Garry Newman has spent years building games that defined an era, and now he is admitting the latest one did not work. In a lengthy YouTube comment responding to a critical video from the s&box-focused creator Eridium, Newman apologized for the launch of Facepunch’s new user-generated content platform and promised fixes for its biggest problems.
The video, titled “S&box’s Free To Play Weekend Isn’t Enough,” was a sharp critique of the game’s current state. Newman responded directly beneath it, pinning a comment that runs far longer than a typical reply. His message was blunt: the launch was bad, the character design is unpopular, and the platform is drowning in low-quality content. He also addressed the question of whether Facepunch should hire Eridium, saying the studio prefers him to stay independent so he can keep holding the company accountable.
The Citizen Problem
At the center of the controversy is the “citizen,” the default player character model in s&box. Newman defended it in his comment, saying he likes the citizen, has always liked the citizen, and will continue to like the citizen. But he also admitted the design is a problem.
“Some people like it, most people don’t like it,” Newman wrote. He argued that if Facepunch were an indie studio making its first game with this character, players probably wouldn’t care. But because the comparison to Half-Life 2 exists, it becomes an issue.
“I wanted to keep doing more with it, to try and improve it and get it to a place where it’s likable,” he said. “But I think I’m done trying now and we’re just going to get rid of it and push the human characters forward.”
The citizen will be pushed forward, Newman said, and the studio will focus on human characters moving forward. He framed the decision as practical rather than emotional: the sunk cost of all the work already put into the citizen means it is time to move on.
The Launch Was Shit
Newman did not mince words about how the game performed when it arrived. His assessment was direct and unvarnished.
“The launch was shit. The free weekend was shit,” he wrote. “We wanted to float under the radar on launch and build up, but we didn’t. It was crap, it has burnt bridges and made people angry, it’s given a negative view of s&box, it’s turned the gmod community against it.”
He repeated the point several times: “We weren’t ready and we fucked it. We know that, you know that, we fucked it.” The honesty is notable, especially from a founder whose previous games were major hits.
Too Much Content Is a Problem
One of Eridium’s biggest complaints was the sheer volume of content on the platform. With thousands of uploads, good games are getting lost in a sea of tech demos and low-quality entries. Newman acknowledged this as a genuine issue.
“There being too much content is a problem,” he wrote. “It’s no good having 20 good games on the platform when they’re swimming in the sea of 500 tech demos and clickers.”
The studio has plans to address it, he said, including changes to Playfund so it is no longer incentivizing low-quality uploads. He also described a shift to a Workshop subscribe/install model for maps and games, abandoning the idea of showing users hundreds of options at once.
“That’s apparent now, that’s become really clear,” he wrote about the futility of letting users choose from tens of thousands of options.
Hiring Eridium Would Change Nothing
Eridium operates as an informal community manager for s&box, and the video suggested he could do the job better than Facepunch. Newman addressed that head-on, explaining why the studio has declined to bring him on board.
The studio has had conversations about hiring him a few times, Newman said. The conclusion they’ve always come to is that Eridium is more useful to them as an independent. They don’t want him thinking he can’t make videos like this calling them out, and they don’t want him to stop holding them to account. They’re well aware that he’s the only YouTuber that really covers them extensively.
Newman invited Eridium to communicate directly via WhatsApp, Discord, Steam or email, saying he is “here on the same internet as you.” The message was clear: Facepunch wants Eridium’s criticism, even if it means hiring him would silence it.
The Situation Is Deflating
Newman ended his comment with a personal note about the pressure of the situation. He described the environment as deflating, demoralizing and embarrassing.
“I’m well aware of the situation we have here, and the situation in the past,” he wrote. “It’s deflating, demoralizing and embarrassing.”
He also reflected on the timing of launching a UGC platform. He noted that it could be the worst time in history to launch one or the best, and said he had the feeling that in ten years, the studio would look back at the next three months of decisions and either regret them or regret not making them.
What Comes Next
The fixes Newman outlined are real, but they are incremental. Here is the order of the changes he described:
- The citizen will be pushed forward, which solves one visible problem.
- The Workshop model will change, which addresses discovery.
- Playfund will be adjusted to discourage low-quality uploads.
Whether those changes arrive soon enough to rescue the platform remains to be seen. The game has been struggling in its first five months on the market, and the launch failure has created a negative reputation that will not be easy to shake.
Newman’s willingness to admit mistakes is refreshing. Few founders speak this openly about failures, and fewer still commit them to video. The candor carries weight precisely because the stakes are so high.
The game has a long road ahead.
Source material: “Garry Newman responds to s&box criticism in lengthy YouTube comment: 'I don't like giving up on things, I am stubborn',” PC Gamer.
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