £7.49. 2021’s Pico Park, meanwhile, is £3.99 across Nintendo Switch and PC.
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