The Fall Of Veiled Experts
At 9pm November 13th, Veiled Experts posted to various communication channels that they would be shutting down service for their game on December 14th. While the game state was in disarray over the past 6 months, many of us still chose to believe that a comeback was possible. We had fallen in love during the Beta test and had hope that the Developers would find a way to bring players back to the game. This post serves to document parts of the game’s history and serve as an account of the game’s failure. I have tried to include many of the game’s skins as these were the majority of content added yet had little effect on the player base or retention.
By The Numbers
Various charts at the time of closure. Note that the Steam charts do not include data from either beta test (Global Beta, FBT).
Milestone: Alpha
Unfortunately, not much public information exists about the closed Alpha test. My understanding is that participation was limited to Nexon account holders, specifically those residing in South Korea. Participants were given the “Alpha” skin below:
Technical Test
A technical test was run on June 7/8th 2022.
Milestone: Global Beta
Many North American players were first introduced to the game around the Global Beta test. This is the first news article on their website and was announced 5/25/2022:
The Global Beta was set to run for 13 days, starting 6/9/2022 and ending 6/26/2022. There were a few items that were rewarded for participation in the Beta:
- Beta VX Suit
- Golden MPX Skin
- Beta VX Mask
- Rookie Mask
- Golden M416 Skin
Initial Twitch Drops Event
Coinciding with the start of the Beta test, a Twitch drops event was started to drum up viewership of the game. This featured some agent-exclusive skins:
Shroud streams VX
I was introduced to the game from Twitch’s “Recommended” section. I saw Shroud was playing a new game so I figured I would watch for a bit and see what it was all about. This VOD was streamed June 9th 2022 which coincides with the first day of the Global Beta: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1499223322?filter=archives&sort=time&t=2h51m56s
Based on the SteamDB chart, this could account for several hundred followers that day alone (~800–900). This VOD was then edited and uploaded on June 24 2022:
Second Twitch Drop
A Second Twitch drop was created to run from 6/23/2022 to 6/26/2022. This time, the jump-suit style (already developed in the alpha) was re-used to create a Twitch-themed skin.
Sand Camo
Aside from Twitch Drops, there was a “Hot Time” skin release to reward play time during pre-determined activity windows (June 24 to June 26). Again, the jump-suit style was reused.
Global Beta Wrap Up
On June 25, the Developers reassured players that they would keep their items following the end of the Global Beta. The Global Beta saw high viewership and participation. Many players were frantically playing as much as they could and loathed the nearing end date. The Devs seemed to be receptive to feedback, delivering 3 balance patches during the Global Beta (June 13, June 16, June 23). With excitement at an all time high, we waited for the next opportunity to play…
Waiting (~9 months)
7/29/2022: The developers sent an update video (now private).
11/09/2022: Companion App announcement
12/15/2022: Looking for Partners
Milestone: Final Beta
On December 15, 2022, Veiled Experts announced their Final Beta Test (FBT). This test would start sometime in March 2023, roughly 9 months after the Global Beta Test.
12/20/2022: Development Newsletter. Renovated UI, Introduction of UPS
1/13/2023: Dev Stream Announcement (scheduled for Jan 18)
2/25/2023: FBT Schedule Announcement
Finally, the dates for the Final Beta were established: It would run for 7 days: from March 30 until April 6.
On March 20th, the Devs revealed that there would be a Partner Preview preceding the FBT:
The FBT included the introduction of the agent Rita and the Korea Town map.
The Black Mamba skin was added for a one-time login event:
Ranked matches were also added during the FBT. These were available after having any agent reach Level 5.
Like the previous beta, there were more Twitch drops. This time, they included items for the new agent:
Test Missions were added and players could now earn the Bike Racer skin (along with weapon skins):
3/28/2023: Patch Notes: Addition of Execution (later called CQC), Lepton Balancing. This particular patch was exciting because it featured several balance changes reported from the Partner Feedback period.
4/5/2023: UGG World Friendlies Tournament
4/5/2023: Announcement of End of FBT + Subsequent Dev Stream Recap
Milestone: Early Access
About a month after the FBT, the Devs announced on May 2nd that Early Access would start May 18th. This was exciting as it had no end date. This also included a Dev Notes post highlight many of the changes added since the FBT.
Alta City was released during Early Access.
Team Deathmatch was also added.
More skins were added and placed behind missions:
On 5/19, Steam User “Celery” posted this legendary meme summarizing the frustration with match making times:
My theory is that the Veiled Experts match making engine prioritized fairness above any other variable. In particular, it did NOT prioritize time in queue in favor of a ping-imbalanced match up. This is evident from a few customers in South Africa and Australia failing to find matches.
On 5/20, the Devs posted an update on Match Making clarification (though mostly targeted at their core Korea playerbase):
Solo can only be matched with 1 person solo queue,
Squads can be matched with 2/3/5 players queue.Currently, the number of requests for 2player party matches in Ranked match (Squads) takes more than double the number of requests for 3player party matches.
The waiting time for 2player party has become significantly longer.
Proceeding match making with 3players party while using the “Find party” system will result in a faster match making.
On 5/31, the Devs reiterated that matchmaking needed more 3-person parties. They even included the estimated 3 minute wait time in their post!
6/2/2023: Maintenance Plan (downtime every Wednesday)
6/3/2023: UGG Worlds Tournament 2
By June 20th, Veiled Experts had lost most of the momentum from the release. It managed to only get around 1.5k new Steam followers (24k to 25.5k) during the month of its EA release. Peak player count was mainly held up by South Korea and peaked at around ~600 players.
