wow thanks literally taking away what i paid for that'll go well. what you should have said is youre revoking all our access and bouncing with our cash. almost seems like i was scammed hmm
There are a handful of creators who only release specific versions on Itch.io as a way to advertise and grow the more lucrative and consistent revenue stream on other subscription based platforms such as patreon or subscribe star.
It's not a scam, its just a different business model. From a consumer stand point, paying 1 time and getting free updates is always better, but from the creators POV it may not be viable for them if this project isnt just a hobby or passion project.
Unfortunately we have a lot of unknownassholes who feel entitled to have every always for free from everyone.
Hey retard, you downloaded the version you paid for no? Meaning you have access to it as long as your dumb ass doesn't delete it. The creator isn't supporting the old version anymore, so keep your download or enjoy the demo. You're crying on the internet to someone who doesn't give a fuck about you, over two god damn dollars.
This is good for keeping a transparent relationship with the community! Don't feel obligated to justify yourself to ignorant UnknownAsshole(s). Keep doing whats best for you. You'll never satisfy everyone, and usually only the vocal minority, will be the ones who complain (They're not your target audience anyways).
A wildly successful game that follows this same business model is "Pure Onyx" if you need some encouragement to keep pushing on. Look at how they do releases and content, might help reassure you.
Edit: Other games like "Future Fragments" and "Crisis Point Extinction" are two other WILDLY successful games that have also followed this business model.