Co-op looter shooter The First Descendant gets 3 days of increased XP and gold gains to appease fans after launch issues lead to 'Mixed' start on Steam

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The apology tour commences

The First Descendent
(Image credit: Nexon)

Nexon is apologizing for the launch issues of its new co-op looter shooter, The First Descendant, by offering players bonuses like increased XP and gold gains for a limited time.

The First Descendant looked like a hit on Steam yesterday, July 2, when it dethroned FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree from Steam's top-seller spot. However, only 43% of user reviews at the time recommended the game, with issues like microtransaction practices and technical problems souring players on the overall experience.

As an apology for said issues, Nexon announced compensation for The First Descendant players in the tweet below. For three days, players can now earn increased gold, XP, and Kyper Shards, as well as boosted XP for weapon masteries. Finally, there'll also be two matte red paints for players to collect. Once the boosts are collected from your in-game mailbox, they'll immediately activate.

At the time of writing, The First Descendant now has 12,466 user reviews on Steam, and 46% of said reviews are positive about the new shooter. A lot of issues, from the latest reviews, seem to be concerning shaders, where the shooter immediately crashes when trying to compile shaders for players. 

This whole situation brings to mind Kuro Games' Wuthering Waves, which launched earlier this year in May with a torrent of technical issues and other problems. Wuthering Waves' developer rolled out similar compensation for players, repeatedly in fact, as launch issues weren't immediately quashed and left a sour taste in players' mouths for weeks on end.

Take a look at our new games 2024 guide if The First Descendant isn't quite holding your attention right now.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.