Do Nothing, Collect Profits

This review has been 5 years in the making. It should be noted that Kongregate (Kong) started as a game aggregator site, similar to Newgrounds or Armorgames. This is important because they just housed other developers' games and advertised a little. So the business model was "do nothing, collect Profits". At some point they decided they could get more money by being the developer too so they bought some of their more popular games and took over the coding. Unfortunately, the business model of doing the least possible while grabbing the most money has carried over. New levels and features of games are hyped and then delivered riddled with bugs and seemingly no testing. Player suggestions for improvements are ignored. Fixes are generally also problematic and show the least understanding of the problem/ lowest common denominator approach to resolve. Customer service is understaffed, often unavailable (Mon- Fri 8-5 PST only), and seem to work from a script that prioritizes non-answers and delay tactics. It's a running joke among players that you have to screenshot everything for a chance to get help and then threaten to contact the Better Business Bureau, when they will magically find the power to solve you're problem "on a one time basis". There are coding errors that have been known and reported for years effecting player experience that aren't prioritized. If players have issues where they don't get rewards after paying, a response/ solution will be days or weeks in coming, often meaning that Apple, Android, or other partners are no longer within their terms of service to assist the customer. "Do nothing, collect Profits". Despite this, over the weekend, there was a problem with the mobile shop which prevented players from spending money with Kong. Someone logged in (on the weekend!) and had that resolved within an hour of it being reported. Player issues are unimportant, but an interruption in Kong's money and it's immediately addressed. One final note, Kong recently decided to do a rebrand on their logo. They decided to crowdsource a new logo, which for most companies may seem like a way to engage their community, but was obviously a cynical attempt to save some money. The announcement looked like a dark room with something hiding under a rug, and the winner was a K inside a circle on top of a column. Even in their attempts to be clever they give away the game. It started with something being "swept under the carpet" and ended with a coin being put "on a pedestal". You seriously can't make it up. If you enjoy being devalued as a customer, not being listened to, not being helped with your issues, and being delivered a subpar product, Kong is the company for you. Otherwise, stay clear.