6/28/2023: Seed Event Summer starts on August 3rd
Veiled Experts needed some way to boost player count and avoid a hideous implosion of players. They introduced a SEED event as a way for players to leave their game open for 4 hours, gaining a point every 30 minutes. You could then redeem 8 points for 1 agent skin. Colleting all skins and items took about 10~12 days. You were not required to play any games to activate the timer.
6/30/2023: Pre-season 1 ends on July 5th, stat wipe
Introduction of AI into Casual Bomb Defusal
Around this time (sometime after July 1, before July 29), AI was introduced to Casual Bomb Defusal to decrease queue times and make the game easier and more satisfying for newer players. Players would usually match 2v2 but could sometimes match 3v3. Queueing with 3 players would also guarantee a 3v3 matchup.
7/5/2023: Tiger Collection Skins:
7/4/2023: Pre-season 2: 11 rounds -> 9 rounds, ranked group of 3 players removed
First VX Open
Veiled Experts is undeniably a team game. Most of the game hardly makes sense to play alone given the information and coordination required to win. It was clear that Veiled Experts wanted to launch some sort of e-sports league in the future. The VX Open was the first attempt at this concept. The first VX Open was only available to player’s living in South Korea as the prize money awarded would be the South Korean won. Both semi-finals and finals matches would be played in an arena and recorded for upload on their YouTube channel. The first VX Open took place on July 16th and started with a bracket of 21 teams. The semifinals and finals match took place the following weekend, July 23. Many of the clans that participated in the tournament actively recruited over the life of the game. Many posted cleanly edited banners in the clan recruitment discord channels. While this content highlights the best that this game has to offer, many participants did not stream the game. I believe this to be one of the larger missed opportunities for this game. Also, many matches ended in 2–0 wins. While this result may be due to the size of the player base, I believe this pointed toward some balance issues and viewer satisfaction as comebacks didn’t really seem possible.
On August 1, the Devs released Patch Notes detailing the removal of the Lepton System. This also removed the team based funding system. Rounds were reduced from 9 to 8 with games allowed to end in a Draw.
9/6/2023: Gambit SEED Event
9/19/2023: Quick Match added (join either TDM, Bomb Defusual, Ranked). AI Bots added to TDM
Milestone: Season 1
9/19/2023: First season will start October 12. This would also include a Battle Pass. The remaining players were particularly concerned about marketing and this was addressed in this post:
As highlighted during our Dev Stream and Dev Talks, we’re set to roll out new content and systems, including maps, characters, and a Battle Pass.
We want to inform you that there will be a major system and content update with our first official Season.
Our plan also encompasses various improvements, events, and marketing campaigns.While we initially aimed to unveil our first official seasonal update by September’s end, we’ve decided to refine our focus, prioritizing the depth of marketing and the richness of the updated content.
We hope and ask for your patience and understanding with adjustments in scheduling.
There was some renewed excitement though peak players only peaked at 780:
9/26: Golden Moon Attendance Check
10/10: S1O1 Release: new E-ster agent, new M250 weapon, new Viva Station map, Battle Pass
The Devs added a Black Card event. Players would receive cards for logging in and completing challenges (both daily and weekly). This cards were used to roll for one of the available items. Available items were skins, player and gun accessories, and calling cards decorations.
VX Open 2
The second VX Open ran exactly the same as the first one. The competition was only open to South Korea players and took place over two weekends: July 16th and July 23. The outcome was nearly identical with many matches ending in 2–0 and the final match ending 3–0. Like the previous tournament, none of the qualifying matches were streamed or recorded so I don’t think the tournament drove any engagement.
11/13/2023: Closure
There was little to no warning that the game would be cancelled. I had some match making errors the previous two days so I figured that some server was turned off or not monitored.
Official Closure Announcement:
Final Thoughts
Although I found the game challenging and fun, I think there were a few things that ultimately led to its demise.
- At its core, the simplest explanation of failure is that that game is not fun enough. I think long round time (2.5 minutes) coupled with long match making time (anything over 1 minute) does not provide enough dopamine for players. The game is supposed to be tactical so I understand why it must be longer but I can’t think of any other simpler reason why someone would stay on this game versus leaving for another.
- Frustrating matching experience. The above meme and 3 minute matching time should have been unacceptable from the developer point of view. Also, not finding a game because you live in South Africa or Australia should is unacceptable. I think a lobby system and server selection would have made every player feel welcome and also made the game feel less empty.
- TPP imbalance. I can’t help but wonder if third person perspective is fundamentally unsuited for SnD game modes. The only way around TPP camping is using scanning abilities. This is complicated by larger maps and only allowing 2 scan grenades per player. Fundamentally, this FPS game is struggling to balance utility instead of balancing weapons (which, surprisingly, mostly remained unchanged over the life of the game)
- Lack of clan culture (NA/EU). Unlike the Korean Discord server, there were never any clans that really made a name for themselves. Most people treat clan tags as cosmetic (I blame COD) and don’t really use it as tool to form larger organizations (most clans consist of groups of friends). Watching the VX Open, you could finally see some of the best players team up and create amazing coordinated plays. This was never really championed in our community and I wonder if an emphasis on clans could make the game a bit more friendly and fun.
Even with its failures, I had a ton of fun playing. I do think the version of the Global Beta was the best. There was so much thought put into every fight, round, and match that really made the game unique. The scarcity of ammo and money was the most unique part; You wouldn’t shoot at someone across the map as this was a complete waste of precious ammo! I am grateful I got to play it from Beta to Closure. Veiled Experts, you will be missed!
